Sanctions News Desk · Company verification
VIES and Peppol: two checks before onboarding an EU company
A VAT number and a Peppol participant ID answer different onboarding questions. ScreenVeritAI now lets you check both, separately, from the dashboard or API and keep the results in your account history. Neither result is a verdict on whether a company is safe to trade with.
By ScreenVeritAI team, Product and engineering
· Updated
Key facts
- VIES: VAT number validation
- Peppol Directory: Participant listing lookup
- ScreenVeritAI: Dashboard, API and saved history
Start with the question, not the badge
An onboarding file can contain several identifiers. Do not treat them as interchangeable evidence. Ask which fact you want to confirm, enter the identifier for that source and retain the result with its check time.
| Check | Input | Question |
|---|---|---|
| VIES | Country code and VAT number | Is the VAT number valid in VIES? |
| Peppol Directory | Participant ID including its scheme | Is the participant listed in the Directory? |
| Separate sanctions screening | Entity name and identifying context | Are there potential matches in the checked lists? |
What VIES tells you
VIES validates VAT numbers using information from national administrations. ScreenVeritAI shows the returned status and company name or address when supplied. A valid result does not establish ownership or replace a sanctions check.
What Peppol Directory tells you
Peppol Directory lists participant information, including published business names and document types. Publication is voluntary: absence from the Directory does not prove absence from the network. Our lookup is not a live invoice-delivery test.
Run the checks in ScreenVeritAI
Open Business verification in the dashboard. For VIES, select the country and
enter the VAT number; a pasted country prefix is accepted. For Peppol, use the
participant identifier with its scheme, in the form 0208:…. Do not substitute
a company name for an identifier. Start each check separately.
The result names its source and records the check time. Reopen it from the same account's history when reviewing the onboarding file. Treat the saved result as evidence of that check, not a promise that the status will remain unchanged.
For integrations, use an API key with search:write permission:
POST /api/v1/business-verification/vies
POST /api/v1/business-verification/peppol
The current allowance is 20 attempts per account per UTC day, shared between the two checks and both access channels, resetting at 00:00 UTC. These calls do not deduct screening credits or prepaid funds. API rate limits still apply. Input rejected as malformed, such as an unsupported country code or a badly formed number, does not consume an attempt. A well-formed number that VIES reports as invalid does, and so does an attempt that ends in a provider error.
Keep an error separate from a negative finding
If a provider times out or cannot complete the request, ScreenVeritAI reports an error. It does not convert that failure into an invalid VAT number or an absent Directory entry. Retry later and retain the distinction in your review.
The official sources can also be used directly. Our integration adds a shared workspace, API access and account history alongside the other checks you run. It does not issue registrations, send invoices or make your due-diligence decision.
Frequently asked questions
Are these checks part of sanctions screening?
No. They are separate identifier checks in Business verification. Run sanctions screening separately when your process calls for it.
Can I automate these checks?
Yes. The VIES and Peppol endpoints accept API keys with search:write permission and share the same daily account allowance as the dashboard.
Sources
- Check a VAT number (VIES) — European Commission, September 21, 2026
- Peppol Directory introduction — OpenPeppol, September 21, 2026
- Peppol Directory REST API — OpenPeppol, September 21, 2026