How to verify a European wholesale supplier
A wholesale supplier's EU VAT number can be checked for free with VIES, the European Commission's own system; a company outside the EU is checked in its national company register instead. Neither check confirms stock, quality, pricing or brand permission — those still need a direct question to the supplier.
Start with the VAT number or the company register
Every EU-based company that charges VAT holds a VAT number issued by its own country's tax authority. VIES, the European Commission's VAT Information Exchange System, confirms in seconds whether a number is currently valid.
A company outside the EU has no VAT number in that sense. Its own country's company register — Companies House in the United Kingdom, for example — shows whether the company is registered and still active.
Ask the supplier for its VAT number or company registration number directly, or look on its own website — most print it in a legal notice or an imprint page.
What a valid number does and does not confirm
A valid VAT number confirms that a tax authority has registered the company. Some countries' VIES results also return a registered name and address, worth comparing with the name on the supplier's own website.
Other countries, Germany among them, return no name through VIES at all — a valid number only confirms that a number exists, not whose company it belongs to. A second piece of evidence, such as the number printed on the supplier's own site, closes that gap.
None of this touches stock levels, order minimums, product quality or whether a supplier is permitted to sell a particular brand — those are separate questions worth asking directly, in writing, before a first order.
A short pre-order checklist
Beyond the registration check, a few more signals are worth a look: a working business address (not a P.O. box alone), a direct phone number or email that someone answers, and terms of sale that state delivery and payment conditions plainly.
A company that avoids a direct question about its VAT number, registration or address is worth treating with more caution than one that answers it without hesitation.
None of these checks replace your own judgement or a written agreement — they narrow down whether a company is what it claims to be before money changes hands.
The VIES lookup described above is built into a free tool on this site: the EU VAT number checker
This is also the first check WholesaleX itself runs on every listed supplier, described in full on How we check suppliers
To see suppliers grouped by what they sell, start from all categories
Questions
Is checking a VAT number free?
Yes. VIES, the EU's own VAT number checker, is free and public; a wholesale directory that runs the same check on a listed supplier is simply doing this lookup on your behalf.
What if VIES shows no name for a country?
Some countries, Germany included, return no company name through VIES — only whether the number is valid. A second source, such as the number printed on the supplier's own website, is needed to confirm whose number it is.
How do I check a supplier outside the EU?
VIES only covers EU countries. Outside the EU, the supplier's own national company register — Companies House in the United Kingdom, for example — shows whether the company is registered and active.
Does a valid VAT number mean the supplier is fine to order from?
No. It confirms registration, nothing about stock, prices, quality or brand permission — those still need a direct question to the supplier before a first order.
General information, not legal or tax advice.