BR-09:Seller country code missing
Your invoice has a seller postal address but is missing the country code. Every invoice must include the seller's country as a two-letter ISO code (e.g. DE for Germany, NL for Netherlands).
Engine Classification
Business data required · Explicit input workflow · No assumptions made
Required input: Seller Country Code
What is BR-09?
BR-09 is a fatal validation rule defined in the EN 16931 specification. It validates the IdentificationCode element under PostalAddress > Country in the UBL invoice XML.
When this rule fires, the invoice is non-compliant and will be rejected by Peppol access points and national validation services. The sending system receives a rejection response and the invoice does not reach the buyer.
Target path: /Invoice/cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PostalAddress/cac:Country/cbc:IdentificationCode
Why This Error Matters
Invoice rejected. Country code is mandatory for VAT determination and routing to correct tax authority.
BR-09 is a hard failure. Invoices that trigger this rule are rejected at the access point and never reach the recipient. In Peppol networks, this means your sending system receives an MLR (Message Level Response) with a rejection status. The invoice must be corrected and re-sent, adding delay to your payment cycle.
Validator Behavior
- ·Causes invoice rejection
- ·Error returned: BR-09
- ·Specification: EN 16931
How to Fix It
Before / After
<cac:Country> <cbc:IdentificationCode>INVALID_CODE</cbc:IdentificationCode> </cac:Country>
<cac:Country> <cbc:IdentificationCode>VALID_CODE</cbc:IdentificationCode> </cac:Country>
Technical Reference
/Invoice/cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PostalAddress/cac:Country/cbc:IdentificationCodeCode Example
<cac:PostalAddress>
<cbc:StreetName>456 Customer Avenue</cbc:StreetName>
<cbc:CityName>Berlin</cbc:CityName>
<cbc:PostalZone>10115</cbc:PostalZone>
<cac:Country>
<cbc:IdentificationCode>DE</cbc:IdentificationCode>
</cac:Country>
</cac:PostalAddress>Common Causes
- ·Seller address entered without country selection
- ·Country stored as full name not ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code
- ·Export template missing IdentificationCode for country
- ·Domestic-only system assumed country not needed
- ·Country dropdown not filled in company profile
Seeing this in production? The API handles BR-09 automatically. See the fix response →
Commonly Seen In
Frequently Asked Questions
The buyer (customer) party must include a postal address with at least a country code.
Add a postal address for the buyer with country code. You can also use Invoice Navigator's automatic Fixer tool to correct this instantly.
Yes, BR-09 is a critical error that will cause invoice rejection. It must be fixed before submission to ensure your invoice is accepted by the recipient's system.
Many instances of BR-09 can be automatically corrected using Invoice Navigator's Fixer tool. Upload your invoice and the tool will identify and fix common issues, including buyer must have postal address.
BR-09 is commonly seen in exports from All invoicing software. These software packages sometimes generate invoices that need adjustment to meet full compliance standards.
See Also
Related Errors
Last updated: 27 February 2026
Handle BR-09 Automatically in Your Pipeline
The compliance engine auto-remediates this error with controlled safety policies and evidence pack generation.