"Free EU VAT Validator API — Validate Any EU VAT Number in Real-time"

2026-02-26 [api fintech eu vat compliance b2b]

If you're building an EU SaaS platform, invoicing tool, or e-commerce checkout, you've almost certainly hit this wall: you need to validate a customer's VAT number before applying zero-rated B2B VAT. It's legally required, and getting it wrong has real consequences.

Today I'm launching a free, open EU VAT Validator API — no API key, no signup, just hit the endpoint.

What it does

The API wraps the European Commission's official VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) SOAP service and returns clean JSON:

curl https://epc.pixeldev.eu/vat-api/v1/validate/DE811128135

{
  "valid": true,
  "vatNumber": "DE811128135",
  "countryCode": "DE",
  "country": "Germany",
  "name": "Apple Distribution International",
  "address": "...",
  "requestDate": "2026-02-26",
  "cached": false
}

Features

27 EU member states supported — all VAT prefix codes
Format pre-validation — regex check before hitting VIES, with country-specific format hints
Graceful error handling — all VIES error codes (MS_UNAVAILABLE, TIMEOUT, etc.) mapped to human-readable messages with retry guidance
5-minute cache — repeated lookups served instantly without hammering VIES
Rate limiting — 100 requests per 15 minutes per IP, with X-RateLimit-* headers
Countries endpoint — /v1/countries lists all 27 states with prefixes and example formats

Live playground

Head to epc.pixeldev.eu/vat-api to try it out with a live playground — paste any VAT number and see the VIES response instantly.

Integration

// JavaScript
const res = await fetch('https://epc.pixeldev.eu/vat-api/v1/validate/DE811128135');
const { valid, name, address } = await res.json();

# Python
import requests
r = requests.get('https://epc.pixeldev.eu/vat-api/v1/validate/DE811128135')
data = r.json()

This joins the existing fintech API suite: EPC QR API, SEPA Validator, and Pay-by-Bank Widget — making it easy to build fully compliant EU payment and invoicing flows.