# The Odoo VIES VAT check: what it does and what it does not

Source: https://veriport.io/guides/odoo-vies-vat-number-check (published 2026-11-12)

Odoo checks the format of every VAT number, and with « Verify VAT Numbers » turned on (Accounting, Configuration, Settings, Taxes) it also asks VIES for partners in another country than your company, then ticks « Intra-Community Valid » from the answer. Fiscal positions that require a VAT number then need that box. It is the right default; what it does not keep is a dated record of the check with a consultation number, and when VIES fails it asks you to check by hand.

- Format checks always run; the VIES check runs only with « Verify VAT Numbers » on, for contacts in another country than the company’s.
- The result sets « Intra-Community Valid »; a manual override is logged in the chatter.
- In the 19.0 code the check goes through Odoo’s own VIES proxy and is redone when the VAT number changes; a pending answer is retried later by a scheduled job, a failed one posts « The VIES check failed. Please check the Tax ID manually. »
- No consultation number is stored on the partner.

## When to add a check of your own

Keep Odoo’s setting on. Add a call of your own when you need what it does not keep: the dated answer and the consultation number for an audit file, a re-check of every EU customer before a quarterly return, or an answer during a member state’s outage (the API serves the last dated answer, marked stale). A scheduled action in your own module can call the API for partners whose check failed and post the result in the chatter.

```python
import os
import requests

API = "https://veriport.io/api/v1"

def veriport_check(vat_number, requester=None):
    params = {"number": vat_number}
    if requester:
        params["requester"] = requester  # your company's VAT number: consultation number on paid tiers
    r = requests.get(API + "/vat/validate", params=params, timeout=15,
                     headers={"Authorization": "Bearer " + os.environ["VERIPORT_KEY"]})
    body = r.json()
    if r.status_code == 503:  # vies_unavailable and no cached answer: try again later
        return None
    r.raise_for_status()
    return body  # body["valid"], body["source"]["kind"], body.get("consultationNumber")

# e.g. from a scheduled action over partners whose VIES check failed:
# result = veriport_check(partner.vat, partner.company_id.vat)
# partner.message_post(body=f"VAT checked {result['requestDate']}: valid={result['valid']} ({result['source']['kind']})")
```

## What to keep in the chatter or a field

| Field | Why |
|---|---|
| `valid` | The VIES answer for the number on the day asked. |
| `requestDate`, `source.checkedAt` | When VIES answered (live) or when the cached answer was obtained. |
| `source.kind`, `source.stale` | `live` or `cache`; `stale: true` when the member state was down and a dated earlier answer was served. |
| `consultationNumber` | The Commission’s reference for this check, when you sent `requester` (your own VAT number) on a paid tier. |
| `name`, `address` | What the member state publishes; Germany and a few others publish neither. |

## Questions

### Does Odoo call VIES directly?

In the 19.0 source, the check goes through Odoo’s IAP proxy (vies.api.odoo.com), which asks VIES. That is code, not documentation, read on 12 November 2026; it may change between versions.

### Can I re-check all partners at once?

From your module, loop over the partners and call the API one by one, or use the bulk endpoint (100 numbers a request) on the monthly plan; the CSV guide shows the bulk call.

## Read next

- [Validate EU VAT numbers in bulk from a CSV](https://veriport.io/guides/validate-eu-vat-numbers-in-bulk-from-csv)
- [VIES is down: validate anyway](https://veriport.io/guides/vies-down-validate-eu-vat-number-anyway)
- [Reference: GET /vat/validate](https://veriport.io/docs/vat-validation)

## Sources

- Odoo 19 Accounting: VAT numbers verification (Verify VAT Numbers, the Intra-Community Valid box) — https://www.odoo.com/documentation/19.0/applications/finance/accounting/taxes/vat_verification.html (2026-11-12)
- Odoo 19 source, addons/base_vat/models/res_partner.py (vies_valid, the VIES check through Odoo’s proxy, pending and fault states) — https://github.com/odoo/odoo/blob/19.0/addons/base_vat/models/res_partner.py (2026-11-12)
- VIES on-the-Web endpoint: OpenAPI contract (POST /check-vat-number, GET /check-status; requester fields for the consultation number) — https://ec.europa.eu/assets/taxud/vow-information/swagger_publicVAT.yaml (2026-11-12)