VAT Number Validator

Italian VAT Number Check: What This Tool Does

This tool checks an Italian VAT number (partita IVA) directly in your browser: it verifies that it has 11 digits and that the last one, the check digit, matches the one calculated from the first ten. It helps you catch a typo before you issue an invoice or register a customer or supplier.

It does not query any database. It does not tell you whether the VAT number is active or closed, who holds it, or whether it is registered in VIES. For that information there are the free official services described below, which are also linked in the result.

How the Check Works

The digits in odd positions (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th) are added as they are. The digits in even positions (2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th) are doubled and, if the result is greater than 9, 9 is subtracted. The two totals are then added: the check digit is the amount needed to reach the next multiple of 10, or 0 if the sum already is a multiple of 10.

Example with the VAT number of the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate), 06363391001, published at the bottom of its website pages:

• odd digits: 0 + 3 + 3 + 9 + 0 = 15
• even digits: 6, 6, 3, 1 and 0 doubled give 12, 12, 6, 2 and 0; subtracting 9 where the double is above 9 gives 3 + 3 + 6 + 2 + 0 = 14
• total 29: 1 is missing to reach 30, and that is exactly the last digit. The number is correctly formed.

This catches any error in a single digit and almost every swap of two adjacent digits (not the swap between 0 and 9). A correctly formed number, however, may never have been assigned to anyone.

Is the VAT Number Active? The Revenue Agency Service

To find out whether an Italian VAT number is registered and active, use the Verifica partita Iva service of the Agenzia delle Entrate: it is free and needs no registration, you only have to copy a security code. If the number is registered in the tax register, the service shows:

• the status: active, suspended (in case of business lease) or closed;
• the business name, or the surname and name of the holder;
• the start date of the activity and any suspension or closure dates;
• whether the VAT number belongs to a VAT group or to one of its members.

Trading with Other EU Countries: VIES

VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) is the European Commission service that confirms whether a VAT number is valid for intra-Community transactions. There is no single database: each request is passed to the register of the country that assigned the number, and some countries also show the name and address. The confirmation applies to the day you request it: you cannot check validity on a past date.

Valid VAT Number but "Invalid" in VIES

In Italy, registration in VIES is not automatic. Anyone who wants to carry out intra-Community transactions must request it from the Agenzia delle Entrate, when opening the VAT number or later, and can revoke it at any time; the Agency can also remove a VAT number from the archive. This is why an active VAT number with the right check digit may show as invalid in VIES: it means that the holder is not enabled for transactions with other EU countries, not that the number is fake.

VAT Number Format in EU Countries

In VIES you pick the country from a menu and enter the number. These are the formats given by the European Commission for some countries:

• Italy (IT): 11 digits
• Germany (DE): 9 digits
• France (FR): 2 characters followed by 9 digits
• Spain (ES): 9 characters

This tool only checks Italian VAT numbers: for other countries use VIES directly.

Before Invoicing an EU Customer

Before invoicing a customer in another EU country without VAT, check their number in VIES and keep the result with date and time: if you also enter your own VAT number as the requester, VIES issues a consultation identifier. The European Commission states that the result does not in itself give a right to exemption and does not change the obligations of the supplier. If the number shows as invalid, ask the customer to check it; if the error persists, they have to contact their own tax administration. If you believe the customer is not a taxable person, the Commission says not to apply the exemption and to charge VAT. For doubtful cases, ask your accountant.