Buyer reference (Leitweg-ID) is missing

BR-DE-15 comes from the official e-invoicing rule sets. This page explains what the rule checks, why invoices trip over it and the concrete change that makes the document pass.

Applies to: XRechnung

Related fields: BT-10

Why this error appears

XRechnung makes the buyer reference (BT-10) mandatory because German public administration routes incoming invoices by it: the buyer communicates a Leitweg-ID with the order and expects it back on the invoice unchanged. A missing or mistyped value is the single most common XRechnung rejection.

How to fix it

Provide the buyer reference (BT-10); German public buyers communicate it as the Leitweg-ID.

Example

Rejected

<cbc:ID>INV-2026-001</cbc:ID>
<!-- no cbc:BuyerReference -->

Accepted

<cbc:ID>INV-2026-001</cbc:ID>
<cbc:BuyerReference>04011000-12345-67</cbc:BuyerReference>

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