Overview of VAT validation by country

Modified on Tue, 16 Jun at 10:52 AM

When you create a new customer of the 'Company' type in Lucy, the system automatically validates the entered VAT number. This ensures that your billing information is correct right from the start.


The VAT number must always begin with the country code, followed directly by the specific format of that country.


Good to know: Special characters and spaces are automatically removed by Lucy when entering the VAT number.


Below you will find the complete overview of the required formats per country:


Country
Country code
Expected format
Example
Austria
AT
ATU + 8 digits
ATU12345678
Belgium
BE
BE + 9 or 10 digits
BE0123456789
Bulgaria
BG
BG + 9 or 10 digits
BG123456789
Croatia
HR
HR + 11 digits
HR12345678901
Cyprus
CY
CY + 8 digits + 1 letter
CY12345678L
Czech Republic
CZ
CZ + 8 to 10 digits
CZ12345678
Denmark
DK
DK + 8 digits
DK12345678
Estonia
EE
EE + 9 digits
EE123456789
Finland
FI
FI + 8 digits
FI12345678
France
FR
FR + 2 characters (digits/letters) + 9 digits
FRXX123456789
Germany
DE
DE + 9 digits
DE123456789
Great Britain (GB)
GB
GB + 9 digits (possibly + 3 extra digits), or GB + 2 letters + 3 digits
GB123456789
Greece
GR
EL or GR + 9 digits
EL123456789
Hungary
HU
HU + 8 digits
HU12345678
Ireland
IE
IE + 7 digits + 1 or 2 letters, or IE + digit + letter + 5 digits + letter
IE1234567FA
Italy
IT
IT + 11 digits
IT12345678901
Latvia
LV
LV + 11 digits
LV12345678901
Lithuania
LT
LT + 9 or 12 digits
LT123456789
Luxembourg
LU
LU + 8 digits
LU12345678
Malta
MT
MT + 8 digits
MT12345678
Netherlands
NL
NL + 9 digits + B + 2 digits
NL123456789B01
Norway
NO
NO + 9 or 10 digits
NO123456789
Poland
PL
PL + 10 digits
PL1234567890
Portugal
PT
PT + 9 digits
PT123456789
Romania
RO
RO + 2 to 10 digits
RO12345678
Slovakia
SK
SK + 10 digits
SK1234567890
Slovenia
SI
SI + 8 digits
SI12345678
Spain
ES
ES + 1 character (digit/letter) + 7 digits + 1 character (digit/letter)
ESX1234567X
Sweden
SE
SE + 12 digits
SE123456789012
Switzerland
CH
CHE + 9 digits + MWST, TVA or IVA
CHE123456
Ukraine
UA
UA + 10 digits (or just 10 digits)
UA1234567890
United Kingdom (UK)
UK
UK + 9 to 12 digits
UK123456789


Countries not included in this list

Is the customer's country not in the list above? In that case, Lucy accepts any VAT number that consists of 4 to 26 uppercase letters and/or digits (always starting with the country code).


Important notes

  • Customer type: This validation applies exclusively to customers of the 'Company' type who are subject to VAT.
  • Private individuals: No VAT number is required for private individuals, so no validation takes place.