EORI Numbers for EU Importers: How to Get One

You cannot clear goods through EU customs without an EORI number. Economic Operators Registration and Identification is the mandatory customs ID for every business moving goods across the EU's external border, whether a full container from Shenzhen or a single pallet of samples from Guangzhou. Apply once, to the customs authority of the EU country where your business is established, and the number works in all 27 member states. It costs nothing; most authorities issue it in a few working days.

If your company is based outside the EU, the rule shifts: you apply in the member state where you carry out your first customs operation. Getting this wrong is one of the most common reasons first-time importers watch cargo sit in port while storage charges accumulate. If you are setting up your first China-to-EU lane, CN Ally lines up the whole sequence, verified suppliers, inspection, and a forwarder briefed on your declaration data, so the paperwork and the freight move together instead of colliding at the border.

What an EORI number is, in plain terms

EORI stands for Economic Operators Registration and Identification. It has been the EU's standard customs identifier since 2009, and its legal basis is Article 9 of the Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. Every economic operator involved in customs activities in the EU must hold one.

The format is simple: a two-letter code for the issuing member state, followed by up to 15 alphanumeric characters. In practice the tail often mirrors a national business register. In France, an EORI number is typically FR plus the 14 digits of the company's SIRET. In the Netherlands, it is NL plus the company's RSIN number, as the Dutch Chamber of Commerce explains. Whatever the local shape, the number is unique to you across the whole customs territory of the Union.

Three properties of the system matter most for importers:

• One person, one number. At any point in time you can hold only one valid EORI number. Once assigned, you must use it in all communications with any EU customs authority where a customs identifier is required.
• Valid everywhere. A number issued in Germany clears goods in Rotterdam, Antwerp, or Genoa just as well. The Commission runs a central electronic system, so every customs office can verify your registration.
• Free of charge. Member states assign the number without a fee. Anyone charging you a large sum "to obtain an EORI" is selling you a service, not the number itself.

An EORI is not a VAT number, even though applications often ask for your VAT number as supporting detail. It is also distinct from Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status, although businesses that hold AEO authorisation already have an EORI number and need take no further action on this front.

Do you actually need an EORI number?

The Commission's EORI guidance draws the line clearly. You need an EORI number if you are an economic operator established in the EU customs territory, or if you are not established there but you lodge customs declarations, lodge entry or exit summary declarations, lodge declarations for temporary storage, or act as a carrier in the EU. In practice, that covers almost everyone importing commercially from China. The scenarios below show how the rule lands in real situations:

Your situation · Do you need an EORI?

• EU company importing goods from China: Yes. Apply in the country where your business is established.
• Non-EU company importing into the EU: Yes. Apply in the first member state where you lodge a declaration.
• Trading goods only within the EU, no customs procedures: No. Intra-EU movements need no customs declaration.
• Private individual importing occasionally for personal use: Usually not. Member states set their own thresholds; Germany, for example, generally exempts individuals filing fewer than 10 declarations a year.
• Moving stock from China to an EU fulfilment centre (Amazon FBA or similar): Yes. You are the importer of record for the inbound shipment, and your EORI goes on the declaration.

One point that confuses first-time importers: your customs broker files the declaration, but the EORI on it is yours, not theirs. A broker acts on your behalf; the legal identity on the import entry is your business. If you are unsure who the importer of record should be in your setup, our importer of record guide walks through the decision, including the DDP trap where a supplier quotes duty-paid with no one designated to clear the goods.

The one rule that decides where you apply

Everything about the application flows from a single principle: apply where you are established.

• Established in the EU? Apply to the national customs authority of the member state where your business is established.
• Not established in the EU? Apply in the member state where you intend to carry out your first customs operation, meaning the first declaration you lodge or the first customs decision you request.
• Multiple permanent establishments in the EU? You may register in any of the member states where you have an establishment.

Because only one EORI number can be valid for you at a time, never apply in two countries "just in case." Duplicate applications create confusion in the central database and can slow down the very clearance you were trying to speed up. If you already hold an EORI from one member state and start importing through another, you simply use the existing number.

