EORI number for customs clearance in the EU: who needs one and how it works

An EORI number identifies a business or other person when dealing with customs in the European Union. EORI stands for 'Economic Operators Registration and Identification'.

It is used for customs clearance across the EU, including import, export and transit operations. Once an EORI number has been assigned, the same number can be used with customs authorities in other member states. A German business importing through the Netherlands, for example, does not need a second Dutch EORI number.

The number does not determine the customs duty, classify the goods or give the holder permission to import them. Its purpose is simpler. It tells customs which person is carrying out the customs activity.

That makes the EORI number one of the basic pieces of information behind an EU customs declaration.

What an EORI number looks like

An EORI number begins with the two-letter country code of the member state that issued it. This is followed by an identifier of up to 15 alphanumeric characters.

A number issued in Poland, for example, begins with 'PL'. The structure after the country code can differ because member states use their own national identifiers when creating EORI numbers. A person can have only one valid EORI number at a time. Article 7 of the UCC Implementing Act requires one EORI number to be assigned to each person.

This is what allows the number to work across the EU. Customs authorities in different member states can identify the same operator through the common EORI system rather than creating a separate customs identity each time the operator uses another EU border.

Who needs an EORI number for customs clearance?

An economic operator established in the EU customs territory must register with customs under Article 9 of the Union Customs Code (UCC).

For a business importing or exporting commercially, this normally means having an EORI number before carrying out the relevant customs operation. The requirement also applies to some businesses established outside the EU.

Under the UCC Delegated Act, a non-EU economic operator must register in specified circumstances. These include lodging certain customs declarations, entry summary declarations, exit summary declarations and temporary storage declarations. The rules also cover certain carriers and applications for customs decisions.

The exact requirement depends on the activity involved. There are exceptions for some types of declaration and particular operators.

People who are not economic operators may also need an EORI number where EU or national legislation requires one. An occasional private customs declaration does not always lead to registration. For most businesses engaged in regular EU imports or exports, however, the position is straightforward: customs needs an EORI number to identify the operator during customs clearance.

Where do you obtain an EORI number?

An EU-established business registers in the member state where it is established. This remains the case even when its first customs operation takes place somewhere else.

A French company planning to import its first consignment through Belgium, for example, would normally obtain its EORI number from the French customs authority. The French EORI can then be used for the customs operation in Belgium.

For an economic operator with no establishment in the EU customs territory, the rule is different. Registration generally takes place with the customs authority of the member state where the operator first lodges a declaration or applies for a customs decision.

A non-EU business may consequently obtain an EORI number in the Netherlands because that is where its first relevant EU customs operation takes place. The number can then be used for later customs operations elsewhere in the Union.

The registration procedure itself is national. Application methods and the information requested can differ between member states, even though the resulting EORI number operates across the EU.

One company does not always mean one EORI situation

The legal entity behind the customs activity matters. A multinational group can contain several companies that are separate legal persons. If those companies carry out customs activities in their own names, each must have its own EORI number.

A branch is different where it is simply part of the same legal person as the parent company. The Commission's EORI guidance explains that offices, premises or branches that are not separate 'persons' for UCC purposes do not receive an independent EORI number merely because they operate in another member state. Customs activity is associated with the legal person to which they belong.

This distinction matters when businesses expand across the EU. Opening an office in another country does not automatically create a new customs identity. Establishing a separate legal company does.

Where the EORI number appears in customs clearance

The EORI number is used whenever customs legislation requires the relevant party to be identified. On a customs declaration, it can identify parties such as the importer or declarant. It is also used in other customs systems and procedures, including transit and safety and security declarations.

For example, the EU's Import Control System 2 (ICS2) uses EORI numbers to identify economic operators submitting entry summary declaration data.

An EORI number is also relevant when a business applies for customs decisions and authorisations. This includes areas such as Binding Tariff Information (BTI) and Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status.

The same identifier consequently follows the operator through different parts of its relationship with EU customs. This is also why an EORI number should not be confused with a VAT number. The two can sometimes look similar because some member states build their EORI structure from national tax or company identifiers. Legally, however, they serve different purposes.

A VAT registration identifies a person for VAT. An EORI number identifies the person for customs. Holding one does not automatically establish that the other requirement has been satisfied.

A foreign branch may not need another EORI number

Consider an EU company that already has an EORI number in the member state where it is established. It later opens a branch in another member state, but the branch is not a separate legal person.

The company does not obtain a second EORI simply because the branch is located elsewhere. Customs continues to identify the same legal person through its existing EORI number.

The answer changes if the business creates a separate subsidiary that is itself a legal person and carries out activities covered by customs legislation.

That subsidiary is a different person for customs purposes. Its EORI registration is considered separately. For corporate groups, the useful question is not simply how many offices exist. It is which legal person is actually importing, exporting, declaring or applying for the customs decision.

An EORI number has no expiry date

EORI numbers do not expire after a fixed period. They can, however, be invalidated.

Article 7 of the UCC Delegated Act requires customs to invalidate an EORI number when the registered person asks for this or when customs becomes aware that the person has ceased the activities for which registration was required.

The customs authority records the date of invalidation and informs the registered person. The Commission states that EORI registration data is retained for ten years after invalidation.

This means a business does not normally need to renew an EORI simply because several years have passed. What matters is that the registration remains valid and the underlying information still identifies the correct person.

How to validate an EORI number

The European Commission provides an EORI validation service. It allows users to establish whether an EORI number is valid. Where the registered person has consented to publication, additional information such as the name and address can also be displayed.

Validation is useful before customs clearance where another party has supplied its EORI number for a declaration.

This matters particularly for customs representatives. A representative may prepare and lodge declarations using information received from the importer or exporter. If the wrong EORI number is entered, the declaration can identify the wrong legal person even if the commercial documents contain the correct company name.

The number should accordingly be treated as identification data, not as a minor administrative field.

Why an incorrect EORI number can create a larger customs problem

An EORI number connects a customs operation to a particular person. That becomes important when customs need to establish who acted as importer, declarant or representative and who may have obligations arising from the declaration.

An incorrect number can consequently create more than a technical error. The risk is particularly relevant for customs representatives. They may receive an EORI number from a client and use it when preparing the declaration. If that number belongs to another person, the electronic customs system may rely on the registered EORI data rather than the company information typed elsewhere in the declaration.

Good customs clearance procedures should make the legal identity of the client clear before the declaration is lodged. The EORI supplied for the transaction should correspond to that person, and a customs representative should also have the required authority to act for the client.

For a detailed example of the consequences, see 'A wrong EORI number, and the direct customs representative is held liable for the import VAT'.

EORI registration is EU-wide, but the registration process is national

The legal framework for EORI is common across the EU. Article 9 UCC contains the registration rules. Articles 3 to 7 of the UCC Delegated Act provide further rules on EORI registration, including when non-EU operators and other persons need to register. Articles 6 and 7 of the UCC Implementing Act deal with the competent authorities and the common EORI system.

National customs authorities still administer registration. This explains an apparent contradiction. There is one EU-wide customs identifier, but businesses obtain it through a member state.

Once assigned, that number is used across the EU customs territory. For companies involved in customs clearance in more than one member state, this is the practical value of EORI. The customs office can change. The port of entry can change. The member state can change. The customs identity of the operator does not need to change with them.

Go deeper with a CustomsClear membership:

'What you need to know about the EORI number and national differences in EU countries' - how EORI registration works across different member states.
'A wrong EORI number, and the direct customs representative is held liable for the import VAT' - the consequences of using incorrect identification data in a customs declaration.