Company Identifiers: What LEI, EUID, VAT, EORI, DUNS and BIC Are For

Open a business account, sign up with a broker, ship goods outside the EU or publish an app, and sooner or later a form will ask for a number you are not sure your company has. The labels rarely help: “company ID”, “tax number” and “entity identifier” mean different things on different forms, and some numbers look alike because one is built from another.

Below we sort the company identifiers you are likely to meet by where they come from. Our examples are Estonian, but the logic applies EU-wide. If the missing number turns out to be an LEI, you can apply for one through our LEI service.

Company Identifiers at a Glance

The simplest way to keep them apart is to ask who issues each number and how you get it.

Numbers Your Company Gets Automatically

You do not apply for these: they come with registration, although some countries issue the tax number separately.

Company Registration Number

This is the company’s main identification number in its home country, assigned by the business register when the company is created. In Estonia it is an eight-digit registry code, while other countries use their own names and formats. It normally stays with the company for life.

EUID

The European Unique Identifier is the same registration number in an EU-wide format: a country code, a code for the register and the company’s own number. Eesti Firma OÜ, registry code 14164797, has the EUID EEARIREG.14164797, and our article on the EUID in the Estonian Business Register shows where to find yours. You can search for a company in any EU register on the European e-Justice Portal.

Tax Identification Number

The TIN is the number tax authorities use to identify a taxpayer. In some countries, Estonia among them, a company has no separate TIN and its registration number does the job, while elsewhere the company receives a dedicated tax number. Banks usually ask for it on tax residency forms. Our guide to tax identification numbers lists the formats by country.

Numbers You Request from the Authorities

Both numbers below are free, but you apply for them only when your business needs them.

VAT Number

A VAT number shows that the company is registered for VAT, so it charges VAT and can trade with businesses in other member states under EU VAT rules. It starts with the country code, and in Estonia it is EE followed by nine digits that are not the registry code. A business below its country’s VAT registration threshold, or one whose sales are all VAT-exempt, can work without one, although some cross-border deals within the EU require one even then. Partners check it in VIES, the VAT Information Exchange System, and our guides cover how to verify an EU VAT number and getting a VAT number in Estonia.

EORI Number

The EORI number identifies a business to customs. You need it before you import goods into the EU or export them outside it, and couriers request it for the customs declaration. A services business that never ships goods across the EU border can do without one. Each company gets a single EORI number, valid throughout the EU, from customs in the country where it is established. In Estonia it is EE followed by the eight-digit registry code, and our page on the EORI number in Estonia explains how to apply. Any EU-issued number can be checked with the EORI validation tool.

Numbers from Specialised Issuers

Neither of the next two comes from a register or a tax authority, and each serves a specific purpose.

LEI

The Legal Entity Identifier is a 20-character code under the ISO 17442 standard, issued by organisations accredited by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF). It identifies the company in financial transactions, and its public record of the company’s name, address and parent companies is free to check in the GLEIF database. EU investment rules do not allow an investment firm to trade on a company’s behalf until it has the client’s LEI, so the request usually comes from a broker or a bank. In our practice, clients most often need one for investment products on a Revolut Business account, a brokerage account in the company’s name or FX forwards to hedge currency risk.

Unlike the numbers above, an LEI needs renewing every year, and banks and brokers may refuse a code that has lapsed.

DUNS Number

The DUNS number (also written D-U-N-S) is a nine-digit identifier from Dun & Bradstreet, a business data company. No law requires it, but Apple and Google Play ask for one before a company can publish apps under its own name, and large corporate buyers use it to register suppliers. It is free in most countries, and your company may already have one. Check through Apple’s D-U-N-S lookup first, and allow time, since Google warns that a new number can take up to 30 days.

BIC and IBAN Are Bank Details

These two often sit next to company numbers on forms. The BIC, also called the SWIFT code, has 8 or 11 characters and identifies a bank, so every customer of that bank shares it. The IBAN identifies one account: it starts with the country code and has up to 34 characters, 20 in Estonia. Since both change when the company moves to another bank, neither can stand in for a company number.

Which Number Is the Form Asking For?

The usual form labels mean the following.

If a field is optional and your company does not have that number, leave it empty rather than entering another one. A registration number typed into a VAT field will fail the partner’s VIES check.

If Your Company Needs an LEI

Most of these numbers come from the state free of charge. The LEI is different: a company pays for it every year and usually needs it when a bank or broker will not proceed without one. Our partner for LEI codes is WM Datenservice, a GLEIF-accredited issuer, and companies from most countries can order one through our website. If a bank or partner asks for a number you do not recognise, forward us the request and we will point you to the right one.

Send a Request

Frequently Asked Questions