What the application asks for, country by country

The dossier is similar across member states: legal company name, registered address, contact details, VAT number if you are VAT-registered, national company registration number, and identification for the person signing the application. Some countries ask for a commercial register extract. Non-EU applicants generally need to supply their home-country business registration documents as well.

Where you file, though, is entirely national. Each member state runs its own portal and its own forms:

Member state · Where you apply · What to know

• Germany: Generalzolldirektion (GZD), Master Data Management in Dresden; online via the zoll-portal.de portal, or on paper with form 0870a for operators and 0870c for private individuals · Companies attach a current commercial register extract or business registration. Allow extra time for paper applications.
• Netherlands: Dutch Customs (Douane). If your company holds an RSIN and you file your own declarations, you simply use NL plus the RSIN as your EORI; otherwise apply through the customs website · Free, and sole proprietorships must go through the application route rather than self-composing.
• France: SOPRANO-EORI online portal · Non-EU companies can have a customs representative file the request under a written mandate. Check the EU database first to make sure no EORI already exists for you.
• Italy: Italian Customs Agency (Agenzia delle Dogane), in the member state of your first customs operation if you are non-EU · An EORI issued by any other member state is valid here with no re-registration.
• Poland: PUESC, the electronic fiscal and customs services platform · Registration involves creating an account, registering company data, and signing electronically.

Processing times differ by member state. Many customs authorities issue the number within a few working days of a complete online application; a handful take longer, particularly for paper filings. The practical lesson from every delayed first shipment is the same: apply at least a few weeks before your goods sail, not when the vessel is already approaching the port. A missing or invalid EORI stops clearance cold, and the entry summary declaration your carrier files before arrival already needs the number.

Applying as a company based outside the EU

Non-EU businesses, including importers in the US, the UK, and the Middle East buying from China for EU distribution, follow the first-operation rule. You do not apply from home; you register in the first EU country where you act for customs purposes. In practice, choose the member state where your freight first enters the EU or where your customs representative is based, because that is where the relationship will actually live.

Two practical realities shape this process. First, non-EU importers almost always act through a customs representative in the member state. In France, for example, the EORI request itself can be handled by a customs representative acting under your written mandate, which solves the problem of dealing with a foreign-language portal. Second, some member states are stricter than others about direct applications from third-country companies. Germany, for instance, grants EORI numbers to non-EU operators only in limited cases, so most non-EU importers routing freight through Germany simply work through a representative instead.

There is a direct parallel here with the importer-of-record question. If you sell into the EU on DDP terms and act as the importer yourself, you need your own EU EORI number; you cannot borrow your customer's or your forwarder's. The importer of record explainer covers the DDP scenarios where foreign sellers get caught without one.

The UK wrinkle

Brexit created a separate track. UK businesses apply to HMRC for a GB EORI number through the gov.uk portal. You need a Government Gateway sign-in, and the number is normally issued immediately unless HMRC needs to run checks, which can take up to five working days. Businesses moving goods involving Northern Ireland may additionally need an XI EORI number.

The critical point for China sourcing: a GB EORI number is not valid in the EU27. A UK company importing from China into, say, the Netherlands or Germany needs an EU EORI number from the member state of first declaration, on top of its GB number. Budget for both applications when you plan the lane.

Check the number before the cargo moves

The Commission provides a public EORI validation tool, and experienced brokers validate every number before filing. Use it. A single transposed digit on the import declaration means a rejected entry, and rejected entries mean storage fees while the paperwork is corrected. Validate when the number is issued, validate again before your first shipment of the year, and make sure the legal name and address on your commercial invoice match the registered data behind the number. Declarations that disagree with the registered record invite questions you do not want at the border.

The number also appears upstream of the port: the entry summary declaration your carrier lodges before the goods arrive carries the EORI, which is another reason the application cannot wait until the vessel docks. Our step-by-step customs clearance guide shows exactly where the number enters the sequence, from carrier filing through release.

What your EORI number actually does at the border

The EORI number is the key that links your shipment to your identity in every EU customs system. When your broker or forwarder files the import declaration, your EORI goes on it, and customs uses it to pull up your registered details, check your authorization for any simplifications or guarantees you claim, and record the declaration against your import history.

