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EORI number; application

If you are involved in customs-related activities, such as importing or exporting goods, you must apply for an EORI number.

Online services & Forms

Online services

  • Formular 0870a (Unternehmen)
  • Formular 0870b (Niederlassungsnummer)
  • Formular 0870c (Privatpersonen)

Responsible for you

Generalzolldirektion - Generalzolldirektion - Stammdatenmanagement

Street address

Carusufer 3-5
01099 Dresden

Postal address

Carusufer 3-5

01099 Dresden

Website

www.zoll.de

Mehr zur Behörde

Procedure details

In principle, all economic operators in the European Union receive an individual and EU-wide valid registration and identification number (EORI number) from the respective member state.

Economic operators are both natural persons and legal entities, such as stock corporations or legally capable associations of persons, for example civil law partnerships (GbR). A business entity without legal capacity, for example a branch office, does not receive its own EORI number. Instead, it is recorded under the EORI number of its head office with its own branch number.

The EORI number consists of up to 17 characters and begins with the two-digit country code of the EU member state that issues the EORI number.

If you do not yet have an EORI number and are located in Germany, you can apply for one at the General Customs Directorate. If you are located outside the customs territory of the European Union (EU), you apply for your EORI number in the EU state in which you first submit a customs declaration or apply for a decision.

The master data of your EORI number that you have filed is generally transmitted by German customs to the EORI database of the European Commission. You can access and check the EORI number online via the EU database.

As a private individual, you generally do not need an EORI number if you file less than 10 customs declarations per year. However, you must have an EORI number in order to declare an export requiring a license at the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control.

To participate in ATLAS ("Automated Tariff and Local Customs Clearance System") you need an EORI number. The ATLAS specialized procedure is used to process and monitor the cross-border movement of goods to the greatest possible extent.

The General Directorate of Customs transmits the master data to the EORI database of the European Commission. Consent to this transmission is a prerequisite for participation in the procedure.

  • Required document/s

    For companies and branches:

    • Current copy of the extract from the commercial register or
    • Copy of the business registration

You can apply for the EORI number online or in writing:

Online application:

  • Access Customs' Citizen and Business Customer Portal (BuG).
  • If you do not already have a personal service account, follow the instructions at the Customs Citizen and Business Customer Portal to set one up.
  • For secure electronic identification, you will need an ELSTER certificate issued to your company or to you as an individual.
  • Make sure that the certificate contains the current data of your company or individual. These are also part of the master data stored with your EORI number. At present, it is only possible to change this data by adjusting the data on which the ELSTER certificate is based.
  • You can access the "EORI number administration" via the user account and apply for a new EORI number or change your EORI-specific data at any time.
  • After Customs has checked your details, you will automatically receive a confirmation in your electronic mailbox in the Citizen and Business Customer Portal as well as a notification to the e-mail address you have stored.
  • You can view the status of your application via the process overview accessible in the Citizen and Business Customer Portal.

Written application or application by e-mail:

  • If you wish to apply for an EORI number, download the appropriate form for you via the Directorate General of Customs website:
    • for companies: Form 0870a
    • for a legally dependent company or organizational unit, for example a branch office: Form 0870b.
    • for a private individual: Form 0870c from the Internet.
  • You will find completion instructions when you open the relevant version of the form.
  • Complete the form in full, print it out and sign it.
  • Send the completed application together with the required documents to the General Directorate of Customs by e-mail (scanned PDF document), by post or by fax.
  • After customs has checked your information, you will receive a letter with your EORI number by mail.

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Online applications via the Customs Citizen and Business Customer Portal: usually up to one week.

Written or emailed applications: Usually 2 to 3 weeks

No legal remedies are provided.

Status: 15.04.2023
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bundesministerium der Finanzen
Source: Federal Portal
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