UBL-CR-099:A UBL invoice should not include the ContractDocumentReference DocumentType
Your invoice contains ContractDocumentReference/DocumentType which is not allowed in EN16931 invoices.
Engine Classification
Remove disallowed UBL element per EN16931 specification
Confidence: 95% · Applied automatically in pipeline
What is UBL-CR-099?
UBL-CR-099 is a fatal validation rule defined in the UBL 2.1 specification. It validates the DocumentType element under ContractDocumentReference 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:ContractDocumentReference/cbc:DocumentType
Why This Error Matters
Invoice will be rejected by PEPPOL/EN16931 validators. Safe to remove - this element is explicitly prohibited and contains no required business data.
UBL-CR-099 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.
Invoice Navigator can automatically correct this error in your pipeline. The fix is applied with full audit evidence, so your compliance trail remains intact.
Validator Behavior
- ·Causes invoice rejection
- ·Fails UBL schema validation
- ·Error returned: UBL-CR-099
- ·Specification: UBL 2.1
Before / After
<cac:ContractDocumentReference> <cbc:DocumentType>value</cbc:DocumentType> </cac:ContractDocumentReference>
<cac:ContractDocumentReference> <!-- cbc:DocumentType removed for EN 16931 compliance --> </cac:ContractDocumentReference>
Technical Reference
/Invoice/cac:ContractDocumentReference/cbc:DocumentTypeCommon Causes
- ·Source ERP exports full UBL 2.1 instead of EN16931 subset
- ·Generic UBL template includes optional elements not needed for e-invoicing
- ·Conversion from another format added unsupported elements
- ·Manual XML editing introduced non-standard elements
- ·Invoice software not configured for EN16931 compliance
Seeing this in production? The API handles UBL-CR-099 automatically. See the fix response →
See Also
Last updated: 27 February 2026
Handle UBL-CR-099 Automatically in Your Pipeline
The compliance engine auto-remediates this error with controlled safety policies and evidence pack generation.