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Apply for an EORI number: which EU country, what the form asks, and how long it takes

A carrier, broker or marketplace wants your EORI number, and you have never registered with EU customs.

The short answer

Apply to customs in the EU country where your goods are first declared in your name. One number covers the whole EU, costs nothing and can take several days. A carrier declaring in its own name uses its own.

The short answer

A business outside the EU registers for an EORI number with the customs authority of the EU country where it first lodges a customs declaration or applies for a customs decision (UCC Art. 9(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 9, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.; Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, Art. 5(6)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 5, paragraph 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), and only in the cases Art. 5(1)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 5, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. of that Regulation lists, or before applying for a customs decision whose procedure requires registration (Art. 11(1)(a)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 11, paragraph 1, point (a)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). It gets one number for the whole EU (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, Art. 7(2)Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, implementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 7, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Every EU country collects the same core data: full name, address, whether you are established in the EU, VAT numbers, a short name and whether your details may be published (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, Annex 12-01). Each country runs its own portal and form. The Commission states that the number is free and that registration can take several days. The number is the issuing country’s two-letter code followed by up to 15 letters and digits (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, Annex 12-01). A GB number from HM Revenue & Customs is for goods moving to or from Great Britain. An XI number covers Northern Ireland, and it works for EU declarations only with a permanent business establishment there (GOV.UK). If an EU carrier or broker declares your goods in its own name, the declarant field takes its number, not yours (UCC Art. 5(15)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 5, paragraph 15Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 18(1)).

Last checked
Rests on
Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 (Union Customs Code), consolidated text of 12 December 2022Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeThe whole regulationClick opens the law on EUR-Lex.
Topics
EORI, customs, import, export

An EORI number is issued by one EU country, once, and then works in all of them. So the one real choice is which country you apply to, and the law makes that choice for you. What the number is and who needs one is on EORI number. This page is the application itself.

What you do:

  1. Check that the number has to be yours. If an EU carrier, broker or fulfilment service declares your goods in its own name, its EORI number goes in the declarant field (UCC Art. 5(15)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 5, paragraph 15Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., UCC Art. 18(1)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 18, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). You need your own when a declaration is lodged in your name, or when you apply for a customs decision whose procedure requires it, such as binding tariff information (Delegated Reg. Art. 11(1)(a)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 11, paragraph 1, point (a)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The full list is under “When you do not need your own EORI number” below.
  2. Apply in the EU country where your goods will first be declared in your name, or where you will first apply for a customs decision (UCC Art. 9(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 9, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Delegated Reg. Art. 5(6)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 5, paragraph 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Not the country you sell to most, and not one of your choice. The Commission’s search for EORI registering authorities names the office in each country.
  3. Have these ready: your legal name as your business register shows it, your full address, any EU VAT numbers, a contact person, any customs number your own country gave you, and an extract from your business register. A sole trader uses a passport instead of the extract.
  4. Apply through that country’s customs portal or form. In Germany that is the Customs Portal; in France, the SOPRANO EORI service. Customs assigns the number free of charge.
  5. Apply before the first shipment, not when it is already at the border. The Commission states that registration can take several days.
  6. Check the number on the Commission’s EORI validation service, then give it to whoever declares your goods. Use the same number in every EU country (Implementing Reg. Art. 7(2)Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, implementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 7, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Which EU country registers a business outside the EU

The customs authority “responsible for the place where they first lodge a declaration or apply for a decision” (UCC Art. 9(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 9, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The Delegated Regulation repeats the rule for every case in which a business outside the EU must register (Delegated Reg. Art. 5(6)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 5, paragraph 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Each EU country names its own registering authority, and the Commission publishes the list (Implementing Reg. Art. 6Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, implementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Your situation Where you apply
For example: your first EU declaration in your name will be lodged in the Netherlands Dutch customs, even if you later clear goods in France or Italy
You apply for a customs decision, such as binding tariff information, before any declaration The customs of the country you apply to; the Commission’s guidance says an applicant for binding tariff information registers first
You have permanent business establishments in several EU countries Any one of those countries, in the Commission’s words
Your business is established in an EU country That country, always: see EORI number
You already hold an EORI number from another EU country, or an XI number Nowhere: an EU customs authority may refuse you a new number (Commission guidance, section 1.3(b)). An EU number works as it is

A customs authority can turn you away. The Commission’s guidance gives two examples for a business outside the EU. The authority has reasonable grounds to think you will not first declare or apply for a decision in its country. Or you already hold an EORI number from another EU country, or one from UK customs for Northern Ireland. Before it assigns a number, the authority checks the EU system for an earlier registration under your name and your VAT or other identification number. If two numbers exist, the guidance’s general rule is that the first is kept and the second invalidated.

