EORI Number for Germany: Who Needs One and How to Apply

An EORI number (Economic Operators Registration and Identification number) is the identifier customs use for any business lodging customs declarations in the EU. German customs (Zoll) issues it free, there is one per company valid throughout the EU, and it is a different thing from your German VAT registration with the Finanzamt (tax office).

The EORI is one of the easiest pieces of German market entry to get wrong. Some sellers pay a service for something customs hands out for free. UK sellers assume the EORI they already have works in the EU, then find it does not. And almost everyone confuses the EORI with the German VAT registration, when they are two separate things from two separate authorities.

What is an EORI number, and who needs one?

Any business that lodges customs declarations in the EU needs one. In practice, if your goods physically enter Germany from outside the EU and you are the party clearing them, you need an EORI number to do it. Not sure whether your setup needs one? Our free EORI checker tells you in under a minute.

According to German customs (Zoll), the EORI is an operator identification number that is valid throughout the European Union, and it must be quoted to identify the operator, in particular when lodging customs declarations. There is one EORI per company: you apply once, and the same number follows your shipments across every EU member state. You do not get a separate EORI for each country you import into.

Does an EORI number cost anything?

No. An EORI number is free. German customs (Zoll) states plainly that the application for the EORI number is free of charge, and that EORI numbers are issued free of charge. You can apply directly through the German customs online portal or the official application form, and the use of a chargeable third-party provider is not required.

This matters because EORI registration is a common upsell. A logistics or VAT provider may put a line on the quote for obtaining your EORI number. They are charging for their time filling in the form, not for the number, because the number itself costs nothing. If you are comfortable submitting a short application yourself, you can get an EORI without paying anyone. If you would rather not, we offer to file it for you for 199 euros as part of your German setup, and we are clear that the fee is for the work, never the number.

Can a non-EU company get an EU EORI number?

Yes. A company established outside the EU can hold an EU EORI number. German customs (Zoll) follows the EU rule: an operator that is not established in the customs territory of the Union lodges its EORI application in the first EU member state where it lodges a customs declaration or requests a customs decision.

A non-EU seller whose only presence in Germany is stock in an Amazon warehouse normally gets no German EORI of its own: in our experience, German customs does not issue one. The freight forwarder declares the import as your indirect representative.

If your company has its own staff and premises in Germany, German customs does issue it an EORI. You apply through the German customs (Zoll) online portal, or by submitting the official application form to the central customs authority. Applicants are typically asked to attach proof of legal status, such as an extract from the national commercial register, and identification for the authorised representative. If we handle it: We apply with the customs office responsible for you and tell you as soon as the number is issued.

I am a UK seller, is my GB EORI valid in Germany?

No. This is the single most common EORI mistake for UK sellers, so it is worth stating directly: since Brexit, a UK (GB) EORI number is not valid in the EU. The GB-prefixed EORI issued by UK customs works only for UK customs procedures. The UK and EU customs systems have run entirely separately since 1 January 2021.

If you ship stock into Germany, a separate EU EORI number is used on the declaration, but in the normal setup it is your forwarder's own rather than yours. Your forwarder declares the import as your indirect representative, exactly as for any other non-EU seller, so you do not need to apply for an EU EORI before stock arrives. Keep your GB EORI for the UK side of your supply chain.

How is the EORI different from a German VAT registration?

The EORI number and the German VAT registration are two different things from two different authorities, and you generally need both to run import stock into Germany. (For the full three-way comparison, see EORI vs VAT number vs Steuernummer.)

• The EORI number comes from German customs (Zoll). It identifies you at the border so your goods can be cleared. It says nothing about VAT, it is purely a customs identifier.
• The German VAT registration and the resulting Steuernummer (German tax number) come from the Finanzamt (the German tax office). This is what lets you charge German VAT, file your returns, and recover input VAT.

The two connect at import VAT (Einfuhrumsatzsteuer). When goods enter Germany from outside the EU, customs charges import VAT at the border, calculated on the customs value of the consignment. That is real money paid up front. The good news: once you hold a German VAT registration, import VAT is generally reclaimable as input VAT (Vorsteuer) on your German VAT return. So for a registered business, import VAT is usually a cash-flow timing cost, money out at the border, recovered on the return, rather than a permanent cost. But you only recover it if you are registered and filing, which is why both pieces have to be in place: the EORI to clear the goods, the VAT registration to reclaim the import VAT.

Who declares your goods, and why does it matter?

The importer of record is the party legally responsible for the goods at the point they enter Germany: the one named on the customs declaration, the one that owes the import VAT, and the one whose EORI number is used to clear the consignment. In plain terms, it is whoever is officially bringing the goods into the country.

For a foreign seller running stock into a German warehouse, your company is the importer and your freight forwarder is normally the declarant, clearing the goods in its own name as your indirect representative. That is the standard arrangement, not a mistake to correct. The import VAT stays recoverable by you, because what decides the deduction is who had the right to dispose of the goods rather than whose name appeared on the declaration. You can end up paying import VAT at the border with no way to get it back, which turns a timing cost into a permanent one. So before your first shipment, make sure the import paperwork names your company as the importer, and that your German VAT registration is in place to recover the import VAT.

Does Vaytax file the EORI application?

Yes, if your company is established outside the EU and you would like us to. The EORI number itself is free, and the application is a short form you can file directly with German customs (Zoll) yourself, through their online portal or the official paper form. If your company has its own staff and premises in Germany, German customs will issue it an EORI and we file that application for you as part of your German setup: a one-time 199 euros, using the company documents we already collect during onboarding. Without such an establishment German customs is not responsible for you, and you do not need an EORI of your own in any case: your forwarder declares as your indirect representative on theirs. To be clear, the 199 euros is for us handling the application on your behalf, never for the number, which is always free at the Zoll.

If your company is established inside the EU, this is not something we can do for you, and we would rather say so than take the fee. An EU-established business is issued its EORI by the customs authority of its own member state, and that one number is valid throughout the EU, German imports included. A second German EORI is not normally issued to you at all. So the application belongs at your national customs authority, it is free there too, and only your German VAT registration and returns are ours to handle.

Either way, we handle the VAT side end to end: your German VAT registration, your monthly and annual returns, and the recovery of import VAT as input VAT on those returns. The EORI gets your goods across the border, and the VAT registration lets you reclaim the import VAT and file your returns. Prefer to file the EORI yourself? We point you to the exact form and the right authority during onboarding, at no charge.

Frequently asked questions

I am an EU company. Can I get a German EORI number?

Normally no, and you do not need one. If your business is established in an EU member state, your EORI is issued by the customs authority of that member state, and it is valid across the entire EU, including goods you import into Germany. German customs does not normally issue a second EORI to a company already established elsewhere in the Union. So an Estonian, Polish or Irish company importing stock into a German warehouse applies at home, once, free of charge. What Germany does require from you separately is a German VAT registration as soon as you store goods there, whatever your turnover, and that is a tax matter entirely independent of customs.

Source: German customs administration (Zoll), zoll.de, EORI number pages.

Michael Stiller, Steuerberater (licensed German tax advisor)

Files your German VAT returns with the Finanzamt

Written by Michael Stiller, licensed German tax advisor (Steuerberater) and founder of FRADECO GmbH, the tax advisory firm that runs Vaytax and files German VAT returns with the Finanzamt (tax office) for foreign sellers.

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