# VAT ID Format Check

> VAT ID Format Check is a paid API for AI agents from intel.rallylive.ca, paid per call via x402, $0.01/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-14).

Validates EU, UK, and CH VAT number format by checking the country prefix and national number pattern, without performing a live VIES lookup.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://intel.rallylive.ca/data/vat-format
- Price: $0.01/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-14
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/vat-id-format-check-5f65a6af
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_yxsfj8jdrCv-_QTLIeGnw

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 vat-id-format-check-5f65a6af
```

Example prompt: Can you check whether the VAT number DE345789013 is correctly formatted — I just need to know if the country prefix and number pattern look valid before I put it on this invoice?

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need fast, cheap ($0.01), offline-style format validation of a VAT number before invoicing or onboarding — especially when a live VIES registry query is unnecessary, too slow, or unavailable. Prefer this over VIES-based checks for first-line filtering, high-volume batch pre-validation, or when the VIES API is rate-limited. Not suitable when you need authoritative confirmation that the VAT number is registered and active.

## Known failure modes

- Unknown or unsupported country prefix returns an error or 'unrecognized' flag
- Malformed input (missing VAT number parameter) returns a 400-style error
- VAT number for a country not in the EU/UK/CH set is not recognized
- Network timeout or service unavailability returns a 5xx error

## How this service works

EU/UK/CH VAT number format check: verifies the country prefix and the national number pattern (no live VIES query), returning the country and whether the format is plausible. First-line validation for invoices and onboarding. $0.01 per check.

## Output

Returns the detected country associated with the VAT prefix and a boolean or plausibility indicator stating whether the national number pattern matches the expected format for that country. Does not perform a live VIES registry lookup; result reflects format correctness only.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "required": [
  "input"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "enum": [
      "GET"
     ],
     "type": "string"
    },
    "queryParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {}
    }
   },
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object"
    }
   }
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/vat-id-format-check-5f65a6af/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from intel.rallylive.ca](https://www.zero.xyz/host/intel.rallylive.ca/llms.txt)