German customs makes the first point a document. A business outside the EU attaches an informal statement explaining why it needs the number and why German customs is the right authority, and an application without that reason is rejected. French customs registers a business only if it is not already registered in another EU country.

What the application asks for

Every EU country collects the same core data. The data list is set in EU law; each country may waive some items (Annex 12-01 to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446).

Item Asked in every EU country? What to give
Full name Yes The legal name in your business register, or in your act of establishment if there is no register. A person: the name in their passport
Address of establishment or residence Yes The full address, with the country
Whether you are established in the EU Yes For a business with an address outside the EU: yes or no
VAT identification numbers Yes Any VAT numbers EU countries assigned to you
Consent to publish your name and address Yes Yes or no; the Commission’s validation service shows them only with consent. In France, the SOPRANO EORI step-by-step PDF guide says this consent must be confirmed to submit the application
Short name Yes A short form of your name
Legal status Each country decides As stated in your act of establishment
Contact information Each country decides A contact person, an address, and a phone number or email
Third-country identification number Each country decides A customs identification number your own country’s authorities gave you, if any
Date of establishment Each country decides From your business register; a person gives a date of birth
Type of person Each country decides Natural person, legal person, or an association with legal capacity
Principal economic activity Each country decides A four-digit NACE code

The list is Chapter 3, Title I of Annex 12-01 to the Delegated Regulation, where “A” marks data every EU country requires and “B” data a country “may decide to waive”. The type-of-person codes and the four-digit NACE level are in Annex 12-01 to the Implementing Regulation.

The law lets each country accept an application on paper or by other non-electronic means (Delegated Reg. Art. 4Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Proof of who you are comes on top. The Commission’s guidance lists, for a business outside the EU, a document from the business register: an original, or a certified copy of an official document issued by the register or by a chamber of commerce, in the EU or in your own country. For a person, a valid passport or other travel document. Customs should not finalise the registration until it has checked what you sent.

How long it takes

The EORI articles of the Union Customs Code and its two implementing acts set no processing time. The Commission states that registration “could take several days” because of each country’s own procedure, and asks businesses outside the EU to register in advance. A number applied for at the border can delay the declaration, because the new number is not yet known to the electronic customs systems. The national examples below are what each authority publishes:

Authority What it says about timing
French customs Every EORI number is active 24 hours after it is issued
German customs Its EORI pages give no processing time. If you sign in to its Customs Portal with an ELSTER certificate, ELSTER’s processing “may take some time”, so create the account early
HMRC, a GB number Immediately, unless HMRC checks the application; then up to 5 working days
HMRC, an XI number Within 5 days, after the GB number

If you do nothing until the goods arrive, they usually wait at customs until someone with a number declares them. Germany has an exception for the time being: an operator that can prove it has applied for an EORI number, in Germany or in another EU country, may continue to lodge declarations, and the customs office decides whether the proof is enough. What that costs, and the 90-day limit, is on EORI number.

The EORI number format

Two parts: the two-letter code of the EU country that issued it, then an identifier unique in that country of up to 15 letters and digits. At most 17 characters in all (Annex 12-01 to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, Title I, data element 1, and Title II, point 1). The country code tells you who registered you, not where the number works.

French customs builds the number for a business outside the EU from three parts: FR, then the two-letter ISO code of the country where the business is based, then a customs number French customs assigns. A US company registered in France gets a number starting FRUS.

The Commission states that an EORI number has no expiry date. Customs invalidates it on your request, or when it learns you have stopped the activities that needed it (UCC Art. 9(4)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 9, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Delegated Reg. Art. 7(1)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 7, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Applying in Germany and in France

Two examples, as each customs authority describes the application today. Other countries publish their own steps; the Commission’s registering authorities search leads to each.

Germany: the Customs Portal

  • Who registers you: the General Directorate of Customs, Master Data Management office in Dresden.
  • How: from 1 October 2026 the Customs Portal is mandatory for applying. You sign in with an ELSTER certificate, a German online ID card, BundID, or, once you hold an EORI number, an eIDAS-compliant signature certificate.
  • No portal access: a business outside the EU without any of those may use form 0870a_en in the contingency procedure, sent as a PDF attachment by email, by letter or by fax, with a legally binding signature.
  • The reason you apply in Germany: a business outside the EU attaches an informal statement of why it needs the number and why German customs is responsible. Without it the application is rejected.
  • A missing detail, such as a VAT number you do not have yet, is noted on the form and sent later.
  • A representative may apply for you, with a letter of authority shown on the application.
  • Fees: none. German customs adds: “There is no need to use third-party providers charging fees!”

