README

A lightweight, type-safe PHP package for validating EU VAT numbers via the European Commission's VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) REST service.

Features

Type-safe: PHP 8.1+ type declarations and modern enum support
Clean architecture: DTOs, validation, and HTTP adapters
Production + test modes: Switch services via ViesConfig
Error handling: Structured exceptions for validation and REST errors
Approximate matching: Trader detail matching support
All EU countries: EU member states plus Northern Ireland
Tested: Pest-based test suite

Requirements

PHP 8.1 or higher
ext-curl
ext-json
ext-mbstring

Installation

Install the package via Composer:

composer require omisai/vies-rest

Quick Start

Basic VAT Validation

use Omisai\ViesRest\ViesClient;

$client = new ViesClient();
$response = $client->checkVat('DE', '123456789');

if ($response->valid) {
    echo "✅ Valid VAT: {$response->countryCode}{$response->vatNumber}\n";
    echo "Company: {$response->name}\n";
    echo "Address: {$response->address}\n";
} else {
    echo "❌ Invalid VAT number\n";
}

Using the Test Service

use Omisai\ViesRest\ViesClient;
use Omisai\ViesRest\ViesConfig;

$client = new ViesClient(ViesConfig::test());
$response = $client->checkVat('DE', '100');

var_dump($response->valid); // true for test numbers

Configuration

Environment Configuration

use Omisai\ViesRest\ViesConfig;

$production = ViesConfig::production();
$test = ViesConfig::test();

$custom = ViesConfig::production(baseUrl: 'https://custom-vies.example.com');

HTTP Client Options

use Omisai\ViesRest\ViesClient;
use Omisai\ViesRest\ViesConfig;

$options = [
    'timeout' => 30,
    'connect_timeout' => 10,
    'headers' => [
        'User-Agent' => 'MyApp/1.0',
    ],
];

$client = new ViesClient(ViesConfig::production(options: $options));

API Reference

ViesClient

`checkVat(string $countryCode, string $vatNumber): CheckVatResponse`

Validates a VAT number and returns basic information.

`checkVatApprox(CheckVatRequest $request): CheckVatResponse`

Performs approximate validation with trader details.

`checkStatus(): StatusInformationResponse`

Returns availability info for member states.

Data Transfer Objects (DTOs)

CheckVatRequest

use Omisai\ViesRest\DTO\CheckVatRequest;

$request = new CheckVatRequest(
    countryCode: 'NL',
    vatNumber: '123456789B01',
    traderName: 'Example B.V.',
    traderStreet: 'Main Street 123',
    traderPostalCode: '1234AB',
    traderCity: 'Amsterdam',
    requesterMemberStateCode: 'DE',
    requesterNumber: '123456789',
);

CheckVatResponse

echo $response->countryCode;
echo $response->vatNumber;
echo $response->requestDate->format('Y-m-d');
echo $response->valid ? 'Yes' : 'No';

Supported Countries

use Omisai\ViesRest\Enum\EuropeanUnionCountry;

$isValid = EuropeanUnionCountry::isEuropeanUnionCountryCode('DE'); // true
$isValid = EuropeanUnionCountry::isEuropeanUnionCountryCode('US'); // false

Error Handling

Validation Errors

use Omisai\ViesRest\Exceptions\ViesValidationException;
use Omisai\ViesRest\ViesClient;

$client = new ViesClient();

try {
    $client->checkVat('INVALID', '123');
} catch (ViesValidationException $e) {
    echo "Validation error: {$e->getMessage()}\n";
}

REST API Errors

use Omisai\ViesRest\Exceptions\ViesApiException;
use Omisai\ViesRest\ViesClient;

$client = new ViesClient();

try {
    $client->checkVat('DE', '123456789');
} catch (ViesApiException $e) {
    echo "API error: {$e->getMessage()}\n";
    echo "Status code: {$e->getStatusCode()}\n";
}

Advanced Usage

Custom HTTP Client Factory

use Omisai\ViesRest\ViesClient;
use Omisai\ViesRest\Http\HttpClientFactoryInterface;

class CustomHttpClientFactory implements HttpClientFactoryInterface
{
    public function create(string $baseUrl, array $options = [])
    {
        // Return a custom adapter implementing HttpClientInterface
    }
}

$client = new ViesClient(clientFactory: new CustomHttpClientFactory());

Custom Validation

use Omisai\ViesRest\ViesClient;
use Omisai\ViesRest\Validation\VatNumberValidator;

class CustomVatNumberValidator extends VatNumberValidator
{
    // Implement custom validation logic
}

$client = new ViesClient(validator: new CustomVatNumberValidator());

Batch Processing

use Omisai\ViesRest\ViesClient;

$client = new ViesClient();
$vatNumbers = [
    ['DE', '123456789'],
    ['NL', '123456789B01'],
    ['FR', '12345678901'],
];

$results = [];
foreach ($vatNumbers as [$country, $vat]) {
    try {
        $response = $client->checkVat($country, $vat);
        $results[] = [
            'country' => $response->countryCode,
            'vat' => $response->vatNumber,
            'valid' => $response->valid,
            'name' => $response->name,
        ];
    } catch (Exception $e) {
        $results[] = [
            'country' => $country,
            'vat' => $vat,
            'error' => $e->getMessage(),
        ];
    }
}

print_r($results);

Testing

Run the test suite using Pest:

composer test

Performance Considerations

The VIES service has rate limits - avoid excessive requests
REST calls are synchronous and may take 1-5 seconds
Consider caching valid VAT numbers to reduce API calls
Use the test service for development to avoid affecting production quotas

Limitations

Requires internet connection to VIES service
Service may be unavailable during maintenance windows
Rate limiting applies to prevent abuse
Some countries may have additional validation rules

Contributing

Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for details on how to contribute to this project.

Security

Please see SECURITY.md for details on reporting security vulnerabilities.

License

This package is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.

Sponsoring

If you find this package useful, please consider sponsoring the development: Sponsoring on GitHub

Your support helps us maintain and improve this open-source project!

omisai / vies-rest

Maintainers

Details