Peppol error codes

BR-09: seller country code is missing

By Philippe Kimpe and Jelle Heyvaert, authors of E-facturatie Ontcijferd · Updated on 11 October 2026

Error code BR-09 means: the seller’s address has no country code.

Rule set: EN 16931 · Severity: error (fatal): an Access Point rejects the invoice · Checked against the official rules of May 2026

What does BR-09 mean?

The validator shows this message (as worded in the official rules):

[BR-09]-The Seller postal address (BG-5) shall contain a Seller country code (BT-40).

The seller’s postal address (BG-5) must contain a country code (BT-40, cac:PostalAddress/cac:Country/cbc:IdentificationCode). That is a two-letter code from ISO 3166-1, such as BE for Belgium. Street, city and postcode are optional, the country code is not.

Common causes

The country is missing from the company details in the software.
The export omits cac:Country when the country is the home country.
The country is in the address as text, but not as a code.

How to fix it as the sender

Enter the country in your company details.
Make sure the export always sends cac:Country/cbc:IdentificationCode, also for your home country.
Use the two-letter code, not the three-letter one: see BR-CL-14.

Received an invoice with this error?

An invoice with this error is not compliant. Ask the supplier for a corrected invoice and do not change the XML yourself.

Example in the XML

❌ Wrong

<cac:PostalAddress>
  <cbc:StreetName>Kerkstraat 1</cbc:StreetName>
  <cbc:CityName>Gent</cbc:CityName>
  <cbc:PostalZone>9000</cbc:PostalZone>
</cac:PostalAddress>

✅ Correct

<cac:PostalAddress>
  <cbc:StreetName>Kerkstraat 1</cbc:StreetName>
  <cbc:CityName>Gent</cbc:CityName>
  <cbc:PostalZone>9000</cbc:PostalZone>
  <cac:Country><cbc:IdentificationCode>BE</cbc:IdentificationCode></cac:Country>
</cac:PostalAddress>

Both snippets come from a complete test invoice that we checked with our validator: the wrong version gives exactly this message, the correct version no errors at all.

Try this error in the validator →

Good to know

The same rule applies to the buyer’s address: BR-11. If you use a three-letter code such as BEL, you get BR-CL-14.

Check your invoice

Drop your XML into the free validator. You see right away whether this error still occurs, with a link to the explanation for every message.

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Official rule

The full rule with its technical test (Schematron) is in the official Peppol documentation:

BR-09 on docs.peppol.eu

Related error codes

BR-11: The buyer’s address has no country code.
BR-CL-14: A country code on the invoice is not a valid two-letter code.

Frequently asked questions about BR-09

Is BE the right code for Belgium?

Yes. The standard uses the two-letter codes from ISO 3166-1: BE for Belgium, NL for the Netherlands, FR for France.

Must the full address be on the invoice?

For this rule the country code is enough. Belgian VAT rules (Royal Decree no. 1) do require the name and address of both parties, so fill in the full address.

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