French Tax Identification Number 2026: NIF, SIREN, VAT

Quick answer. France uses several non-interchangeable identifiers. The personal NIF (also called SPI) is a 13-digit lifetime number issued by the DGFiP, starting with 0, 1, 2 or 3. The SIREN (9 digits) and SIRET (14 digits) are INSEE business identifiers. The French intra-EU VAT number is built as FR + 2-digit key + 9-digit SIREN and must be checked on the VIES portal before any B2B transaction in the European Union. From September 1, 2026, with mandatory reception of electronic invoices through a Plateforme Agréée (PA), an invalid VAT number triggers an immediate rejection of the invoice.

The phrase "tax identification number" actually covers four distinct identifiers in France: the personal tax number (NIF / SPI), INSEE business identifiers (SIREN, SIRET), the individual intra-EU VAT identification number, and the international TIN used for automatic information exchange (CRS, FATCA). In 2026, three regulatory shifts make this discipline strategic for foreign-owned businesses and French SMEs alike.

First, the French e-invoicing reform: ordinance no. 2021-1190 of September 15, 2021, completed by the 2024 Finance Act, sets a phased timeline. From September 1, 2026, every VAT-registered business in France must be able to receive electronic invoices through a Plateforme Agréée (PA). A PA systematically validates the invoice structure, including the intra-EU VAT number of issuer and recipient. An invalid identifier blocks the entire flow.

Second, the strengthening of VIES checks (VAT Information Exchange System) by the European Commission. Since the "quick fixes" package (Directive 2018/1910, transposed into article 262 ter of the French General Tax Code), the validity of the customer's intra-EU VAT number is a substantive condition for VAT exemption on intra-EU supplies of goods, not merely a formal one. Without a valid VIES record, French VAT remains due.

Third, the expansion of international tax-ID obligations: banks, marketplaces (under DAC 7), and foreign administrations systematically request the TIN of the beneficial owner. An incorrect entry can freeze a dividend distribution, a holding payout or a finder's fee.

The identifiers serve distinct purposes. The table below summarizes each.

The personal NIF (or SPI, Système de gestion des Personnes Imposables) is allocated automatically on the taxpayer's first French filing and stays invariant for life, even after name changes, relocations or family events. It appears on every tax notice, on the pre-filled income return and inside the impots.gouv.fr personal area.

SIREN and SIRET are not tax numbers in the strict sense — they belong to the Sirene business registry managed by INSEE. However, they form the backbone of nearly every professional identifier (VAT, EORI, employer social security), which fuels the common confusion. For more on the customs identifier, see our deep dive on the EORI number in 2026.

The French construction follows a formula published by the tax authority and the European Commission:

FR + key (2 digits) + SIREN (9 digits)

The 2-digit key is computed as: key = [12 + 3 × (SIREN modulo 97)] modulo 97. For example, with SIREN 404 833 048: key = [12 + 3 × (404833048 mod 97)] mod 97 = [12 + 3 × 56] mod 97 = 180 mod 97 = 83. The full number is FR 83 404833048.

Allocation is governed by article 286 ter of the French General Tax Code (CGI) and detailed in BOFiP BOI-TVA-DECLA-20-10-20: the local business tax office (SIE) issues it to any taxable person meeting one of the listed conditions. The number is national, unique and invariant, regardless of the number of establishments. It must appear on intra-EU invoices, recapitulative statements (DEB / EMEBI and DES) and equivalent documents.

Application and VIES verification steps#

1. Check eligibility: thresholds, nature of operations (intra-EU acquisitions above €10,000, EU service supplies, distance sales, etc.).
2. Apply to the SIE of your registered office (form or secure messaging within the impots.gouv.fr professional area).
3. Receive the number: it is pre-printed on the next VAT return. Typical lead time: 5 to 15 business days.
4. Activate the VIES record: the DGFiP forwards the number to the EU VIES database. Without this step, EU customers cannot validate your status.
5. Check suppliers and customers on the European Commission's VIES portal before any exempt transaction.
6. Keep the proof of check: a time-stamped VIES screenshot (the service issues a query reference acceptable as DGFiP evidence).

For an individual, the NIF / SPI appears:

• on every tax notice (income tax, property tax);
• on the pre-filled income return;
• inside the personal area on impots.gouv.fr (under "My profile");
• on the allocation letter sent at first filing.

If lost, recovery is done via impots.gouv.fr ("I lost my login credentials") or at the local tax office on presentation of ID.

