BR-DE-15 XRechnung: buyer reference (Leitweg-ID) missing

XRechnung requires the buyer reference (BT-10). For German public-sector customers this is their Leitweg-ID; for businesses it can be any reference they give you, such as an order or cost-center number.

What the rule says

Das Element "Buyer reference" (BT-10) muss übermittelt werden.

The rule's official wording (CEN / KoSIT). The German XRechnung rules are published in German.

Why it happens

An XRechnung must carry the buyer reference (BT-10). Public-sector customers use it to route the invoice to the right office, and reject invoices without it.

How to fix it

Ask your customer for their Leitweg-ID (for public bodies, like 04011000-12345-03) or the reference they want (for businesses, often an order or cost-center number), and put it in the buyer reference field.

Applies to

XRechnung only (German rules by KoSIT).

Check your invoice again Create an invoice that passes

More about BR-DE-15

This is the most common reason German public bodies reject an XRechnung. The buyer reference tells their invoice portal which office the invoice is for. For public bodies it's the Leitweg-ID, a routing code made of up to three parts: a coarse address (for example the federal state or the federal government), an optional fine address for the office, and a two-digit check number, such as 04011000-12345-03.

You get the Leitweg-ID from the customer: it's usually in the order, the contract or their invoicing instructions. You can't look it up or make it up, and a wrong one is rejected just like a missing one. For public buyers it's often also used as their electronic address (BT-49), with scheme 0204.

Businesses that ask for XRechnung usually give you an order number, cost center or contact name as the reference instead. The field must not be empty or consist only of spaces.

The fields involved

BT-10 Buyer reference: CII ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement/ram:BuyerReference; UBL cbc:BuyerReference

Typical situations

The first XRechnung to a new public customer, before anyone asked for the Leitweg-ID.
The Leitweg-ID was written into the order reference or the invoice note instead.
A business customer asked for XRechnung, and the buyer reference was left empty.

Example

The buyer reference in CII:

<ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement>
  <ram:BuyerReference>04011000-12345-03</ram:BuyerReference>
  ...
</ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement>