🇪🇸How to verify a supplier in Spain
To verify a supplier in Spain, look the company up for free in the official Registro Mercantil Central and confirm it is registered and currently active. The registry returns registered company name and incorporation data; free name-availability search, paid official extract (nota simple).
The official registry
- Registry
- Registro Mercantil Central
- Company ID
- registered name / NIF (tax ID)
- Cost
- Free basic lookup
- Active status
- Cross-check the NIF via the free EU VIES validator to confirm the entity is a real, VAT-registered Spanish company.
Verify it in four steps
1. Open the Registro Mercantil Central
Registro Mercantil Central is the official government record of companies in Spain. Basic name or number search is free.
2. Search the exact legal name or ID
Search the supplier's registered name or its registered name / NIF (tax ID). If the name does not match cleanly, treat it as a red flag, it may be a trade name, a different entity, or wrong.
3. Confirm it is active, not struck off
Cross-check the NIF via the free EU VIES validator to confirm the entity is a real, VAT-registered Spanish company.
4. Check it makes what it sells
A real factory carries a manufacturing activity code and a consistent trade history; a middleman reselling everything is the most common mismatch. For an EU company, also validate the VAT number in the free EU VIES system.
This is a factual pointer to public records, not legal advice. For the full method, see the 7 checks that separate a real supplier from a scam.
We do this check for you
On every Spain company we list, we show what the open record says, each linked to its free public source so you can re-check it yourself, no paid badge. And we go past the big directories to the local and craft makers who are too small for them but real, then verify and sort them, so you find genuine Spain suppliers, not just the loudest.
Questions
Is checking a Spain supplier free?
Yes. A basic name or number lookup in the Registro Mercantil Central is free. Some full official extracts are paid, but confirming a company exists and is active costs nothing.
What ID does a Spain company have?
Its registered name / NIF (tax ID). Ask the supplier for it, then confirm it in the Registro Mercantil Central and check the registered name matches.
How do I know a Spain supplier is a real manufacturer, not a reseller?
The registry's activity code is the tell: a manufacturing code means a real maker, a wholesale or retail code means a trader.