Netherlands · NL
The Dutch VAT number (btw-id)
Fourteen characters with a B in the middle. Since 2020 there are also two of them: a btw-id for the outside world and a separate turnover-tax number for the tax office.
Format: NL + 9 digits + B + 2 digits
Example: NL001631457B01
Issued by: the Dutch tax administration (Belastingdienst).
The format
A Dutch VAT identification number is always fourteen characters. The B is fixed; it is the only EU number with a letter in the middle of its national part.
- NLThe country code.
- 001631457Nine digits: the RSIN, or a separately assigned number for a sole trader.
- BA fixed letter.
- 01A sequence number, normally 01.
The last two digits are a sequence number, not a checksum: they distinguish several VAT registrations of the same legal person. In practice it is almost always 01.
Btw-id, turnover-tax number, RSIN and KVK
The Netherlands generates more number confusion than any other member state, and 2020 made it worse.
| Number | Format | Issued by | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Btw-id | NL + 9 digits + B + 2 | Tax administration | Outward facing: invoices, website, EU trade |
| Turnover-tax number | 9 digits + B + 2 | Tax administration | Correspondence with the tax office only; never public |
| RSIN | 9 digits | Chamber of Commerce | Links a legal entity across government registers. Sole traders have none |
| KVK number | 8 digits | Chamber of Commerce | Registration in the trade register |
The 2020 split is the thing to understand. Until then a sole trader’s VAT number contained their citizen service number (BSN), which therefore appeared on every invoice and every website. The data protection authority called a halt; since then there is a public btw-id with no BSN in it, and a separate turnover-tax number for the tax office.
For legal entities the nine digits of the btw-id equal the RSIN. For sole traders they are assigned arbitrarily and cannot be derived from any other number.
Finding the company behind a number
The KVK trade register
The Chamber of Commerce keeps the complete trade register but sells its data: extracts cost money and there is no free full file. The register is searchable by name and KVK number, not by VAT number — and since the 2020 decoupling there is no reliable arithmetic bridge between the two either.
VIES
Here the news is good: the Netherlands does disclose both the name and the address through VIES. Checking NL001631457B01 returns HEINEKEN N.V. with its street and postcode. For Dutch numbers VIES is the only free route from a number to a company.
Watch the address formatting: house numbers are zero-padded (00021) and the postcode is written without a space, run together with the town (1017ZD AMSTERDAM).
Netherlands-specific pitfalls
- Never put the turnover-tax number on an invoice. That is the one that may contain a BSN; the btw-id is the public number.
- The
Bis mandatory. Nine digits without it is not a VAT number. - The RSIN is not a VAT number, and a sole trader does not even have one.
- The Chamber of Commerce sells its register, so building your own directory is not free.
- The sequence is almost always 01, but 02 and above exist for VAT groups and re-registrations.
One API for 27 member states
Vatlas turns a European VAT number into a company record: legal name, national identifier, legal form, status and address. Same call, same shape, for the Netherlands and for the other twenty-six.
curl "https://api.vatlas.dev/v1/vat/NL001631457B01" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $VATLAS_KEY"Response:
200 OK
{
"data": {
"vatNumber": "NL001631457B01",
"countryCode": "NL",
"nationalNumber": "001631457B01",
"nationalId": null,
"name": "HEINEKEN N.V.",
"legalForm": null,
"status": "active",
"address": {
"line1": "TWEEDE WETERINGPLANTSOEN 00021",
"line2": null,
"postalCode": "1017ZD",
"city": "AMSTERDAM",
"country": "NL"
}
},
"meta": {
"origin": "vies",
"source": "VIES",
"sourceUpdatedAt": "2026-08-28T10:22:41.171Z",
"checked": ["database", "VIES"]
}
}meta.origin says where the answer came from: database for a register imported locally, source for a national API queried live, vies as a last resort. The shape of the response never changes from one country to the next.
Free to try. An email address creates an account — no credit card, no sales call — with 100 requests a month and a working key in about a minute.
Frequently asked
The Dutch VAT number in short
How many characters does a Dutch VAT number have?
Fourteen: NL, nine digits, the letter B and two digits.
What is the difference between the btw-id and the turnover-tax number?
The btw-id is the public number, meant for invoices, your website and EU trade. The turnover-tax number is used only with the tax office; it may contain a BSN and should never appear publicly.
Is the RSIN the same as the VAT number?
For legal entities the nine digits of the btw-id equal the RSIN, but the VAT number is not reachable from it without the B01. Sole traders have no RSIN at all.
Why did Dutch VAT numbers change in 2020?
Because a sole trader’s VAT number contained their citizen service number and therefore appeared on every invoice. The data protection authority ruled that unlawful, and the separate btw-id was introduced.
Can I get a company name from a Dutch VAT number?
Yes, through VIES: the Netherlands discloses name and address. The KVK register is not searchable by VAT number and its extracts are paid.
VAT numbers in other countries
Last updated 28 August 2026.