These are three different identifiers from two different authorities. The EORI is a customs ID from German customs (Zoll); the Steuernummer (German tax number) comes from the Finanzamt (tax office) and is used to file your VAT returns; the USt-IdNr (VAT ID) is your EU VAT number for intra-EU trade and invoices.
Foreign sellers setting up in Germany hit all three in the first few weeks and reasonably ask which one they actually need. This guide shows when you need each, and answers the question almost everyone eventually asks: do I really need all of them?
These three numbers are what clients ask us about most. The mix-ups happen on real forms: we've had a VAT ID sent where the tax number was needed, and an economic ID (W-IdNr) sent as the tax number.
What is the difference between an EORI, a Steuernummer, and a USt-IdNr?
One is for moving goods across the border; the other two are for charging, filing, and trading VAT.
Here is each one in a single line:
- EORI (Economic Operators Registration and Identification number): issued by German customs (Zoll). It identifies you as an importer at the EU border. Needed only if you import goods into the EU.
- Steuernummer (German tax number): issued by your responsible Finanzamt (the German tax office). It is the number used to file your German VAT returns.
- USt-IdNr (Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer, the VAT ID): your EU VAT identification number, used for intra-EU trade and on your invoices.
The cleanest way to hold them apart: the EORI is about customs and goods crossing a border, the Steuernummer and USt-IdNr are about VAT. If you mix them up on the wrong document, things stall, so it is worth getting the distinction right once.
What is an EORI number, and when do you need one?
An EORI number is a customs identifier from German customs (Zoll) that identifies the party filing a customs declaration, and most foreign sellers never need one of their own. It has nothing to do with VAT filing; it is purely a customs registration.
The distinction that decides it is between the importer (Einführer), whose goods are crossing the border, and the declarant (Anmelder), who files the declaration. The EORI belongs to the declarant. EU customs law reserves that role for businesses established in the EU, with a narrow exception for occasional, economically insignificant imports that German customs has stated in writing does not cover regular commercial or fulfilment business. So if you ship stock from the UK, the US, or China into a German warehouse, you are the importer and your freight forwarder is the declarant: it clears the goods in its own name as your indirect representative, on its own EORI, and you apply for nothing.
There is one EORI per company and it is valid throughout the European Union. A German-issued EORI starts with the DE country prefix (the prefix reflects the member state that issued it), and it is free at the Zoll. German customs will register a company established outside the EU only where that company has its own staff and premises in Germany, or where it is filing its own first customs declaration. Stock held for you in an Amazon or 3PL warehouse is not an establishment, which is why the answer for a normal FBA seller is that no German EORI is available and none is needed.
Not having your own EORI costs you nothing on the VAT side. You still deduct the import VAT (Einfuhrumsatzsteuer) as input VAT on your German VAT returns, from your declared start of activity, because what matters is who had the right to dispose of the goods rather than whose name was on the declaration. What you do need is the Einfuhrabgabenbescheid for each shipment, which your forwarder can pass to you.
GB EORI is not an EU EORI. If you are a UK seller, the GB-prefixed EORI from HMRC is for UK customs only and is not valid in the EU after Brexit. That does not mean you need to obtain an EU one: on the EU side the declaration is normally filed by your forwarder on its own EORI. We cover this in detail in GB EORI vs EU EORI: what UK sellers need after Brexit.
What is a Steuernummer, and what is it for?
A Steuernummer is your German tax number, issued by your responsible Finanzamt, and it is the number used to file your German VAT returns. When a foreign company registers for VAT in Germany, the Finanzamt assigns a Steuernummer, and that number identifies your business in all dealings with that tax office.
The Steuernummer is the working number for your German VAT obligations: it appears on your monthly UStVA (the advance VAT return), on your annual VAT declaration, and on correspondence with the Finanzamt. It is a local number tied to the specific Finanzamt responsible for foreign companies from your country. Getting your Steuernummer is effectively the moment your German VAT registration becomes live: until it is issued, you cannot file. This is the number that does the day-to-day work of German VAT compliance.
What is a USt-IdNr (VAT ID), and how does it differ from the Steuernummer?
A USt-IdNr is your EU VAT identification number, used for intra-EU trade and on invoices, while the Steuernummer is your local German tax number used to file returns. Both come from the German tax system but they operate at different levels: one is national, one is EU-wide.
The USt-IdNr (Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer) starts with the DE country prefix followed by 9 digits, and is your identifier for cross-border EU business. (A German EORI also begins with DE, so do not confuse the two: the EORI is a longer customs number used at the border, while the USt-IdNr is DE plus 9 digits used for VAT.) You use it on intra-EU B2B invoices, for reverse-charge transactions, and it is the number other EU businesses validate against the EU VIES system to confirm you are a registered trader. The Steuernummer, by contrast, is the local number you file your German returns under. In short:
- Steuernummer = local German tax number, issued by the Finanzamt, used to file.
- USt-IdNr = EU VAT ID, used for intra-EU trade and invoicing.
A German VAT registration generally produces both, so you do not apply for them separately. For a deeper side-by-side on these two, see our dedicated guide: Steuernummer vs USt-ID: what's the difference and which do you need?
Do I need all three?
For most foreign sellers storing stock in Germany the answer is two, not three: a VAT registration, which gives the Steuernummer and USt-IdNr. Whether an EORI of your own comes into it depends on one thing, and it is not whether you import. It is whether you can be the party that files the customs declaration.
Walking through the common case: a foreign seller stores stock in a German warehouse (a 3PL, Amazon FBA, or consignment) and sells to German B2C and B2B customers. That triggers a German VAT registration from the first unit of stock, with no turnover threshold. The registration gives you a Steuernummer (to file with) and a USt-IdNr (to trade and invoice across the EU). On top of that:
- You ship the goods in from outside the EU (for example from the UK, US, or China into Germany) and a forwarder or customs agent clears them: no EORI of your own. It declares as your indirect representative on its EORI, and you still reclaim the import VAT (Einfuhrumsatzsteuer) as input VAT once your VAT registration is live. So that is two, plus an Einfuhrabgabenbescheid per shipment for your records.
- Your goods arrive from another EU country as an intra-community movement: no customs entry happens at all, so the question does not arise. You need the VAT registration and its numbers.
- Your company has its own staff and premises in Germany: now German customs is responsible for you and can issue you an EORI of your own. This is the uncommon case, and it is the only one in which the third number is really yours to get.
So the honest answer to do I need all of them is: usually just the VAT registration, Steuernummer and USt-IdNr if you are storing and selling stock in Germany. The EORI is not a fourth box to tick on your way in; it is a customs registration that in most foreign-seller setups belongs to somebody else.
Free checker
Do you actually need an EORI number?
A few questions about how your goods enter the EU. You get the answer on the spot, plus the application steps for your setup by email.
Run the EORI check →Does Vaytax handle these registrations, and what does it cost?
Yes. The German VAT registration and the ongoing filings are the core Vaytax service: that registration is what produces your Steuernummer and USt-IdNr, and we then file your monthly UStVA and annual return with the Finanzamt. Pricing is €1,299 per year all-in with German VAT registration included, or €99 per month if you already have a German VAT number.
The EORI is separate, because it comes from customs, not the tax office. The EORI number is free at the Zoll and you can file the short application yourself. 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 handling the application, never for the number, which is always free at the Zoll. So you can have us do everything (VAT registration, filings, and the EORI application) or file the free EORI yourself and let us handle the VAT side.
Sources: German customs administration (Zoll), zoll.de; German Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) on the USt-IdNr; German tax office (Finanzamt) guidance.
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