Definition

Key benefits

Key details

When validation runs

VAT and tax ID numbers are validated at the following points:

• Adding or editing Billing Information
• Adding or editing Account Information
• Creating or renewing Subscriptions
• Creating one-time charges

Additionally, Recurly re-validates a tax ID number at any billing event if the last validation was more than six months ago.

Enabling and disabling validation

VAT/Tax ID validation can be enabled or disabled for any site by contacting [email protected]. EU VAT validation is enabled by default on all production sites.

Government lookup validation

The following countries support government system lookups for tax ID validation — providing the highest level of verification by checking directly against official registries.

EU VAT validation

How VAT numbers affect VAT collection

VAT numbers are business tax registration numbers used across all 27 EU member states. EU businesses with a valid VAT number only pay VAT on purchases made within their own country. For cross-border purchases within the EU, no VAT is charged at the point of sale — the buyer handles VAT through their own tax filing. This exemption makes it critical for merchants to verify that a VAT number is valid before issuing an invoice without VAT.

Validation via VIES

Recurly integrates with the European Commission's VAT Information Exchange System (VIES) — the only means of validating EU VAT numbers. All third-party VAT validation tools also use VIES. Direct access to individual EU country VAT databases isn't possible.

VIES validation is separate from EU VAT collection and is enabled by default on all production sites. The valid/invalid response and timestamp are stored in Recurly, but the VIES consultation number (request identifier) is not currently stored.

Invalid VAT numbers

A VAT number is invalid when VIES explicitly returns that the number isn't in their database. When this happens:

• The number is not saved on the customer's account
• Sign-up attempts with that number are blocked
• The number won't be re-validated for one hour — customers who recently received their VAT number may need to wait if the VIES database hasn't yet updated

If a VAT number becomes invalid while already on an account, it remains on the account but subscription renewals proceed with VAT applied.

If a customer claims their VAT number is correct but VIES shows it as invalid, refer them to the European Commission's FAQ (question #13) for instructions on correcting the official record.

VIES downtime and maintenance windows

VIES aggregates 28 EU country databases, some of which have regular maintenance windows. VAT numbers for those countries can't be validated during these periods.

• View maintenance windows: VIES help page
• View per-country validator status: VIES technical information — Recurly uses the VIES SOAP API, shown in the "Ws Access Status" column

If VIES is unavailable when a VAT number is submitted, the number isn't saved and sign-up attempts are blocked. At subscription renewal, if VIES is still unavailable, Recurly falls back to the last stored validation status — allowing renewal without VAT if the previous status was valid, or with VAT if invalid.

Disabling EU VAT validation

Contact [email protected] to disable VAT number validation on your site.

Testing in sandbox

VAT numbers are not validated in sandbox mode, allowing you to test workflows without valid VAT numbers. To simulate an invalid VAT number, use 000000000 with any EU country code.

Sample error response for an invalid VAT number

Request:

<account>
  <account_code>1</account_code>
  <email>[email protected]</email>
  <first_name>verena</first_name>
  <last_name>example</last_name>
  <vat_number>INVALID_VAT_1234</vat_number>
  <address>
    <zip>28070</zip>
    <country>ES</country>
  </address>
</account>

Response:

<errors>
  <error field="account.vat_number" symbol="invalid">is invalid</error>
</errors>

UK VAT validation

Recurly integrates with HMRC's API for UK VAT ID lookups. Validation is automatically enabled for all merchants on all sites.

To enable or disable UK VAT validation on your site, contact [email protected].

Australia ABN validation

Recurly integrates with the Australian Business Register (ABR) to validate Australian Business Numbers (ABNs). The validation checks two things:

• ABN validity — the number must be correctly formatted and active
• GST registration — the business must be registered for GST

If either check fails, the ABN is rejected and GST is not applied to the invoice.

To enable ABN validation on your site, contact [email protected].

Belarus UNP validation

Recurly integrates with the Belarus government business register for UNP lookups.

To enable Belarus UNP validation on your site, contact [email protected].

Dominican Republic RNC validation

Recurly integrates with the Dominican Republic government business register for RNC lookups.

To enable Dominican Republic RNC validation on your site, contact [email protected].

Format validation

For countries without a direct government registry integration, Recurly validates that VAT/tax ID numbers match the required format for that country. Format validation runs when a tax ID is added or updated on a customer account.

To enable format validation, contact [email protected].