EORI number in Ireland: all the information you need

For the transport of goods across European borders and beyond, you need an EORI number. The number is necessary to take care of customs matters. You can apply for the number throughout the EU, including in Ireland. In the following article you can find out all you need to know.

What is an Irish EORI number?

EORI numbers are part of the European registration and identification system for economic operators (EORI) All actors who transport goods across borders, regardless of whether they are imports, exports or intra-community transports, should be clearly identified using the numbers.

The number can be used EU-wide and can be applied for in any EU country, including Ireland. However, every company and every transport company in the European Union only needs a single number. This one can then be used across the EU.

Who needs a number like that in Ireland?

All economic operators who regularly fill out customs declarations need an EORI number. These include:

• Private individuals
• Dealers
• Companies
• Carriers

There are two exceptions to this. Firstly, branches of larger companies do not have to and are not allowed to apply for their own numbers, but must use those of the headquarters.

Secondly, EORI numbers are only required once at least nine customs declarations are completed annually, in an effort to reduce the administrative effort for companies with little transport needs.

As soon as you have a European EORI number, however, you don’t need any more. An Irish EORI number can also be used for imports into Germany, for example. Find out more about the regulations, which apply EU-wide, in our main EORI page. 

No content has been found here, sorry 🙂

What does an Irish EORI number look like?

As in the whole of the European Union, EORI numbers in Ireland also consist of a combination of letters and a sequence of numbers. The letter combination is the ISO code with which the EORI numbers can be clearly assigned to Ireland. The code for this country is IE.

The code is followed by a series of numbers. This number sequence can have up to 15 digits across the EU. In Ireland, however, the EORI number only has 9 digits, so the ISO code is only followed by 7 digits. An Irish EORI number can look like this:

IE1234567

How to get a number in Ireland

First of all, you need to know whether or not you actually have to or are allowed to apply for an EORI number in Ireland. All European economic operators should always register for the EORI system in the country in which they are based. In Ireland, therefore, only Irish companies should in principle apply for an EORI number.

Only foreign, for example Canadian, companies are allowed to choose the country in which they register for the EORI system. Many of these overseas companies register in the country where they import a lot or where they have already registered for the One-Stop-Shop. This saves them administrative effort. You can find out more about registering for the One Stop Shop on our OSS overview page and here:

If you are sure you want to get an EORI number in Ireland, you can do so via the Irish Revenue Online System (ROS). For this you need ROS log-in data and a digital ROS certificate. This is similar to the certificate of the BOP portal in Germany.