Place of registration

Information on EORI to register for based on country you import to or export from.

To get an EORI number, your business usually needs to have premises based in the country you want to import to or export from - this is called being established. 

EOs must register for an EORI with the customs authorities in the country in which they are established or, if not established, with the customs authorities responsible for the place where they first perform one of the limited customs activities.

Example 

For customs activities in Great Britain:  

  • an EO based in the UK must register for a GB EORI with HMRC 

  • an EO based outside of the UK must register for a GB EORI with HMRC if they require an EORI to undertake one of the allowed limited customs activities in GB

For customs activities in Northern Ireland: 

  • an EO based in NI must register for an XI EORI with HMRC. This XI EORI can also be used throughout the EU 

  • an EO based outside NI for example, in GB or Rest of the World (not including an EU country) must register for an XI EORI if they require an EORI to undertake one of the allowed limited customs activities in NI and do not currently hold an EU EORI number 

  • an EO based in the EU must register for an EU EORI with the customs authority of the EU country where they are established (for example, an FR EORI if they are based in France). EOs should not hold both an EORI number issued by an EU country and an XI EORI  

Currently, for declarations using the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) in Northern Ireland, due to technological reasons, EU EORI numbers are currently not accepted in CDS in Northern Ireland. Therefore, for EOs with an EU EORI that are lodging customs declarations into Northern Ireland via CDS, they will need to use a GB-prefixed EORI until further notice. 

To get an XI EORI you must first register for a GB EORI. 

If you’re based in the Channel Islands and you move goods to or from the UK, usually you do not need an EORI number.  

However, you will need an EORI number if you use HMRC’s customs systems like the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) in the UK.