Validate an EU VAT number in PHP

From $0.01 per successful call · failed calls are never charged · no account needed · Markdown version: /guides/eu-vat-number-validation-api-php.md

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

Company check API: monthly plans and one-off packs, one API key.

PHP example

<?php
function check_vat(string $vat): ?array {
    $ch = curl_init('https://tools.funwords.eu/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";

Set API_KEY to a key from /credits.

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 $0.01

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://tools.funwords.eu/vat/validate?vat=SE556703748501&trial=1"

With a card key from /credits, in a header or, when your client can only fetch a URL, in the URL:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer adt_…" "https://tools.funwords.eu/vat/validate?vat=SE556703748501"
curl "https://tools.funwords.eu/vat/validate?vat=SE556703748501&api_key=adt_…"

Without a key the same URL answers 402 Payment Required with x402 and MPP terms, so a wallet client pays USDC per call and retries. Over MCP (https://tools.funwords.eu/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, inputs and limits

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.

How do I pay?

Each successful call costs the tool's price; failed calls are not charged. The first 3 calls are free. Then pay with card credits from $1 (the key goes in an Authorization header or as api_key= in the URL) or per call in USDC over x402 or MPP. No account is needed.