Updated 15 September 2026
On this page
What is it?
Business customers from other EU countries don’t pay VAT when they have a valid VAT number; the reverse charge applies instead. The EU VAT field can ask for that VAT number and check it in VIES, the official VAT database of the European Commission.
How to use it?
1. Turn on Capture VAT Number
Open the settings of the EU VAT field and tick “Capture VAT Number”. A box for the VAT number appears in the field, with the flag and country code of the billing country in front of it. Your customer only types the number itself.
2. Turn on validation
Tick “Validate VAT Number + reverse charge VAT”. A Validate button appears next to the VAT number. Optionally, turn on the extra checks for the billing country and the company name.
3. Your customer presses Validate
The plugin first checks that the number looks like an EU VAT number, then runs the extra checks you turned on, and then asks VIES. While it waits for VIES, the submit button is disabled for a moment. A valid number from another EU country removes the VAT right away.
The messages your customer can see
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| Valid Vat Number. Vat reverse charged. | The number is valid and from another EU country. No VAT is charged. |
| Valid Vat Number. No reverse charge. | The number is valid but from your own country, so VAT is still charged. |
| Invalid Format | The number doesn’t look like an EU VAT number: a country code followed by at least 8 characters. |
| Billing country does not match the VAT number | Validate Billing Country is on and the billing country is not the country of the VAT number. |
| No company name entered | Validate Company Name is on and the company name field is empty. |
| Vat number not found in VIES Database. | VIES doesn’t know this number. |
| Billing country mismatch. / Company name mismatch. | The number is valid, but the country or company name check failed. |
| The EU VIES service is temporarily unavailable for VAT numbers from … | The VIES service of that country is down or busy. Try again in a few minutes. |
| Something went wrong. Please try again. | VIES could not be reached at all. |
Two more messages can appear when the form is submitted:
- “Your VAT number validation has expired. Please validate it again.” A validation stays valid for one hour. Developers can change that with the gotreu_vies_transient_expiration filter.
- “Invalid VAT. Please validate again.” The VAT number was changed after it was validated. You can replace this text with the Custom Validation Message of the field.
Didn’t find what you were looking for?
Or contact support and I will help you out.