VIES consultation number
A VIES consultation number is an audit reference returned by the VIES approximate check flow when requester VAT details are supplied.
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.
Available in the checker
Enable the consultation-number option in the checker and provide your own EU VAT ID as the requester. VAT Validate then uses the official checkVatApprox flow and displays the requestIdentifier returned by VIES.
The requester VAT ID is sent to VIES for that check and is not stored by VAT Validate. A requestIdentifier is point-in-time evidence, not an official certificate or a guarantee of tax treatment.
Validating VAT numbers at volume?
Join the batch/API list for CSV validation, retries, audit exports, and developer access.
Related VIES guides
- VIES errors explainedMS_UNAVAILABLE, MS_MAX_CONCURRENT_REQ, TIMEOUT, INVALID_INPUT and SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE — what each VIES error actually means, whether to retry, and which member states are down right now.
- VIES service unavailableWhat to do when VIES or a national VAT registry is unavailable.
- Is VIES down?Live VIES status, country by country. See which EU member-state VAT registries are answering right now, read from the European Commission's own availability table every 15 minutes.
- MS_UNAVAILABLE VIES errorMS_UNAVAILABLE means a member-state VAT registry did not answer — it does not mean the VAT number is invalid. See which EU registries are down right now and when to retry.
- Invalid VAT number in VIESWhy an EU VAT number may appear invalid in VIES.
- VIES TIMEOUT errorWhat the VIES TIMEOUT error means and how to handle delayed VAT checks.