How long an EORI number lasts

No expiry date

The Commission says EORI numbers have no expiry date (European Commission). A person can hold only one valid number at a time.

Invalidation

A number can be invalidated in two ways, according to the Commission guidance (guidance):

1. At the holder's request.
2. When the authority knows the operator has ceased the activities that justified registration, for example in bankruptcy.

The authority records the date of invalidation and notifies the holder. The Commission page also says the number can be invalidated when the business activities cease.

What happens to the data

After invalidation, the recorded data is kept for 10 years. The guidance says the number can be deleted from the database only after 10 years from the expiry date, so that earlier declarations can still be corrected.

Changes

The operator must inform the issuing authority immediately of changes, and the Member State must update the data. The guidance gives an example: an operator registered in Spain that later obtains an Austrian VAT number must ask the Spanish authority to update its record. Moving house inside the EU does not mean a new number: the address is updated.

Start date

The start date of a record cannot be earlier than the launch of the system on 1 July 2009 or the date of establishment, and it cannot be changed once the number is valid.

Publication and consent

A name and address are shown on the public checker only if the holder gave written consent, and consent can be withdrawn at any time. Refusing consent does not affect the application or customs formalities (guidance). For a GB number, HMRC says to use the change of circumstance form to update consent (HMRC).