Checking an AWRS number takes about a minute and protects your alcohol licence. You need the wholesaler’s Unique Reference Number, HMRC’s online lookup service, and somewhere to file the result.
If you buy alcohol to resell — a convenience store, bar, restaurant, distributor or online retailer — this is a check you are expected to have done. New to the scheme? Start with what AWRS is and who it applies to.
How do I check an AWRS number?
Ask your wholesaler for their AWRS URN, then enter it into HMRC’s online lookup service and save the result. If the number returns an approved record matching the business you are buying from, the check is passed.
The three steps, as set out in the ACS guidance for retailers:
- Get the URN. Four letters and eleven digits, like XXAW00000123456.
- Run the lookup. Use HMRC’s online service to confirm the number is approved and matches the trading name.
- Keep the evidence. Print or save the result page, dated.
What does a valid AWRS number look like?
A valid URN is four alpha characters followed by eleven numeric characters, with no spaces — for example XZAW00000111737. Anything shorter, longer or differently shaped is not an AWRS number.
Watch for two things. A number in the right format is not the same as an approved number, so the format check never replaces the lookup. And the record that comes back must match the business actually invoicing you — a URN belonging to a different company in the group does not cover the entity you are paying.
[YOUR EXPERIENCE HERE — not invented]
Add 2–4 sentences of your own: how often buyers ask for your URN before ordering, a deal that turned on it, or what you have seen suppliers do when asked. This is the part competitors cannot copy and it is what lifts the page above generic AI content.
What if my supplier is not approved?
Stop buying from them and notify HMRC. You cannot continue purchasing while you wait for clarification.
This is the part retailers get wrong. Continuing to buy “while it gets sorted out” leaves you exposed for every order in the meantime, and the exposure sits with you rather than the supplier.
What happens if I do not check?
You may face a criminal or civil penalty, your stock may be seized, or you could lose your alcohol licence. The ACS guidance lists all three as consequences of buying from an unapproved wholesaler.
The licence is the one worth dwelling on. Penalties are survivable and seized stock is a bad month; a convenience store or bar that loses its alcohol licence usually loses the business with it.
How long should I keep the records?
Around five years — the same period you would keep tax returns. HMRC has not set a fixed retention period for retailers, so the ACS recommends matching your tax record-keeping.
File the dated lookup result alongside your purchase records for that supplier. If you are ever asked to show your due diligence, one folder answers the question.
How often should I re-check a supplier?
Re-check at least annually, and whenever something changes — a new trading name, a new invoicing entity, or a long gap between orders. Approval can be revoked, so a check from three years ago proves nothing about today.
Most buyers we deal with re-run the check at the start of each financial year and file it with their other compliance paperwork. It is a five-minute annual task.
AWRS check: quick reference
| Step | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Request the supplier’s URN | A legitimate wholesaler shares it freely |
| 2 | Check the format: 4 letters + 11 digits | Rules out obvious fakes |
| 3 | Run HMRC’s online lookup | Format alone proves nothing |
| 4 | Confirm the name matches your invoice | A group URN may not cover the invoicing entity |
| 5 | Save the dated result | Your evidence of due diligence |
| 6 | Re-check annually | Approval can be revoked |
Check ours
Drinks Empire Company trades as Empire Drinks Ltd, company number 11475056, VAT GB302674131. Our AWRS URN is XZAW00000111737. Run it before you order — that is what it is there for.
When you are ready, browse wholesale spirits, wholesale whiskey or wholesale beer, or send us a trade quote request.