Validation rules for e-invoices
Your e-invoice was rejected with a message like "[BR-DE-15]"? Here you find the official message for every XRechnung, ZUGFeRD/Factur-X and EN 16931 validation rule and, where available, a plain explanation with a solution.
Validation basis: XRechnung 3.0.2 · ZUGFeRD 2.4 (EN 16931) · KoSIT configuration of Aug. 31, 2026 · Deadlines checked on Oct. 30, 2026
| Rule | Meaning | Severity | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| BR-CL-14 | Country code of an address not according to ISO 3166-1 | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CL-15 | Item country of origin (BT-159) not according to ISO 3166-1 | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CL-16 | Payment means type code (BT-81) not from UNTDID 4461 | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CL-17 | VAT category of allowance/charge or VAT breakdown not from UNCL 5305 | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CL-18 | VAT category of an invoice line or the VAT breakdown not from UNCL 5305 | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CL-19 | Allowance reason code not from UNCL 5189 | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CL-20 | Charge reason code not from UNCL 7161 | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CL-21 | Item standard identifier scheme (BT-157-1) not from ISO 6523 ICD | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CL-22 | VAT exemption reason code (BT-121) not from the VATEX list | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CL-23 | Unit of measure not according to UN/ECE Recommendation 20/21 | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CL-24 | MIME code of the attachment (BT-125-1) not permitted | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CL-25 | Electronic address scheme not from the EAS list | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CL-26 | Deliver to location identifier scheme (BT-71-1) not from ISO 6523 ICD | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL) |
| BR-CO-03 | Value added tax point date (BT-7) and tax point date code (BT-8) are mutually exclusive | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-04 | Invoiced item VAT category code (BT-151) is missing | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-05 | Document level allowance reason code (BT-98) and allowance reason (BT-97) must indicate the same type | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-06 | Document level charge reason code (BT-105) and charge reason (BT-104) must indicate the same type | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-07 | Invoice line allowance reason code (BT-140) and allowance reason (BT-139) must indicate the same type | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-08 | Invoice line charge reason code (BT-145) and charge reason (BT-144) must indicate the same type | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-09 | VAT identifier without valid country prefix (BT-31, BT-48, BT-63) | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-10 | Sum of invoice line net amounts (BT-106) does not match | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-11 | Sum of allowances on document level (BT-107) does not match | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-12 | Sum of charges on document level (BT-108) does not match | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-13 | Invoice total amount without VAT (BT-109) does not match | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-14 | Invoice total VAT amount (BT-110) does not match the VAT breakdown | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-15 | Invoice total amount with VAT (BT-112) does not match | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-16 | Amount due for payment (BT-115) does not match | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-17 | VAT category tax amount (BT-117) does not match taxable amount and rate | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-18 | VAT breakdown (BG-23) is missing | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-19 | Invoicing period (BG-14) without start and end date | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-20 | Invoice line period (BG-26) without start and end date | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-21 | Document level allowance without reason (BT-97 or BT-98) | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-22 | Document level charge without reason (BT-104 or BT-105) | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-23 | Invoice line allowance without reason (BT-139 or BT-140) | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-24 | Invoice line charge without reason (BT-144 or BT-145) | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-25 | Payment due date (BT-9) or payment terms (BT-20) are missing | Error | Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-26 | Seller identification is missing (BT-29, BT-30 or BT-31) | Error | EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-CO-27 | Payment account (BT-84): state exactly one IBAN or proprietary ID | Error | Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 |
| BR-DE-1 | Payment instructions (BG-16) are missing | Error | XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL) |
| BR-DE-10 | Deliver to city (BT-77) is missing | Error | XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL) |
| BR-DE-11 | Deliver to post code (BT-78) is missing | Error | XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL) |
| BR-DE-14 | VAT category rate (BT-119) is missing in the VAT breakdown | Error | XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL) |
| BR-DE-15 | Buyer reference (BT-10) is missing | Error | XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL) |
| BR-DE-16 | Seller VAT ID, tax number or tax representative is missing | Error | XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL) |
| BR-DE-17 | Invoice type code (BT-3) is not intended for XRechnung | Warning | XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL) |
| BR-DE-18 | Cash discount line in payment terms (BT-20) has the wrong format | Error | XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL) |
| BR-DE-19 | IBAN for SEPA credit transfer (BT-84) is invalid | Warning | XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL) |
| BR-DE-2 | Seller contact (BG-6) is missing | Error | XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL) |
| BR-DE-20 | IBAN of the debited account for SEPA direct debit (BT-91) is invalid | Warning | XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL) |
| BR-DE-21 | Specification identifier (BT-24) does not match XRechnung | Warning | XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL) |