EU VAT guide
VIES consultation number
A VIES consultation number is an audit reference returned by the VIES approximate check flow when requester VAT details are supplied.
Why it matters
Finance teams often keep evidence that a VAT number was checked at a specific time.
The public VIES SOAP service includes a checkVatApprox operation that can return a requestIdentifier when requester VAT details are included.
MVP limitation
This free checker uses the standard checkVat flow and does not currently request consultation numbers.
Batch validation and audit-ready exports should be treated as a paid workflow after real demand is confirmed.