Do I need an EORI to sell between EU countries?

No. Shipping between two EU member states is intra-EU trade and does not cross a customs border, so no EORI is required. You need one only when goods enter or leave the EU customs territory.

Is an EORI number the same as a VAT number?

No, they are separate. An EORI identifies you to customs; a VAT number identifies you for tax. In some countries the EORI is derived from or linked to your VAT number, but they serve different purposes.

How much does an EORI number cost?

Applying for an EORI is free in both the EU and the UK. You apply directly through the relevant customs authority, and approval usually takes a few working days.

Glossary

EORI Number

Q: Who needs an EORI number?

Any business that imports or exports goods across an EU or UK customs border. For sellers, that means importing stock from outside the EU/UK or shipping orders to customers in another customs territory.

Economic Operators Registration and Identification number

An EORI (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) number is a unique ID that customs authorities use to track and clear businesses that import or export goods into or out of the EU and the UK. Any business moving goods across these customs borders generally needs one.

Last updated: June 2026

Key facts

EORI is mandatory for businesses importing or exporting goods across EU or UK customs borders.
An EU EORI starts with the two-letter country code of the issuing member state (e.g. DE, FR, NL).
After Brexit, the UK has its own EORI scheme — numbers start with "GB" (or "XI" for Northern Ireland).
You only need one EU EORI: it is issued by one member state and is valid across the entire EU.

What an EORI number is for

An EORI number is how customs authorities identify your business on every import and export declaration. Without it, your goods cannot be cleared through customs — shipments get held, delayed, or returned. It is the customs equivalent of a tax ID: a single reference that ties all of your cross-border movements to your business.

The number is used on import declarations, export declarations, and customs paperwork such as the entry summary declaration. Freight forwarders, postal carriers and customs brokers all ask for it when handling a cross-border shipment on your behalf.

Who needs an EORI number

Any business that imports goods into, or exports goods out of, the EU or UK customs territory needs an EORI number. For marketplace sellers this includes importing stock from outside the EU (for example from China or the UK), and shipping orders from the EU to non-EU customers.

You generally do not need an EORI for sales that stay inside a single customs union — for example, shipping from a warehouse in Germany to a customer in France is intra-EU trade and does not cross a customs border. But the moment goods enter or leave the EU or UK customs territory, an EORI is required.

Since Brexit, the EU and the UK are separate customs territories. A seller shipping between the two typically needs both an EU EORI (for the EU side) and a GB EORI (for the UK side).

How to apply for an EORI number

You apply through the customs authority of the relevant country, usually online and free of charge. In the EU you apply in the member state where your business is established; that single EORI is then valid across all 27 EU countries. If your business is established outside the EU, you register in the first member state where you carry out a customs operation.

In the UK, you apply to HMRC for a GB EORI number, which is linked to your VAT registration where you have one. Applications are typically processed within a few working days, though it can take longer at busy periods.

If you are a non-EU business selling into the EU, you may also need to appoint an indirect customs representative or fiscal representative, depending on the country and the customs procedure you use.

Example

A German company importing stock from China would use an EORI such as DE123456789012345 on its import declaration. The same company shipping orders to UK customers after Brexit would also register for a GB EORI (e.g. GB123456789000) to handle the UK customs side.

Why it matters for marketplace sellers

You cannot clear imported stock through customs without an EORI, so it is a prerequisite for sourcing inventory from outside the EU or UK.
Selling cross-border from the EU to the UK (or vice versa) usually requires an EORI on each side of the border.
Your carrier or customs broker will ask for your EORI on every international shipment; missing it causes delays and storage charges.
An EORI is separate from VAT registration and from schemes like IOSS — you may need several of these to run a compliant cross-border operation.