The Federal Central Tax Office can confirm the validity of foreign VAT identification numbers (VAT ID numbers) if you are an entrepreneur based in Germany and have been assigned a valid VAT ID number.

If you are a warehouse keeper within the meaning of the Value Added Tax Act, the validity of the German VAT ID number of the outsourcing company or its fiscal representative can be confirmed.

The Federal Central Tax Office will confirm on request:

• the validity of a VAT ID no. as well as the name, legal form and address of the entrepreneur to whom the VAT ID no. was issued by another member state;
• the warehouse keeper: the validity of the German VAT ID number as well as the name, legal form and address of the outsourcing company or its fiscal representative.

Simple and qualified confirmation

With a simple confirmation, you receive information on whether a foreign VAT ID no. is valid in the EU country that issued it at the time of the query.

With a qualified confirmation, you can also check whether the information you have provided on the company name including the legal form, company location, zip code and street matches the business data registered in the respective EU country. You will only be shown the result of your details in the form "matches" or "does not match". You cannot display the company data.

You must carry out a simple confirmation before a qualified confirmation.