VIES vs HMRC: what's the difference?

If you trade B2B across the UK and Europe, you will see VAT numbers from both jurisdictions on invoices. Understanding VIES vs HMRC — and which registry to query — is essential before you approve payment or apply zero-rated VAT. They are both official, but they cover different countries and work in different ways.

What is VIES?

VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) is the European Commission's cross-border validation service for EU member states. When you check a number starting with IE, DE, FR, or any of the 27 EU country codes, VIES routes your query to the relevant national tax database — Revenue in Ireland, the Finanzamt in Germany, and so on. A successful check EU VAT number VIES lookup confirms the registration is active and returns the registered business name and address where the member state provides them.

Read EU VAT numbers explained for country prefixes, formats, and intracommunity B2B rules.

What is HMRC?

HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs) is the UK tax authority. It maintains the registry for GB VAT numbers — for example GB116300129. Since Brexit, UK numbers are no longer checked through VIES. A check UK VAT number HMRC lookup confirms whether a GB registration is currently valid and returns the company name and address on file. Our guide to UK VAT numbers covers GB format and verification in detail.

VIES vs HMRC after Brexit

Before Brexit, GB numbers could appear in VIES alongside EU member states. That changed when the UK left the EU VAT information exchange system. Today the split is clear: EU prefixes go to VIES, GB prefixes go to HMRC. If you still search a GB number through VIES, you will not get a valid result — you need an HMRC vs VIES Brexit-aware workflow that sends each number to the correct source.

For UK-specific how-to guides, see check VAT number in UK and how to verify a UK VAT number online. For EU tools, read best free website for checking EU VAT IDs.

When to use VIES or HMRC

The country prefix on the invoice tells you which system to use. Trading with an Irish supplier? Use VIES — see how to check a VAT number in Ireland. Paying a UK supplier? Use HMRC. Many businesses need both workflows because they buy from and sell to partners across both markets. The key is a live lookup against the right registry — not format checking alone.

What results look like from each system

Both VIES and HMRC return valid or invalid status plus registered business details when available. The purpose is the same: confirm you are dealing with the correct legal entity before a B2B transaction. An EU VAT check vs UK VAT check may differ slightly in response fields depending on the country, but the due-diligence step is identical — match the returned name and address to your supplier or customer. Learn more in how VAT validation works and why you should verify VAT numbers.

Check both UK and EU numbers in one place

You do not need two separate tools. Our free VAT checker on Check VAT Number routes GB numbers to HMRC and EU numbers to VIES automatically — enter the full VAT ID with its country prefix and get instant official results. For invalid lookups, see what to do if a VAT number is invalid. More guides are on our blog and FAQ.