UK VAT Number Service Availability and Issues Update

UK HMRC Publications & Guidance

Published March 13th, 2026

Detected March 13th, 2026

Summary

HM Revenue & Customs has updated guidance on the availability of the Check a UK VAT number online service. The latest update from March 13, 2026, confirms potential service disruptions for new VAT registrations between March 16-20, 2026.

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What changed

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has issued an update regarding service availability for the 'Check a UK VAT number' online service. The latest amendment, dated March 13, 2026, informs users that new VAT registrations may not appear on the service from March 16 to March 20, 2026. The service will remain operational for checking existing VAT numbers during this period.

This update is informational and does not impose new obligations on regulated entities. Businesses that rely on the service for real-time VAT registration status should be aware of this temporary limitation. No specific compliance actions are required, but awareness of potential delays in VAT registration visibility is advised.

Source document (simplified)

Guidance

Check a UK VAT number: service availability and issues

Check the availability and any issues affecting the Check a UK VAT number online service.

From: HM Revenue & Customs Published 1 December 2020 Last updated 13 March 2026
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Documents

Check a UK VAT number — service availability and issues

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Details

Latest updates on the availability and any issues affecting the Check a UK VAT number online service.

Updates to this page

Published 1 December 2020 Last updated 13 March 2026 show all updates
1.
13 March 2026

A service issue message to confirm that new VAT registrations may not appear on the 'Check a UK VAT number' service from 9am on Monday 16 March 2026 to 5pm on Friday 20 March 2026 has been added. You will still able to use the service during this time to check a UK VAT number.
2.
9 October 2024

The service availability message about new VAT registrations has been amended. Recent changes of circumstances may not appear on the service between 8am on Monday 14 October 2024 to 5pm Friday 18 October 2024.
3.
19 September 2024

A service availability message to confirm that new VAT registrations may not appear on the Check a UK VAT number service between 8am on Monday 14 October 2024 to 5pm Friday 18 October 2024 has been added. You will still able to use the service during this time to check a UK VAT number.
4.
6 August 2024

A service issue about errors when checking a UK VAT registration number has been added.
5.
6 October 2023

A service issue about non-UK addresses within the check a UK Vat number service has been added.
6.
22 June 2023

Planned downtime from 8am to 3pm Sunday 25 June 2023 has been added.
7.
22 March 2023

Updated the 'service issues' section to confirm that there are some instances where VAT registrations may not appear in the online service. We are working to resolve this issue.
8.
21 March 2023

New VAT registrations and some change of circumstances may not appear in the online service, we are working to resolve this issue.
9.
15 February 2023

The issue relating to new VAT registrations and some change of circumstances not appearing in the service has been resolved.
10.
2 February 2023

New VAT registrations and some change of circumstances may not appear in the online service, we are working to resolve this issue.
11.
15 November 2022

The service issue about some VAT registrations not appearing on the Check a UK VAT number online service has now been resolved.
12.
10 October 2022

There are some instances where new VAT registrations and change of circumstances are not appearing on the ‘Check a UK VAT number’ online service. This is currently being investigated.
13.
3 October 2022

The service issue about checking a UK VAT number for new VAT registrations has been resolved.
14.
20 September 2022

The service issue about checking a UK VAT number has been updated to include issues about changes in circumstances not appearing on this service.
15.
15 August 2022

A service issue about checking a UK VAT number for new VAT registrations has been added.
16.
18 July 2022

The service issue in which some instances of new VAT registrations were not appearing on the 'Check a UK VAT number' online service has been fixed.
17.
8 July 2022

A service issue has been identified. There are some instances where new VAT registrations are not appearing on the 'Check a UK VAT number' online service. This is currently being investigated.
18.
28 June 2022

A service issue has been identified. There are some instances where new VAT registrations are not appearing on the Check a UK VAT number online service. This is currently being investigated.
19.
20 June 2022

A service issue about new VAT registrations has been added.
20.
7 March 2022

The service issue in which some instances of new VAT registrations were not appearing on the 'Check a UK VAT number' online service has been fixed.
21.
3 March 2022

First published.