What Is an EORI Number?

What does an EORI number look like?

Every EORI number follows the same basic pattern: a two-letter prefix that tells customs which authority issued the number, followed by a national identifier of up to 15 characters. The prefix is an ISO country code — DE for Germany, FR for France, NL for the Netherlands — with two special cases: GB for Great Britain and XI for Northern Ireland traders operating under the Windsor Framework.

The national identifier is not random. Most countries build it from an existing tax or business registration number. A UK EORI issued to a VAT-registered business is typically GB + the 9-digit VAT number + 000 — so a business with VAT number 123456789 gets the EORI GB123456789000. Germany appends its customs number, France uses the SIRET, Spain the NIF, and so on. Our EORI number format guide breaks down the exact pattern, length and a valid example for every country, and each country page — for example Germany or France — covers the local rules in detail.

GB, XI and EU EORI numbers — what's the difference?

Before Brexit there was a single EU-wide EORI system. Today there are effectively three families of EORI numbers relevant to UK–EU trade:

A key point that trips up many businesses: a GB EORI is not valid in the EU, and an EU EORI is not valid in Great Britain. If your business is the declarant on both sides of the Channel — for example, you sell DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) into the EU — you will need an EORI in each territory. UK businesses trading with Northern Ireland should read our dedicated XI EORI number guide, and our EORI number UK guide covers the GB system end to end.

How an EORI number is actually used

Your EORI number appears on virtually every customs document connected to your shipments. In practice it is used to:

• Identify you on import and export declarations. Every declaration filed in CDS (the UK's Customs Declaration Service) or an EU national system names the importer's and exporter's EORI.
• Link customs duty and import VAT to your business. In the UK, postponed VAT accounting statements are generated against your EORI; in the EU, import VAT deductions depend on the EORI on the declaration matching your business.
• Connect you to customs authorisations. Special procedures such as inward processing, customs warehousing, AEO status and duty deferment accounts are all registered against your EORI.
• Process safety and security filings. Entry and exit summary declarations (ENS/EXS) quote the carrier's and trader's EORI numbers.
• Let couriers clear your goods. DHL, FedEx, UPS and freight forwarders ask for your EORI before they can lodge a declaration in your name — no EORI, no clearance.

Because so many processes hang off it, a typo in an EORI is one of the most common reasons a shipment gets stuck at the border. It takes ten seconds to validate a number with our free checker before goods move — far cheaper than storage charges at the port.

EORI number vs VAT number vs company number

These three identifiers are frequently confused because in some countries they look similar or are derived from one another:

• A company registration number proves your business legally exists (Companies House in the UK, Handelsregister in Germany).
• A VAT number identifies you to the tax authority for charging and reclaiming VAT.
• An EORI number identifies you to customs for moving goods across borders.

You can hold any of these without the others: a domestic-only business may have a VAT number but no EORI; a small importer under the VAT threshold may hold an EORI without VAT registration. When a VAT-registered UK business applies, HMRC links the two — which is why the GB EORI usually embeds the VAT number — but the registrations remain legally separate. If you are VAT-registered and get a new EORI, check that the two are linked so import VAT flows into your VAT account correctly.

Who issues EORI numbers, and since when?

The EORI system was introduced across the European Union on 1 July 2009, replacing national trader identification schemes (in the UK it replaced the old TURN — Trader's Unique Reference Number). Today the legal basis in the EU is the Union Customs Code (Regulation (EU) No 952/2013), which requires every economic operator established in the customs territory to be registered once, in the member state where they are established.

Since Brexit, the UK operates its own parallel EORI scheme under UK customs law, administered by HMRC. The rules mirror the EU system closely: one number per legal entity, registration is free, and the number remains valid for the life of the business. Numbers are issued by each territory's customs authority — HMRC for GB and XI numbers, and the national customs administration (German Zoll, French Douane, Dutch Douane, and so on) for each EU member state.

What happens if you trade without an EORI number?

Nothing dramatic happens to your business legally — but your goods simply stop moving. Typical consequences of a missing or invalid EORI:

• Your carrier cannot lodge the import declaration, so the shipment is held at the border or in a temporary storage facility.
• Storage and demurrage charges accrue daily while the goods wait.
• After a statutory period, unclaimed goods can be returned to the sender or destroyed — at your expense.
• Couriers may clear the goods under their own arrangements and charge you a disbursement or brokerage fee you could have avoided.

The fix is straightforward: registration is free and often instant. Our step-by-step guide to getting an EORI number covers the UK and every EU member state. If you think your business may already have one — HMRC auto-issued numbers to many VAT-registered businesses around Brexit — use our find your EORI number guide before applying again.

EORI numbers at a glance