# EU VAT Number Validator & VIES Lookup

> EU VAT Number Validator & VIES Lookup is a paid API for AI agents from tools.halowerk.com, paid per call via x402, $0.003/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-13).

Validates a European VAT ID by checking country prefix, length, character set, and check digit, then queries the EU Commission's VIES service to retrieve verified company name, legal form, and structured address.

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://tools.halowerk.com/v1/business/eu
- Price: $0.003/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-13
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/eu-vat-number-validator-vies-lookup-8a110113
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_uakcBKS-ImVhwd-EkT-Qx

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability eu-vat-number-validator-vies-lookup-8a110113 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Can you check whether the VAT number DE123456789 is valid and pull up the registered company name and address from the VIES database?

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need both syntactic format validation AND live VIES confirmation in a single call, with structured output (legal form separated, address parsed). Prefer it over raw VIES calls when you also want imprint/company-name cross-matching, or when you need country-specific check-digit validation before hitting VIES. Not a substitute for official tax authority confirmation — use for due-diligence and onboarding workflows.

## Known failure modes

- VIES service temporarily unavailable (EU Commission downtime)
- VAT number passes format check but VIES returns no data for that country
- Member state does not publish company name or address via VIES
- Invalid VAT number format — returns specific error (wrong prefix, wrong length, invalid check digit)
- Rate limiting or network timeout on VIES query
- Imprint URL unreachable when optional website comparison is requested

## How this service works

Prüft eine europäische Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer auf Länderpräfix, Länge, Zeichenvorrat und Prüfziffer, soweit das Verfahren je Land festgelegt ist, und fragt anschließend den VIES-Dienst der EU-Kommission ab. Liefert Firmenname ohne Rechtsformzusatz, Rechtsform getrennt und die Anschrift zerlegt, sofern der Mitgliedstaat sie herausgibt. Optional werden das Impressum einer Website und ein erwarteter Firmenname abgeglichen. Auskunft, keine steuerliche Bestätigung.

## Output

Returns a structured response containing: VIES validation status (valid/invalid), company name stripped of legal-form suffix, legal form separately, and a parsed postal address (street, city, postcode, country) if the member state exposes it. Optionally includes a match result comparing the queried website imprint or expected company name against the VIES-registered data. Also reports format-level validation details (country prefix, length, character set, check digit).

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "vat_id": {
   "type": "string",
   "description": "USt-IdNr. mit Länderpräfix, z. B. DE123456789. Leer- und Satzzeichen werden entfernt."
  },
  "website": {
   "type": "string",
   "description": "Optional. Website des Unternehmens; deren Impressum wird geholt und abgeglichen."
  },
  "expected_name": {
   "type": "string",
   "description": "Optional. Erwarteter Firmenname für einen unscharfen Vergleich mit dem VIES-Namen."
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/eu-vat-number-validator-vies-lookup-8a110113/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from tools.halowerk.com](https://www.zero.xyz/host/tools.halowerk.com/llms.txt)