Skip to content

BR-05: Invoice currency code (BT-5) is missing

Official message

[BR-05] An Invoice shall have an Invoice currency code (BT-5).

EN 16931 (CII) · Error · Message language: English · Version: xrechnung-3.0.2-validator-configuration-2026-08-31

[BR-05] An Invoice shall have an Invoice currency code (BT-5).

EN 16931 (UBL) · Error · Message language: English · Version: xrechnung-3.0.2-validator-configuration-2026-08-31

[BR-05] An Invoice shall have an Invoice currency code (BT-5).

Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 · Error · Message language: English · Version: Factur-X 1.08 / ZUGFeRD 2.4
Severity
Error The invoice is invalid and may be rejected by the recipient.
Applies to
EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931
Affected fields
BT-5

What does this mean?

Every invoice must contain the invoice currency code (BT-5), the currency in which all amounts of the invoice are given. The element is missing or empty.

Typical causes

The generating system writes no currency in the invoice header.
The currency only appears on the amounts (attribute currencyID), not as an element of its own.

How to fix the error

Enter the ISO 4217 currency code, e.g. EUR.
CII: ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement/ram:InvoiceCurrencyCode, UBL: cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode.
Generate and validate the invoice again.

In E-Rechnungsfreund

In the invoice form ("Experte" view), section "Rechnungsdetails" (invoice details), select the currency in the field "Währung (BT-5)" (currency). In the simple view ("Einfach") EUR is set if no currency is selected.

Example

Wrong

<ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement>
  <ram:InvoiceCurrencyCode></ram:InvoiceCurrencyCode>
  ...
</ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement>

Correct

<ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement>
  <ram:InvoiceCurrencyCode>EUR</ram:InvoiceCurrencyCode>
  ...
</ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement>
For developers: test expression per syntax

EN 16931 (CII) (CII)

Context: /rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice

normalize-space(rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement/ram:InvoiceCurrencyCode) != ''

EN 16931 (UBL) (UBL)

Context: /ubl:Invoice | /cn:CreditNote

normalize-space(cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode) != ''

Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 (CII)

Technical ID in the source: FX-SCH-A-000014

Context: /rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice

(rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement/ram:InvoiceCurrencyCode!='')

Related validation rules

  • BR-01: Specification identifier (BT-24) is missing
  • BR-02: Invoice number (BT-1) is missing
  • BR-03: Invoice issue date (BT-2) is missing
  • BR-04: Invoice type code (BT-3) is missing
  • BR-06: Seller name (BT-27) is missing
  • BR-07: Buyer name (BT-44) is missing

Last updated:
Explanation of the validation rule, not legal or tax advice.