France: SOPRANO EORI

  • Who registers you: French customs, through its online service SOPRANO EORI. A business outside the EU uses it when its goods are cleared in France.
  • The form, step by step: choose the service for operators outside the EU, give your company details (filled in for you if you have a French SIRET number), a contact, and any VAT numbers from other EU countries.
  • Three commitments: you allow French customs to send the mandatory data to the Commission for its public validation service; you confirm you hold no EORI number in another EU country; you undertake to report every change to your data.
  • The number: FR, your country’s ISO code, then the customs number. Active 24 hours after it is issued.

GB, XI and EU EORI numbers are three different numbers

HMRC issues two numbers of its own, GB and XI, beside the EU countries’ numbers. Which you need depends on where your goods move, and HMRC’s guide says: “You may need more than one.” A UK seller’s whole route into the EU is on export from UK to EU. Applying for the GB and XI numbers is on GB EORI number for overseas sellers.

Number Issued by Used for A business outside the UK and the EU
EU, starting with an EU country code (DE, FR, NL…) The customs of one EU country Declarations and decisions anywhere in the EU Applies in the EU country of its first declaration or decision, as above
GB HMRC Moving goods to or from Great Britain Needs no UK tax reference, industry code or National Insurance number. Gets one only for the declarations and decisions HMRC lists
XI HMRC, for Northern Ireland Declarations and decisions in Northern Ireland; goods from Great Britain into Northern Ireland Applies for a GB number first, then fills in HMRC’s XI form

Three points decide which you need:

  • A GB number does not work in the EU. HMRC’s guide says an EU declaration needs an EORI number from an EU country, or an XI number with a permanent business establishment in Northern Ireland.
  • An EU number makes an XI number unnecessary. HMRC: you do not need one “if you already have an EORI number from an EU country”.
  • An XI number counts as one you hold. The Commission’s guidance lets an EU customs authority refuse a new number to a business outside the EU that already holds one “assigned … by the UK customs in respect of Northern Ireland”.

HMRC asks an applicant for an XI number for its XI VAT number if it has one, any VAT numbers from EU countries, and two documents proving a permanent business establishment in Northern Ireland, such as a bank statement and a utility bill. It does not ask for that proof from a business not established in Northern Ireland that needs the number to make certain declarations or to act as a carrier. Only a person based in Northern Ireland or the EU can be named as the declarant on import and export declarations made in Northern Ireland.

When you do not need your own EORI number

A business outside the EU registers only in the cases the Delegated Regulation lists: mainly before it lodges a customs declaration, an entry or exit summary declaration or a temporary storage declaration in the EU, or acts as a carrier by sea, inland waterway or air (Delegated Reg. Art. 5(1)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 5, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Applying for a customs decision is the other trigger, where the procedure requires it (Delegated Reg. Art. 11(1)(a)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 11, paragraph 1, point (a)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The Commission’s guidance gives binding tariff information as the example: the applicant registers before applying. The Commission’s own example: a Chinese or Swiss exporter whose goods are consigned to an EU consignee “is not required to apply for an EORI number”.

Who declares your goods Whose EORI number is the declarant’s Do you apply?
Your EU customer, importing in its own name Your customer’s No
An EU carrier, broker or fulfilment service as your indirect representative, in its own name The representative’s Not for the declarant field. For the importer field, each EU country sets the number; see below
A representative acting directly, in your name Yours: you are the declarant Yes, before the first declaration. But a declarant outside the EU is allowed only for transit or temporary admission, occasional declarations, or the border case (UCC Art. 170(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 170, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 170(3)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 170, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.)
You, lodging the declaration yourself Yours Yes, before the first declaration. Again only for transit or temporary admission, occasional declarations, or the border case (UCC Art. 170(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 170, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 170(3)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 170, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.)

A representative acting directly makes you the declarant, and the declarant must be established in the EU (UCC Art. 170(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 170, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A business outside the EU may still be the declarant in three cases: transit or temporary admission declarations; occasional declarations, where customs considers that justified; and goods presented at the border office next to its own country, where that country grants EU businesses the same in return (UCC Art. 170(3)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 170, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A customs representative must itself be established in the EU, unless it acts for someone not required to be (UCC Art. 18(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 18, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). So a business outside the EU that imports regularly does it through an EU representative acting in its own name, or through an EU company of its own.

Declarations made under Articles 135 to 144 of the Delegated Regulation, which include postal declarations and the reduced declaration for consignments of EUR 150 or less, do not by themselves oblige a business outside the EU to register (Delegated Reg. Art. 5(1)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 5, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., point (a)(i)).

Your carrier may still ask for your number. A declaration names both a declarant and an importer, and where the importer is a business outside the EU, the EU country of the declaration decides what number goes in the importer field. Which field your courier is filling, and what to give it, is on EORI number. Who takes the importer’s role for you, and what it owes, is on importer of record. Shipping duty paid does not by itself make you the declarant: who pays at the door, and who owes the duty, is on DDP shipping to Europe.

Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 (OJ 19.9.2026) repeals the Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeThe whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office., and applies from ; the UCC articles on this page are the ones in force until then (Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, Art. 284(1), Art. 287(2)).

What you can skip

What the law leaves open

  • What a business outside the EU with only an XI number can do in the EU. HMRC says an XI number works for EU declarations together with a permanent business establishment in Northern Ireland. The Commission’s guidance lets an EU customs authority refuse a new number to a business that already holds an XI number. Neither text covers a business that holds an XI number without an establishment in Northern Ireland and then needs to declare in an EU country. Meanwhile, if your first declaration in your name will be in an EU country, apply there before any XI number: that order fits both texts.

Sources

18 sources
  1. Art. 9(1)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 9, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 9(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 9, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 9(4)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 9, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 (Union Customs Code), consolidated text of 12 December 2022 - registration with the customs authorities, including the business not established in the EU. Accessed 2026-10-05
  2. Art. 5(15)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 5, paragraph 15Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 18(1)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 18, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 18(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 18, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 170(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 170, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 170(3)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 170, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 (Union Customs Code), consolidated text - the declarant; direct and indirect customs representation; who may lodge a customs declaration and where the declarant must be established
  3. Art. 4Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 5(1)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 5, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 5(6)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 5, paragraph 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 7(1)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 7, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 11(1)(a)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, supplementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 11, paragraph 1, point (a)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, consolidated text of 1 July 2026 - applying on paper or by other non-electronic means; when a business outside the EU must register, and where; invalidation of an EORI number; registration as a condition for accepting an application for a decision, where the procedure requires it. Accessed 2026-10-05
  4. Annex 12-01, Title I, Chapter 3; Title IIDelegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, consolidated text of 1 July 2026, Annex 12-01 - the data an EORI application collects, which data every EU country must collect and which it may waive
  5. Art. 6Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, implementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 7(2)Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, implementing the Union Customs CodeArticle 7, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 7(3); Annex 12-01, Title I and Title II, point 1Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, consolidated text of 1 July 2026 - the registering authorities each EU country designates; one EORI number per person; the format of the EORI number. Accessed 2026-10-05
  6. Commission guidance, not lawEuropean Commission, Economic operators registration and identification number (EORI) - who issues the number to a business outside the EU, the number format. Accessed 2026-10-05
  7. Commission guidance, not lawEuropean Commission, Economic Operators Registration and Identification - Guidance document (working document of 30 August 2023, published on the EORI page as of 29 May 2024), sections 1.1.2, 1.2.2 and 1.3 - free of charge, several days, the binding tariff information example, refusals including to a holder of an XI number (1.3(b)), proof of identity. Accessed 2026-10-05
  8. Official toolEuropean Commission, search for EORI registering authorities. Accessed 2026-10-05
  9. Official toolEuropean Commission, EORI number validation. Accessed 2026-10-05
  10. National customs guidanceGerman customs (Zoll), Requesting an EORI number and amending an operator’s particulars - the Customs Portal from 1 October 2026, form 0870a_en in the contingency procedure, the justification a business outside the EU must attach. Accessed 2026-10-05
  11. National customs guidanceGerman customs (Zoll), EORI number: questions and answers - where a business outside the EU applies; no German number for a holder of another EU country’s number; for the time being, declarations by an operator that can prove it applied for a number. Accessed 2026-10-05
  12. National customs guidanceFrench customs (douane.gouv.fr), Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number, updated 13 April 2023 - SOPRANO EORI, the number format for a business outside the EU, numbers active 24 hours after issue. Accessed 2026-10-05
  13. National customs guidanceFrench customs, SOPRANO EORI: step by step for non-EU operators (PDF) - the fields and the three commitments of the application, which have to be confirmed, including consent to publication. Accessed 2026-10-05
  14. Tax authority guidanceGOV.UK, HMRC, Get an EORI number: who needs an EORI, last updated 7 August 2025 - when a business not based in the UK needs a GB number. Accessed 2026-10-05
  15. Tax authority guidanceGOV.UK, HMRC, Get an EORI number: check which EORI number you need - GB, XI and EU numbers, and which works for EU declarations. Accessed 2026-10-05
  16. Tax authority guidanceGOV.UK, HMRC, Get an EORI number: if you move goods to or from Northern Ireland - when an XI number is and is not needed. Accessed 2026-10-05
  17. Tax authority guidanceGOV.UK, HMRC, Get an EORI number: apply for an EORI number - what a business not based in the UK needs, how long a GB and an XI number take. Accessed 2026-10-05
  18. Art. 284(1)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 284, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., 287(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 287, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 (new Union Customs Code, OJ 19.9.2026) - repeals Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 and applies from 21 September 2027. Accessed 2026-10-05