# Validate an EU VAT number in PHP

Validate an EU VAT number from PHP with one HTTPS request to an API that asks VIES for you: no SoapClient extension, JSON back.

## PHP example

    <?php
    function check_vat(string $vat): ?array {
        $ch = curl_init('https://agent-data-tools.revmesh2074.workers.dev/vat/validate?' . http_build_query(['vat' => $vat]));
        curl_setopt_array($ch, [
            CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
            CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
            CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => ['Authorization: Bearer ' . getenv('API_KEY')],
        ]);
        $body = curl_exec($ch);
        $status = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
        curl_close($ch);
        if ($body === false || $status >= 500) return null; // no answer: try again later
        if ($status !== 200) throw new RuntimeException($body);
        return json_decode($body, true);
    }
    
    $result = check_vat('SE556703748501');
    if ($result === null) echo "no answer right now\n";
    elseif ($result['valid']) echo 'valid: ' . ($result['name'] ?? '') . "\n";
    else echo "not valid\n";

## When an agent wants this

- Check a customer's VAT number in a WooCommerce, Laravel or plain PHP checkout
- Validate VAT numbers on hosting without the SOAP extension
- Skip the VIES SOAP service and its WSDL

## VAT number validation, EU VIES

VAT number validation, EU VIES. $0.01 per successful call; failed calls are never charged.

Check an EU VAT number against the European Commission's VIES service: valid or not, with the registered name and address where the member state shares them. Any spacing (SE556703748501, DE 123 456 789; EL or GR for Greece, XI for Northern Ireland). Or verify a business by name: found or not in the French, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish registers. Use to check a B2B customer before invoicing without VAT, or to confirm a supplier.

Inputs: vat: VAT number with its 2-letter EU country prefix (give vat or name); name: Company name to verify instead of a VAT number: found or not in the FR, SE, NO and FI company registers; country: With name: search only this register (FR, SE, NO or FI, or the country's name).

Free first (3 successful calls per caller, no key):

    curl "https://agent-data-tools.revmesh2074.workers.dev/vat/validate?vat=SE556703748501&trial=1"

With a card key from https://agent-data-tools.revmesh2074.workers.dev/credits, in a header or, when your client can only fetch a URL, in the URL:

    curl -H "Authorization: Bearer adt_…" "https://agent-data-tools.revmesh2074.workers.dev/vat/validate?vat=SE556703748501"
    curl "https://agent-data-tools.revmesh2074.workers.dev/vat/validate?vat=SE556703748501&api_key=adt_…"

Without a key the same URL answers 402 with x402 and MPP terms, so a wallet client pays USDC per call and retries. Over MCP (https://agent-data-tools.revmesh2074.workers.dev/mcp) this tool is vat_validate.

Example result:

    {
      "vat": "SE556703748501",
      "country": "SE",
      "number": "556703748501",
      "valid": true,
      "name": "Spotify AB",
      "address": "REGERINGSGATAN 19, 111 53 STOCKHOLM",
      "checkedAt": "2026-11-06T14:36:47.903Z",
      "source": "EU VIES (European Commission)"
    }

Tool page: https://agent-data-tools.revmesh2074.workers.dev/tools/vat-validate

## Questions

**Do I need the SOAP extension?** No. The API speaks to VIES; your code sends one HTTPS GET with cURL and reads JSON.

**How should I treat an error?** As no answer, not as not valid. A 5xx means VIES or the member state could not be reached; the call is not charged and can be repeated.

Docs for agents: https://agent-data-tools.revmesh2074.workers.dev/llms.txt · OpenAPI: https://agent-data-tools.revmesh2074.workers.dev/openapi.json · All guides: https://agent-data-tools.revmesh2074.workers.dev/guides