FACE-003:Digital signature invalid
Facturae requires XAdES-EPES digital signature with a valid Spanish digital certificate (certificado digital) from an accredited CA.
Engine Classification
Financial or legal field · Modification blocked by policy
Reason: Facturae requires a valid XAdES-EPES digital signature from an accredited Spanish Certification Authority. The signature is invalid or the certificate has expired/been revoked. Re-sign the invoice with a valid digital certificate.
What is FACE-003?
FACE-003 is a fatal validation rule defined in the Facturae specification (ESP national rules). It checks whether digital signature invalid.
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.
Why This Error Matters
FACE-003 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: FACE-003
- ·Specification: Facturae
How to Fix It
Technical Reference
Common Causes
- ·Certificate expired
- ·Certificate not from accredited CA
- ·Signature algorithm incorrect
Seeing this in production? The API handles FACE-003 automatically. See the fix response →
Frequently Asked Questions
Facturae requires XAdES-EPES digital signature with a valid Spanish digital certificate (certificado digital) from an accredited CA.
Configure a valid Spanish digital certificate and ensure it is not expired. You can also use Invoice Navigator's automatic Fixer tool to correct this instantly.
Yes, FACE-003 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 FACE-003 can be automatically corrected using Invoice Navigator's Fixer tool. Upload your invoice and the tool will identify and fix common issues, including digital signature invalid.
Last updated: 19 January 2026
Handle FACE-003 Automatically in Your Pipeline
The compliance engine auto-remediates this error with controlled safety policies and evidence pack generation.