If you are on CargoPay, anyone can check it
Type a VAT number. If that company is a verified member you will see who they are, what was checked and the date it was checked. Try it with a company you already work with, then think about what your own VAT number answers today.
The country code is optional: RO 12345678 and 12345678 both work. No account needed, and only a complete VAT number matches, so there is no member list to browse and nothing to harvest.
Your VAT number stops being a number and becomes an answer
Anyone can say their company is legitimate. Being on CargoPay means they do not have to take your word for it, because the checks are already done and the dates are on the record.
You stop proving yourself company by company
The questionnaire, the certificates, the scan of the register extract: sent once, at registration, instead of again for every new counterparty who needs to know you are real.
You are checkable before you are contacted
A shipper weighing you against two other carriers can confirm you in seconds. The ones they cannot confirm are the ones that need explaining.
And you can check them back
The same lookup works in both directions. Before you commit a truck or a load, you see the same facts about them that they see about you.
Every new counterparty starts with the same homework
This is the work that sits between meeting a company and trusting it with a load or a truck. None of it is optional and none of it is quick.
Confirm the company exists
Request the commercial register extract, read it, and check the legal name and registered address against the letterhead.
Confirm the VAT number is live
A number that was valid last year says nothing about today. Someone has to query it and record the answer and the date.
Collect the credentials
Transport licence, goods in transit insurance, motor fleet cover, and the expiry dates diarised so you know when they lapse.
Confirm the signer can sign
Proof of authority for the person putting their name on the contract, and identity documentation to go with it.
You do this for every company you consider, they do the same for you, and none of it transfers to the next relationship. Six months later the answers are stale and the work starts again. Verification on CargoPay is that work, done once and kept current.
What every member has passed
An account only becomes active once company registration, document review and identity verification have all passed. The dates on a member record are the evidence that they did.
Company registration
Legal entity confirmed through official EU business registries. Business identity and VAT status validated via VIES.
Address cross-check
The address a company declares is compared with the address VIES returns for its VAT number. A material difference is flagged for review before the account opens.
CMR and operational credentials
Valid cargo insurance, transport licences, and road haulage authorisation verified before network access is granted.
Identity verification (KYC)
Identity verification under PSD2 and AML financial regulation via Stripe. Authorised representatives confirmed.
Checked against the EU's own registry
CargoPay does not keep a private list of which VAT numbers are real. Every number is put to VIES, the European Commission's VAT information exchange system, which covers all 27 member states. The answer and the date it was given are stored on the company record, which is why a lookup can show you when it was checked and not only that it was.
27
Member states VIES covers
VIES
Queried at registration
KYC
Identity confirmed by Stripe
Dated
Every check carries the date it ran
The same record, read from either side
Each path answers a different question. Choose the one that matches your role.
I need verified carriers
You are a shipper looking for reliable fleet capacity. You want to know that the carriers you hire are legitimate, credentialed, and will not create compliance headaches.
- Every carrier has passed KYC, VIES, and CMR checks
- The payment workflow is set on the shipment before it moves
- Full audit trail for cargo insurance and dispute resolution
I need verified shippers
You are a carrier or fleet operator. You want to know that the shippers requesting your services are legitimate businesses, and to see the payment terms before you accept the load.
- Every shipper has passed KYC and company verification
- The payment workflow is fixed before dispatch, not after POD
- The payment date is on the shipment before you accept it
Required documentation
You submit this once. It is the same documentation a careful counterparty would ask you for, gathered in one place instead of assembled again for each new relationship. The requirements vary by company type and jurisdiction.
Company registration
Certificate of incorporation, commercial register extract, VAT certificate
Operational credentials
Transport licence, professional competence certificate
Insurance documentation
Motor fleet insurance, goods in transit insurance
Representative authorisation
Proof of authority, identity documentation
Verification timeline
The verification process typically takes 2 to 5 business days after submitting all required documentation. Applications are reviewed before network access is granted.
Be the company that comes back verified
Register, clear verification once, and your VAT number answers for you from then on: to every shipper weighing you against two others, and every carrier deciding whether to take your load.
Prepare your documentation: company registration, transport licences, CMR insurance, and VAT credentials