DE-R-015:Buyer reference required (German)
Fix: The buyer reference is missing. If you have a purchase order number, we can use that. Otherwise, please provide the buyer reference or Leitweg-ID given to you by your customer. Provide the required value in the free validator.
German invoices must include a Buyer reference (BT-10). For B2G (Business-to-Government) invoices, this is typically the Leitweg-ID routing number.
Engine Classification
Business data required · Explicit input workflow · No assumptions made
Required input: Buyer Reference / Leitweg-ID
What is DE-R-015?
DE-R-015 is a fatal validation rule defined in the EN 16931 specification (DEU national rules). It validates the BuyerReference element in the UBL invoice XML.
When this rule fires, the invoice is rejected by Peppol access points and never reaches the buyer.
Target path: /Invoice/cbc:BuyerReference
Why This Error Matters
Invoice will be rejected by German XRechnung validators. Germany has additional mandatory fields beyond EN16931 baseline, including seller contact details, complete addresses, and buyer reference (Leitweg-ID).
DE-R-015 is a hard failure — the invoice must be corrected and re-sent before it can reach the recipient.
Without a buyer reference, German Peppol access points and XRechnung portals will reject this invoice. Public sector invoices without a Leitweg-ID cannot be routed to the correct government department.
Validator Behavior
- ·Causes invoice rejection
- ·Rejected by XRechnung endpoints
- ·Error returned: DE-R-015
- ·Specification: EN 16931
How to Fix It
Before / After
<Invoice> <cbc:BuyerReference><!-- invalid or missing value --></cbc:BuyerReference> </Invoice>
<Invoice> <cbc:BuyerReference>correct-value</cbc:BuyerReference> </Invoice>
Technical Reference
/Invoice/cbc:BuyerReferenceCommon Causes
- ·German invoice missing buyer reference
- ·BT-10 Buyer reference not provided
- ·cbc:BuyerReference element empty or absent
- ·Leitweg-ID or reference required for German public sector
- ·XRechnung mandates buyer reference for routing
Seeing this in production? The API handles DE-R-015 automatically. See the fix response →
Frequently Asked Questions
German invoices must include a Buyer reference (BT-10). For B2G (Business-to-Government) invoices, this is typically the Leitweg-ID routing number.
The buyer reference is missing. If you have a purchase order number, we can use that. Otherwise, please provide the buyer reference or Leitweg-ID given to you by your customer. You can also use Invoice Navigator's compliance engine to correct this automatically in your pipeline.
Yes, DE-R-015 is a critical error that will cause invoice rejection. It must be fixed before submission.
Many instances of DE-R-015 can be automatically corrected using Invoice Navigator's compliance engine. The fix is applied in your pipeline with full audit evidence.
Related Errors
Related Content
Last updated: 3 March 2026
Validate your invoice
Drop your XML here to check for DE-R-015
Fix DE-R-015 with guided input
Upload your invoice and we'll ask for the missing data, then apply a safe, auditable fix.