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BR-DE-4: Seller post code (BT-38) is missing

Official message

[BR-DE-4] Das Element "Seller post code" (BT-38) muss übermittelt werden.

XRechnung (CII) · Error · Message language: German · Version: xrechnung-3.0.2-validator-configuration-2026-08-31

[BR-DE-4] Das Element "Seller post code" (BT-38) muss übermittelt werden.

XRechnung (UBL) · Error · Message language: German · Version: xrechnung-3.0.2-validator-configuration-2026-08-31
Severity
Error The invoice is invalid and may be rejected by the recipient.
Applies to
XRechnung (CII), XRechnung (UBL)
Affected fields
BT-38

What does this mean?

The seller's postal address must contain the post code (Seller post code, BT-38). The element is missing or contains only spaces.

Typical causes

The seller's post code field was left empty.
Post code and city were entered together in the city field or in the street.

How to fix the error

Enter the post code in the seller's postal address (CII: ram:SellerTradeParty/ram:PostalTradeAddress/ram:PostcodeCode, UBL: cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PostalAddress/cbc:PostalZone).
Put post code and city into their own elements.
Generate and validate the invoice again.

In E-Rechnungsfreund

In the invoice form, section "Verkäufer (BG-4)" (seller), fill in the field "PLZ (BT-38/53)".

Example

Wrong

<ram:PostalTradeAddress>
  <ram:LineOne>Musterstraße 1</ram:LineOne>
  <ram:CityName>10115 Berlin</ram:CityName>
  <ram:CountryID>DE</ram:CountryID>
</ram:PostalTradeAddress>

Correct

<ram:PostalTradeAddress>
  <ram:PostcodeCode>10115</ram:PostcodeCode>
  <ram:LineOne>Musterstraße 1</ram:LineOne>
  <ram:CityName>Berlin</ram:CityName>
  <ram:CountryID>DE</ram:CountryID>
</ram:PostalTradeAddress>
For developers: test expression per syntax

XRechnung (CII) (CII)

Context: /rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement/ram:SellerTradeParty/ram:PostalTradeAddress

ram:PostcodeCode[boolean(normalize-space(.))]

XRechnung (UBL) (UBL)

Context: /ubl:Invoice/cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PostalAddress | /cn:CreditNote/cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PostalAddress

cbc:PostalZone[boolean(normalize-space(.))]

Related validation rules

  • BR-DE-1: Payment instructions (BG-16) are missing
  • BR-DE-10: Deliver to city (BT-77) is missing
  • BR-DE-11: Deliver to post code (BT-78) is missing
  • BR-DE-14: VAT category rate (BT-119) is missing in the VAT breakdown
  • BR-DE-15: Buyer reference (BT-10) is missing
  • BR-DE-16: Seller VAT ID, tax number or tax representative is missing

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