BR-DE-6Error — invoice will be rejectedxrechnung

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).

Last updated: 2026-06-01

Affected field

cac:Contact/cbc:Telephone (UBL) / ram:DefinedTradeContact/ram:TelephoneUniversalCommunication/ram:CompleteNumber (CII)

Cause

The seller's Contact element has no telephone field. EN 16931 leaves it optional — XRechnung makes it mandatory.

Fix

Add a telephone number in cbc:Telephone under cac:Contact (e.g. '+49 30 1234567'). KoSIT recommends at least three digits (BR-DE-27).

Incorrect example
<cac:Contact>
  <cbc:Name>Accounts Receivable</cbc:Name>
  <cbc:ElectronicMail>billing@example.de</cbc:ElectronicMail>
</cac:Contact>
Correct example
<cac:Contact>
  <cbc:Name>Accounts Receivable</cbc:Name>
  <cbc:Telephone>+49 30 1234567</cbc:Telephone>
  <cbc:ElectronicMail>billing@example.de</cbc:ElectronicMail>
</cac:Contact>

Check your invoice for this and other errors.

Validate your invoice →

Mandate context

Frequently asked questions

Is the telephone number really mandatory in XRechnung?

Yes. Unlike core EN 16931, XRechnung makes the contact group (BG-6) and all three fields — contact point (BT-41), telephone (BT-42) and email (BT-43) — mandatory.

Can I use a central phone number?

Yes. A general billing-department number is sufficient; it does not need to be a named person's direct line.

Related error codes