Spanish VAT number check
Check a Spanish supplier's or customer's number against VIES, the European Commission's register. Below: the format, what it's called locally, and the mistakes that make a correct number fail.
Paste the number with or without the country prefix. Nothing you enter is stored.
The format
| Prefix | ES |
|---|---|
| After the prefix | 9 characters |
| Structure | One block of 9 characters. The first and last may be a letter or a digit, but not both digits. |
| Examples | ESX1234567X or ESB12345678 |
You can paste the number with spaces, dots or dashes; the checker removes them.
What it's called
Número de identificación a efectos del IVA (NIF-IVA).
It is ES followed by the business's ordinary Spanish tax ID (NIF).
Registered, but invalid in VIES?
A Spanish NIF is only valid in VIES once the business is entered in the Registro de Operadores Intracomunitarios (ROI), requested on census form 036.
What trips people up
- Invalid in VIES for a real Spanish company usually means it isn't in the ROI.
- VIES doesn't show names or addresses for Spanish numbers.
- Businesses in the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla are outside the EU VAT area.
Other ways to check
VIES is the check to rely on for cross-border trade. The number is issued by Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT); if a correct number keeps showing invalid, the business has to take it up with them.
Sources
Formats from the European Commission's VIES FAQ, checked 16 October 2026. Rules can change; the tax authority's own guidance wins.
Questions about Spanish VAT numbers
What is the format of a Spanish VAT number?
ES followed by 9 characters. One block of 9 characters. The first and last may be a letter or a digit, but not both digits. Example: ESX1234567X or ESB12345678.
What is a Spanish VAT number called?
Número de identificación a efectos del IVA (NIF-IVA). It is ES followed by the business's ordinary Spanish tax ID (NIF).
Why would a correct Spanish VAT number show as invalid in VIES?
A Spanish NIF is only valid in VIES once the business is entered in the Registro de Operadores Intracomunitarios (ROI), requested on census form 036.