vatnode
EU VAT validation REST API with national registry fallback
Last verified:
What is vatnode?
vatnode is an EU VAT validation API that provides a modern REST/JSON alternative to the official VIES SOAP interface. It validates EU VAT numbers across all 27 EU member states plus the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland in a single API call, returning structured JSON with validation status, enriched company data, and VAT rates.
Key features include real-time VAT validation with official EU Commission consultation numbers for audit evidence, national registry fallback when VIES nodes are down, automatic retries with exponential backoff, enriched company data (registration date, legal form like GmbH/SAS/AB, industry code), VAT rates for 45 European countries bundled in every response, local VAT names for invoice printing (Mehrwertsteuer, Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée, etc.), checkId and verifiedAt timestamp for permanent audit records, webhook alerts for VAT ID de-registrations, weekly/daily monitoring plans, and an MCP server for AI agents like Claude, Cursor, and ChatGPT.
vatnode is built for B2B SaaS platforms, fintech products, e-commerce businesses, and ERP integrators selling across Europe. It's used at checkout to apply correct reverse charge treatment, during invoicing to verify VAT before generating zero-rated intra-EU invoices, for B2B onboarding to confirm new business customers are registered, and for monitoring active customers' VAT IDs with webhook alerts when registrations become invalid.
vatnode pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Free plan: €0/month with 100 requests/month, includes VAT validation, VAT rates API, and community support - no credit card required. Starter plan: €19/month excl. VAT with 1,000 requests/month, includes everything in Free plus weekly monitoring, webhooks, and email support. Pro plan: €49/month excl. VAT with 10,000 requests/month, includes everything in Starter plus daily monitoring and priority support. All plans prevent failed B2B invoices, wrong reverse-charge VAT decisions, and audit exposure. Test keys available that return deterministic fixtures without counting toward quota.
vatnode pros
- REST + JSON interface - one curl command, no XML libraries needed
- Official EU Commission consultation number included for audit evidence
- National registry fallback when VIES country node is unavailable
- Automatic retries with exponential backoff for reliability
- German BZSt fallback specifically for VIES DE node downtime
- EN-riched company data: registration date, legal form, industry code
- VAT rates for 45 European countries included in every response
- Local VAT names for invoice printing (Mehrwertsteuer, Arvonlisävero)
- checkId UUID + verifiedAt timestamp for permanent audit trail
- 99.9% uptime SLA for production systems
- <50ms response time for cache hits
- Webhook alerts when VAT IDs de-register between billing cycles
- GR country code accepted as alias, normalized to EL automatically
- Test mode keys return deterministic fixtures without hitting VIES
- MCP server for AI agents (Claude Desktop, Cursor, ChatGPT)
- EU-hosted and EU-operated with no US sub-processors
- No SDK required - works with any language via HTTP
- Predictable error contract with documented codes and requestId
- Weekly monitoring included in Starter plan, daily in Pro
- DPA available for compliance teams
vatnode cons
- Paid plans start at €19/month which may be costly for very small businesses
- Free tier only includes 100 requests/month (some sources say 20)
- Enriched data fields may constitute personal data under GDPR for sole traders
- Some company fields (registration date, legal form, industry) return null for sole traders
- National registry fallback only works for covered EU countries, not all
- No built-in rate limiting documentation visible on main page
- Requires API key authentication - not open for unauthenticated use
- Live checks take 200-800ms which is slower than cache hits
- Email support only in Starter, no phone support mentioned
- 和美国相比，没有提到多语言支持团队
Frequently asked questions about vatnode
What is vatnode and how does it differ from the official VIES API?
vatnode is a REST/JSON wrapper around the official VIES SOAP API. The official VIES API uses XML envelopes, requires WSDL files and SOAP clients, and has no JSON support. vatnode provides a clean REST interface where one GET request returns structured JSON with validation status, company name, address, VAT rates, and the EU Commission consultation number - no XML libraries required.
What audit evidence does vatnode provide for tax auditors?
Every qualified validation response includes the official EU Commission consultation number - a verifiable token that proves the check happened at a specific time. vatnode also returns checkId (UUID) and verifiedAt (ISO timestamp) for a permanent audit record. Tax authorities can independently verify the consultation number.
What happens when VIES country nodes go down?
vatnode has national registry fallback that falls back to tax authority and company registry APIs when a VIES member node is unavailable. This includes German BZSt fallback specifically for VIES DE node downtime. Automatic retries with exponential backoff also help handle temporary failures.
Which countries does vatnode support?
vatnode validates VAT numbers across all 27 EU member states plus the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. VAT rates for 45 European countries are included in responses. Country coverage includes Germany (DE), France (FR), Italy (IT), Spain (ES), Netherlands (NL), Poland (PL), Ireland (IE), and all other EU members.
What enriched company data does vatnode return beyond VIES?
Beyond basic VIES data (name + address), vatnode returns registration date, legal form (GmbH, SAS, AB, etc.), and NACE industry code from national registries. Each response also includes local VAT name, abbreviation, all rate tiers (standard, reduced, super-reduced, parking), and currency.
How fast is vatnode compared to raw VIES calls?
Cache hits return in under 50ms. Live checks take 200-800ms. This is significantly faster than dealing with SOAP XML overhead and provides predictable performance with automatic retries and fallback mechanisms.
Do I need an SDK to use vatnode?
No SDK is required. vatnode is a clean REST API over HTTPS that works with any language - curl, JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go. You can make requests with standard HTTP libraries. Up and running in minutes with just one HTTP call.
What is the MCP server for AI agents?
The official Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for vatnode allows AI agents like Claude Desktop, Cursor, and ChatGPT to validate VAT IDs and look up rates directly in the chat. It wraps the vatnode API in the MCP standard for easy tool integration, with your API key staying on your machine. The server is open source.
How do webhooks and monitoring work?
You can subscribe to your customers' and suppliers' VAT IDs to get webhook alerts the moment one de-registers. Starter plan includes weekly monitoring, Pro plan includes daily monitoring. This lets you fix the next invoice before it goes out wrong instead of finding out at audit time.
Is vatnode compliant with EU data protection requirements?
Yes, vatnode is EU-hosted and EU-operated with no US sub-processors in the validation path. A Data Protection Agreement (DPA) is available for compliance teams. However, note that when a VAT number belongs to a sole trader, some enriched fields may constitute personal data under GDPR.