Customs risk systems score declarations partly on the importer's track record. A new EORI with no history gets more document checks and physical examinations than an established one with clean entries. This is normal and not a sign of trouble; it is the system calibrating. Keep declarations consistent and accurate from day one; the record follows every future shipment.

The EORI also interacts with VAT. When you import into one member state and move the goods to another, the import VAT is accounted for through the VAT mechanisms tied to your registration. Your broker will ask for both numbers, and mismatches between the EORI record and the VAT registration are a classic source of "please clarify" delays. Match the legal name and address exactly on both registrations before the first declaration.

If you use a customs broker or a DDP forwarder, they file under your EORI, not theirs. That is why the number must exist before the goods arrive, and why handing the broker a wrong or borrowed number stops the clearance cold.

The mistakes that stall first shipments

Most EORI problems aren't complicated; they are administrative, and they all strike at the worst moment.

Applying in two member states. One number is valid EU-wide. A second application does not give you a backup; it gives the database a duplicate to reconcile.

Confusing the EORI with a VAT number. They are different identifiers for different systems. Your EORI application may ask for your VAT number, but quoting the VAT number on a customs declaration does not substitute for an EORI.

Applying too late. The number is free and takes days, not months, yet importers still apply the week the container ships. Apply when the purchase order is signed, or earlier.

Using someone else's number. The EORI on the import declaration must belong to the importer of record. Your forwarder's number, your supplier's number, or your customer's number in the wrong box will all come back as errors.

The wrong member state for non-EU operators. Registering in your home country, or in an EU country you merely considered using, does not satisfy the first-operation rule.

Letting registered details go stale. If your company changes its legal name, address, or legal form, update the registration. Customs compares declaration data against the registered record.

How long does an EORI number application take?

It varies by member state. Many customs authorities issue the number within a few working days of receiving a complete online application; paper filings and certain countries take longer. Because timelines are national, apply at least a few weeks before your first shipment rather than counting on the fastest case.

Can I import into the EU without an EORI number?

Not for commercial customs operations. The number is mandatory for import, export, and transit declarations. Without a valid EORI on the entry, your goods cannot clear, and they will sit in temporary storage until the paperwork is fixed.

Is an EORI number the same as a VAT number?

No. The EORI identifies you to customs authorities; the VAT number identifies you to tax authorities. You need both for importing into the EU, and they serve different purposes on different documents.

Can I hold EORI numbers in two EU countries?

No. Only one EORI number can be valid for you at any time, and it is valid in all member states. If you already have one, use it everywhere instead of applying again.

Do I need an EORI number for dropshipping from China?

It depends on whose name is on the customs declaration. If you are named as the importer, for example because you hold the stock relationship and the parcels clear under your identity, you need your own EORI. If a marketplace or logistics provider acts as the importer of record, their number is used instead. Check the arrangement before assuming either way.

Does my Chinese supplier need an EORI number?

No. The EORI is an EU-side identifier. Your supplier in China deals with Chinese export customs, not EU import customs. The EORI obligation sits with whoever acts as the importer into the EU, which is normally you or your designated representative.

What happens if my EORI application is still pending when the goods arrive?

The goods cannot clear until a valid EORI is on the declaration. They sit at the port or in a bonded warehouse accruing storage charges while you wait. This is the most expensive way to learn that the application takes days. Apply when the purchase order is signed, not when the vessel sails.

Do I need an EORI number just to transit goods through the EU?

Yes, if you are the declarant for the transit procedure. Transit is a customs procedure like any other, and the system needs an identified economic operator. If your forwarder handles transit under their own authorization, confirm whose number is on the declaration before assuming you are covered.

Apply before the ship sails

The decision rule is simple: if you will import, export, transit, or carry goods across the EU's external border at any point in the coming months, file the EORI application this week. It is free, it is valid in all 27 member states, and it is the one document you cannot improvise at the port.

If you are building your first China-to-EU import lane, CN Ally can set up the commercial side to match: verified suppliers, pre-shipment inspection, and a forwarder briefed on your EORI and declaration data before the goods move. Email hi@cnally.com with your target EU port and timeline, and the paperwork will be ready before the cargo is.