E-invoice error code reference

BR-1: Specification identifier missing (BT-24 / CustomizationID)

Every EN 16931-compliant invoice must include the specification identifier (BT-24). This field tells the receiving system which invoice profile is in use: Factur-X, Peppol BIS 3.0, XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, etc. Missing this field triggers BR-1.

BR-CO-9: VAT number missing country code prefix

VAT identifiers (BT-31 seller, BT-63 tax representative, BT-48 buyer) must begin with the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code. A number without prefix — e.g. '12345678901' instead of 'FR12345678901' — triggers BR-CO-9.

BR-CO-15: Invoice total amount with VAT is incorrect

The invoice total amount with VAT (BT-112) does not equal the sum of the total amount without VAT (BT-109) and the total VAT amount (BT-110). This arithmetic rule is enforced across all EN 16931-compliant formats: Factur-X, ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, and Peppol BIS.

BR-CO-16: Amount due for payment is incorrect

The amount due for payment (BT-115) does not match the formula: Invoice total with VAT (BT-112) − Paid amount (BT-113) + Rounding (BT-114). This rule applies to all EN 16931-compliant formats: Factur-X, ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, and Peppol BIS.

BR-S-2: Seller VAT identifier missing for standard-rated VAT

When an invoice contains at least one standard-rated VAT breakdown (category code S, e.g. 20% France, 19% Germany), the seller VAT identifier (BT-31) or seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63) must be present. Missing this field triggers BR-S-2.

XRechnung error BR-DE-1: payment means missing

BR-DE-1 requires that an XRechnung contains at least one payment means. This includes payment instructions such as IBAN/BIC for bank transfer, direct debit data, or other payment methods. The PaymentMeans element (cac:PaymentMeans) must be present.

XRechnung error BR-DE-2: seller contact group missing

BR-DE-2 requires that every XRechnung contains the SELLER CONTACT group (BG-6) — the seller's contact details. This group holds the contact point (BT-41), telephone number (BT-42) and email address (BT-43).

XRechnung error BR-DE-3: seller city missing

BR-DE-3 requires the seller postal address (BG-5) to contain the city (BT-37). EN 16931 requires only the country code — XRechnung additionally makes the city and post code mandatory.

XRechnung error BR-DE-4: seller post code missing

BR-DE-4 requires the seller postal address (BG-5) to contain the post code (BT-38). XRechnung makes the post code and city mandatory, unlike the EN 16931 core.

XRechnung error BR-DE-5: seller contact point missing

BR-DE-5 requires the name of the seller contact point (BT-41). It is part of the seller contact group (BG-6), which XRechnung makes mandatory (see BR-DE-2).

XRechnung error BR-DE-6: seller contact telephone missing

BR-DE-6 requires the seller contact telephone number (BT-42). It is part of the seller contact group (BG-6), which XRechnung makes mandatory (see BR-DE-2).

XRechnung error BR-DE-7: seller contact email missing

BR-DE-7 requires the seller contact email address (BT-43). It is part of the seller contact group (BG-6), which XRechnung makes mandatory (see BR-DE-2).

XRechnung error BR-DE-8: buyer city missing

BR-DE-8 requires the buyer postal address (BG-8) to contain the city (BT-52). EN 16931 requires only the country code — XRechnung additionally makes the city and post code mandatory.

XRechnung error BR-DE-9: buyer post code missing

BR-DE-9 requires the buyer postal address (BG-8) to contain the post code (BT-53). Together with BR-DE-8 (city), XRechnung makes the full buyer address mandatory.

XRechnung error BR-DE-10: deliver-to city missing

BR-DE-10 requires that a supplied deliver-to address (BG-15, 'DELIVER TO ADDRESS') contains the city of the delivery location (BT-77). The rule applies only when a deliver-to address is present.

XRechnung error BR-DE-11: deliver-to post code missing

BR-DE-11 requires that a supplied deliver-to address (BG-15, 'DELIVER TO ADDRESS') contains the post code of the delivery location (BT-78). The rule applies only when a deliver-to address is present.

XRechnung BR-DE-13 (legacy): delivery date or invoice period

Note: BR-DE-13 is no longer part of the current XRechnung 3.x rule set — modern validators do not emit this code. Historically it covered the recommendation to provide either the actual delivery date (BT-72) or an invoice period (BG-14). That information is still good practice but is now checked through the EN 16931 core rather than a dedicated BR-DE rule.

XRechnung error BR-DE-15: Leitweg-ID missing

BR-DE-15 is the most common rejection reason for XRechnung invoices. The Buyer reference (Leitweg-ID) is missing or has an invalid format. The field cbc:BuyerReference in UBL format or ram:BuyerReference in CII format must be present and non-empty.

XRechnung error BR-DE-16: tax identification missing

BR-DE-16 requires that the invoice issuer (seller) provides either a German tax number (SchemeID 'FC') or a VAT identification number (SchemeID 'VA') in the SellerTaxRegistration field. At least one of these two fields must be populated.

XRechnung BR-DE-17: disallowed invoice type code

BR-DE-17 is a warning: the invoice type code (BT-3) should only use the following UNTDID 1001 codes: 326 (partial invoice), 380 (commercial invoice), 381 (credit note), 384 (corrected invoice), 389 (self-billed invoice), 875/876/877 (construction invoices).

XRechnung BR-DE-19: IBAN missing for SEPA credit transfer

BR-DE-19 is a warning (not a hard error): when the payment means type code (BT-81) is 58 (SEPA credit transfer), the payment account identifier (BT-84) should contain a correct IBAN.

XRechnung BR-DE-20: debited IBAN for SEPA direct debit

BR-DE-20 is a warning: when the payment means type code (BT-81) is 59 (SEPA direct debit), the debited account identifier (BT-91) should contain a correct IBAN.

XRechnung BR-DE-21: specification identifier is not XRechnung

BR-DE-21 is a warning: the specification identifier (BT-24, CustomizationID) should syntactically correspond to the official identifier of the XRechnung standard (e.g. 'urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:xeinkauf.de:kosit:xrechnung_3.0').

XRechnung BR-DE-26: preceding invoice reference missing

BR-DE-26 is a warning: when the invoice type code (BT-3) is 384 (corrected invoice), the PRECEDING INVOICE REFERENCE group (BG-3) should be present at least once and point to the original invoice.