Here’s how to get a VAT registration number in the UK

Registering for VAT might sound complicated, but honestly, it’s a sign your business is growing — and that’s fantastic news.

We’re here to walk you through how to get a VAT registration number in the UK, step by step, so you feel totally confident and in control. 

It’s a really straightforward task with just a few important things to know and keep in mind. Trust us, you’ll be zipping through it in no time.

Key takeaways:

• VAT is a tax added to most goods and services sold in the UK — knowing what it is will help you understand your duties
• You’ll generally need to register for VAT if your VAT-taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in a 12-month period — or if you expect it to
• You register via HMRC’s VAT registration form 
• Voluntary VAT registration offers real benefits for businesses below the threshold

VAT is a consumption tax, which means it’s added to the price of most goods and services sold in the UK.

A VAT registration number (often just called a VAT number) is a unique identifier for your business that’s issued by HMRC. It’s used to track and manage all your company’s VAT-related responsibilities. 

Only after successfully registering for VAT with HMRC do you receive your official VAT number. In the UK, a VAT number is a nine-digit code, often appearing with the prefix ‘GB’—for example, GB123456789. 

Once you’re VAT registered,  you must include it on all your invoices and business documents and you have some responsibilities, which include:

• Keeping accurate records of all your VAT-registered transactions
• Charging the correct rate of VAT on your goods and services 
• Submitting a regular VAT Return (usually quarterly) to HMRC

There are different VAT rates, depending on what you’re selling. Here’s a quick summary of the differences between VAT rates and the goods they apply to:

Lots of different types of companies register for VAT, including limited companies, sole traders and limited liability partnerships. 

Registering for VAT is a legal requirement if your business’s VAT-taxable turnover exceeds, or is about to exceed, the VAT registration threshold.

Taxable turnover is the total value of all your company’s sales and services that are not exempt from VAT. So, this would include your income from goods and services that are standard-rated, reduced-rated, or zero-rated. 

The current VAT registration threshold is £90,000. So, if you hit that amount, or if you expect to hit it within the next 30 days, then it’s time to get registered.

You can choose to register for VAT voluntarily — and we’ll come onto this in a bit. 

Although you haven’t gone through the formal company registration process, as a sole trader, you’re treated just like any other business when it comes to VAT. 

If your taxable turnover goes over the £90,000 threshold in a 12-month period, you’ll legally need to register for VAT. 

VAT registration is all about your business’s taxable turnover, not its legal structure. So, if you’re a sole trader hitting those numbers, you’ll be part of the VAT club too. 

Let’s imagine you run a business but you haven’t hit the current VAT threshold yet.

You can opt for voluntary VAT registration. While it might seem like unnecessary extra admin, there are some good reasons why you might choose to register for VAT voluntarily. Here’s why:

This is the most common reason many businesses below the VAT registration threshold choose to register. It means you can reclaim the VAT you’ve been charged by other companies on goods and services. This can lead to significant savings, which is generally great.

Example: You buy a new laptop for £1,500 (including £200 VAT). If you’re VAT registered, you can claim the £200 back and put it straight back into your business. Winner!

Being VAT registered can make your business look bigger and more professional, especially if you’re dealing with larger clients or businesses. It signals that you’re serious. Plus, larger businesses often prefer to deal with other VAT-registered companies as it simplifies their own accounting. 

If your main competitors are VAT registered, registering your business for VAT ensures you’re operating on a level playing field. By charging VAT on your products and services, you are aligning your price structure with your competitors, which helps you maintain a strong position in your market.

If you’re buying or selling goods and services internationally, especially within the EU, being VAT registered can make cross-border transactions easier. For example, you can zero-rate exports (meaning, your overseas customers are charged 0% VAT, which makes your goods more competitively priced in the international market), reclaim import tax, and present a more professional image to overseas partners. 

If you’re ready to get a VAT registration number — awesome news. 

You typically register for VAT through HMRC’s website. You can register for VAT by post (using the VAT1 paper form), but it’s not usually advised because it takes a lot longer to process. But if that’s how you like to do things, no worries.

Before you jump straight in, it’s a good idea to gather all the information you’ll need. This will differ slightly depending on whether you’re a sole trader, limited company, or partnership. 

