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Belgium VAT number format

A Belgium VAT identification number is the prefix BE followed by 10 digits (first digit 0 or 1); BE0123456749 is a well-formed example. The national check digit is public, so a mistyped number is caught before VIES is asked. Structure as published in the Commission’s VIES FAQ, consulted 2026-10-24.

Structure

Prefix BE, then 10 digits (first digit 0 or 1). The regular expression the API applies to the part after the prefix is ^[01][0-9]{9}$; letters are upper-cased and spaces, dots and dashes removed before the test.

Country prefixStructureExamplePublic check digit
BE10 digits (first digit 0 or 1)BE0123456749yes, verified before VIES

The check digit

Belgium publishes the algorithm of its check digit, so an impossible number is refused before VIES is asked: the answer says structure.checksum: "failed", costs nothing and reaches no upstream. The same algorithms are implemented by the open libraries (jsvat, python-stdnum).

How to validate it

The structure says whether a string can be a Belgium VAT number; only VIES says whether it is registered. The free check below asks VIES live and shows the registered name and address where Belgium publishes them; the API does the same from your code.

curl — validate BE0123456749 on VIES
curl "https://veriport.io/api/v1/vat/validate?number=BE0123456749"

What a valid answer proves

That the number was registered for intra-EU trade at the moment of the check. Keep the date and, on paid tiers, the VIES consultation number: together they are the evidence a tax audit asks for when an intra-EU supply was zero-rated.

Questions

How many digits does a Belgium VAT number have?
10 digits (first digit 0 or 1), after the two-letter prefix BE: BE0123456749 is an example.
Is BE0123456749 a real VAT number?
It is a well-formed example used in the documentation; whether it is registered today is VIES’s answer, not this page’s. Check it with the free tool.

Free: VIES asked live, the answer dated and sourced.

Check a VAT number

Sources