France is the EU's second-largest economy and a key market for cross-border trade. French VAT — Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée (TVA) — has several distinctive features including a super-reduced rate and specific rules for agricultural supplies.
French VAT numbers follow the format FR followed by 2 characters (which can be digits or letters — O and I excluded) and then 9 digits. Example: FRXX123456789. The two characters act as a check code and may include letters.
France applies four VAT rates. The standard rate of 20% applies to most goods and services. The intermediate reduced rate of 10% applies to restaurants, passenger transport, home renovation, and certain agricultural products. The reduced rate of 5.5% applies to food, books, residential energy, and cultural events. The super-reduced rate of 2.1% applies to medicines reimbursed by social security, newspapers, and live performances.
French resident businesses must register for VAT once they exceed the annual turnover threshold (which varies by type of supply). Foreign businesses making taxable supplies in France without a French establishment must register from the first euro of taxable supply through the Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP).
French VIES responses can sometimes experience delays, but the database generally returns reliable results. Check any FR VAT number using our free tool.
Check a French VAT number →