If you’re a sole trader or a partnership, you’ll need: 

• Your National Insurance number
• Your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
• Your business address
• Your business bank account details
• Details of your taxable turnover, including the date you exceeded the threshold, or when you expect to exceed it 
  Details of any partners (tip: If you’re registering a partnership for VAT, you’ll need to fill out form ‘VAT2’ with details of each partner and submit it with your application)

If you’re a limited company, you’ll need: 

• Company name
• Description of your business activities 
• Your Company Registration Number (CRN)
• Your company’s Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
• The date your company was registered 
• Your company’s registered address or business address 
• Details of your taxable turnover, including the date you exceeded the threshold, or when you expect to exceed it 
• Your details, including National Insurance number, address and date of birth
• Your business bank account details (tip: if you’ve set up a limited company, you’ll need a business current account to pay your VAT and manage any refunds from HMRC)
• Corporation Tax and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) details (if applicable)

It’s a good idea to keep all your business records in one, easily accessible folder so processes like this can be taken care of quickly with no stress.

Registering with HMRC is the easiest way to get a VAT registration number in the UK. Here’s a simple breakdown of the steps you need to follow:

Step 1: Log in to your HMRC account with your Government Gateway ID and password

• If you don’t have a Government Gateway ID, you’ll need to create one. Just follow the prompts on the HMRC online service sign-in page

Step 2: Access the VAT registration service

Once you’ve logged into your account, navigate to the tax section, check the box for ‘VAT and VAT services’, and select which VAT service you’d like to add.

Step 3: Provide your business details

You’ll be asked why you’re applying for VAT and for all the information you gathered earlier.

Step 4: Review and submit

Take your time so you don’t make any mistakes when inputting the information, and when you’re happy, submit it. 

Once you’ve submitted, HMRC will process your application. If everything looks good and there are no mistakes, they’ll send you a VAT registration certificate, usually within about 30 days. This certificate will include your shiny new VAT number — yay!

As we mentioned earlier, the VAT registration threshold for the current tax year (2024/2025) is £90,000. 

The threshold covers a “rolling” 12-month period, which means you need to constantly monitor your taxable turnover, not just at the end of your accounting year. 

If your turnover crosses the £90,000 mark at any point, you’ll need to register within 30 days.

If you register late, watch out because you could get a penalty from HMRC and have to pay VAT on sales you made from the date you should have registered. 

Tip: If you’re worried about going over the threshold, you could try using a business current account app to help keep track of your income and make sure you don’t miss the deadline.

This is a really common question. For the majority of online applications, the HMRC VAT registration process usually takes between 10 and 30 days. 

However, it can sometimes take longer. Here are the common reasons why: 

• There are mistakes in the application
• HMRC needs to ask you for more information
• Your application is complex

If you experience any of the above, VAT registration could take up to 60 days. If HMRC needs more information from you, they’ll usually write to you via letter.

Tip: It’s always a good idea to apply well in advance of when you think you might need to register for VAT, just to be safe.

There might come a time when you no longer need to be VAT registered — perhaps your business has scaled down, or maybe your turnover has dropped significantly. Or perhaps being voluntarily registered for VAT no longer makes sense. 

You can apply to cancel your VAT registration if you expect your taxable turnover to fall below what’s called the deregistration threshold (currently £88,000) in the next 12 months.

You can cancel your VAT registration online through your Government Gateway account or by post using the VAT7 form. Be aware that you may have to pay VAT on any stock and assets your business still owns on the final day of registration — so while you may have cancelled, you may still have payments to make.

We hope this has made VAT registration feel a lot less scary. Whether you’re voluntarily registering or you’ve smashed past the threshold, it’s a positive step that signals business growth.

If you’re thinking about setting up a limited company, we’ve got you covered. Forming a company is easy with Countingup’s company registration service. We’ll get your new limited company up and running in 24 hours. Before you get started, why not check if your desired business name is available with our handy company name availability checker? 

Best of luck on your VAT journey. You’ve got this!

If you’re already VAT registered, you can find your VAT registration number on a few official documents. Check your original VAT registration certificate, any past VAT Returns you’ve submitted, or any official letters you’ve received from HMRC regarding your VAT. 

A VAT-registered company is legally required to display its VAT number on all its invoices, receipts, letterheads, and website footer. If you need to do a VAT registration check, use this official ‘Check a UK VAT number‘ online service to verify a number or contact the business directly.

Yes, absolutely, as long as your taxable turnover doesn’t exceed the current £90,000 threshold. If you’re a new or small business below this limit, you don’t need to register and you can’t charge VAT if you’re not registered. Once your sales cross that line, you must register.

A standard UK VAT number is made up of a country prefix followed by nine digits. For businesses in England, Scotland, or Wales, the format is usually ‘GB’ followed by nine numbers, like GB123456789. Businesses in Northern Ireland trading with the EU might use an ‘XI’ prefix.

If you’re trading with a business in the EU, you can check their VAT registration number using the free online VIES tool. This is operated by the European Commission and lets you verify that an EU VAT number is valid and associated with a business in an EU country.