Yes, a sole trader can be VAT registered, and above the threshold must be. VAT attaches to the business activity rather than to a legal form, so an unincorporated trader is registered personally and the registration follows them. What changes on the effective date is not the trade but the paperwork: every invoice carries the number, every price becomes a question about whether it includes the VAT, and a return is due every quarter whether or not there is anything to declare.
What registration asks a sole trader for
A National Insurance number, an identity document such as a passport or driving licence, the business bank account details, the Unique Taxpayer Reference if there is one, the annual turnover and an estimate of taxable turnover for the next twelve months. You will also be asked about your Self Assessment return, payslips and P60. Notably there is no company number involved, which is the whole difference between this and a company registration.
What changes on the effective date
From the effective date of registration you charge VAT on your taxable supplies and can reclaim it on what you buy for the business. The number goes on every invoice. Prices become a decision rather than a figure: a trader selling to VAT-registered businesses can usually add the VAT on top without losing anything, because the customer reclaims it, while a trader selling to consumers is either putting prices up by a fifth or absorbing the VAT out of the existing price.
The registration follows the person
A sole trader's VAT registration belongs to the individual, not to a trading name, so running two trades as the same person means both count towards one threshold and both sit under one registration. Incorporating later is a change of legal entity: the company is a new registration, though you can apply to transfer the existing number to it if you want continuity. Either way the taxable turnover test is applied to the person or entity making the supplies, not to the brand on the invoice.
Questions people ask about register for vat as a sole trader
Can you be VAT registered as a sole trader?
Yes. VAT registration depends on taxable turnover, not legal form, and a sole trader above the threshold must register just as a company would.
Does a sole trader with two businesses have two thresholds?
No. The registration belongs to the person, so the taxable turnover of every trade you carry on as a sole trader counts towards the same threshold.
What does a sole trader need to register?
A National Insurance number, an identity document, bank details, the UTR if you have one, and turnover figures, plus information about your Self Assessment return.