EORI

Economic Operator Registration and Identification. The unique identifier assigned in the EU to any economic operator carrying out customs operations.

Definition

The EORI (Economic Operator Registration and Identification) is the mandatory EU-wide identifier for any economic operator that carries out customs formalities in the European Union: importers, exporters, freight forwarders, carriers, warehouse keepers. It is issued by the customs authority of the member state of establishment and remains valid throughout the EU. The format combines the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code and a variable national identifier.

Origin

EORI was introduced in July 2009 by Regulation (EC) No 312/2009 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93. It replaced legacy national identifiers such as VAT number, freight-forwarder code or taxpayer ID previously used in customs declarations. Today, without a valid EORI no customs declaration is accepted in the EU.

Example in context

FR12345678901234

This French EORI decomposes into FR (ISO 3166-1 country code) and 12345678901234 (14-digit SIRET number). In Germany, EORI is typically composed of the DE prefix followed by 15 digits. The European Commission maintains a public EORI validation service accessible via API and web page.

Related terms

• VAT ID — tax identifier often confused with EORI but distinct.
• SIRET — French national identifier, basis of the French EORI.
• ICD — ISO 6523 qualifier, several ICD codes cover EORI.