For a business, identifiers can be retrieved as follows:

• SIREN / SIRET: on the Kbis extract, the free INSEE Sirene directory, or any commercial document;
• Intra-EU VAT number: on pre-printed CA3 / CA12 VAT returns, in the impots.gouv.fr professional area ("View my tax account"), or by computation from the SIREN;
• Professional tax number: on the annual tax bundle and in the professional area.

Sole trader under the VAT franchise. A French auto-entrepreneur receives a SIREN at registration but no intra-EU VAT number as long as they remain under the franchise regime (article 293 B of the CGI). They must request a number from the SIE once they exceed the thresholds, opt in for VAT, or carry out a first intra-EU acquisition above €10,000.

Non-resident with a French bank account. A non-French tax resident holding a French bank account must provide either their French NIF (if they ever had one) or their TIN from the country of residence, under CRS obligations. The bank cannot open or maintain the account without it.

Holding company and VAT group (single taxable person). Since January 1, 2023, the single taxable person regime (article 256 C of the CGI) creates a new VAT identifier at group level, distinct from the historical numbers of each member. Intercompany invoicing and ID management become particularly sensitive — see our article on the French VAT group.

E-commerce selling B2B in the EU. An online retailer must collect and verify on VIES the VAT number of every EU B2B customer to apply reverse charge. Otherwise, French VAT remains due. For the e-commerce specifics, see our guides on VAT and IOSS obligations for e-commerce 2026 and the ViDA Directive 2026.

Foreign company with no permanent establishment in France. It may still need a French VAT registration for certain operations (distance sales, IOSS imports, immovable-property services). A French fiscal representative obtains the FR number on its behalf.

• Confusing SIREN with the VAT number: a foreign partner asking for a "VAT number" expects FR + 11 digits, not the 9-digit SIREN.
• Sending a personal NIF instead of the business tax number in a DGFiP corporate procedure: the file is rejected or misrouted.
• Skipping the VIES check before an exempt intra-EU supply: VAT reassessment at 20% on the net amount, plus late-payment interest (0.20% per month, article 1727 of the CGI).
• Failing to request a VAT number once €10,000 of EU acquisitions is exceeded: the transaction becomes taxable in France with no clean way to declare it.
• Keeping an old VAT number after opting out: residual declarative obligations and risk of reconciliation errors.
• Entering an incorrect foreign TIN on a CRS form: bank-side sanctions (account freeze, closure) and reporting to the foreign authority.

From September 1, 2026, reception of electronic invoices becomes mandatory for every French VAT-registered business, through a Plateforme Agréée (PA) or the public invoicing portal. A PA performs several structural and consistency checks on each invoice, including:

• formal validity of the intra-EU VAT number of the issuer and the recipient;
• consistency between SIREN and French VAT number;
• presence of mandatory invoice mentions (article 242 nonies A of Annex II to the CGI);
• correct routing of the recipient to its reception directory.

In practice, an invoice issued with an invalid VAT number (typo, outdated number, missing VIES activation) is rejected upstream by the PA: it never reaches the client. The commercial impact is immediate — payment delays, lost VAT deduction for the client, damaged relationship. For preparation, we support clients through our e-invoicing 2026 readiness service.

A B2B e-commerce SME in Paris recently asked us why three different Plateformes Agréées kept rejecting their test invoices. The diagnosis was simple after audit: the intra-EU VAT number used in the invoicing software dated back to 2017, and the company had switched to the single-taxable-person regime in 2024 without propagating the new identifier across the ERP. Three days of configuration and an internal memo later, the flow went through. Without that anticipation before September 1, 2026, the SME would have faced a full commercial blockage on its EU invoicing.

This case illustrates a conviction we systematically formalize at Hayot Expertise: the tax-identification fact sheet should be treated as a company asset, on par with the bank details or the Kbis extract. It must be kept up to date, centralized, and reviewed quarterly by a single owner. The discipline is invisible when it works — but extremely costly when it fails, especially in 2026 where Plateformes Agréées, banks, marketplaces and foreign administrations automate every check.

For VIES verification, we recommend industrializing it: integrate the free VIES API into the ERP, or use a Plateforme Agréée connector that does it natively. A one-off annual check is no longer enough in 2026 — statuses change (deregistrations, restructurings, VAT options) and only systematic monitoring preserves the legal certainty of exemption.

Hayot Expertise advice. Build today a single tax-identification fact sheet for your business: SIREN, SIRET of the registered office and all establishments, intra-EU VAT number (with allocation date and VIES status), EORI number where relevant, single-taxable-person identifier where applicable, NIF of any non-resident directors. Share it across the invoicing, procurement, HR and legal teams. Update at every event: restructuring, change of head office, fiscal option, departure or arrival of a non-resident director. This discipline will prevent 90% of e-invoicing rejections in 2026.