What it means
The rule checks that the element cbc:LineCountNumeric is not at the top of the invoice or credit note. In UBL this element states how many lines the document has. EN 16931 has no field for it.
Why it matters
EN 16931's UBL rules do not use a separate document-level line count field.
How to fix it
Delete the document-level cbc:LineCountNumeric element without removing any invoice or credit note lines. If your XML export template adds the count, remove it from the template too. Export again and recheck the file.
Once the file is corrected, check it again for free: Validate an invoice against EN 16931
Or fix the invoice in a form and download the corrected file, for 1 credit: Fix a rejected e-invoice
The rule as published
A UBL invoice should not include the LineCountNumeric Where this rule applies
| Rule set | Version |
|---|---|
| EN 16931 (UBL) | 1.3.17 |
| EN 16931 (UBL credit note) | 1.3.17 |
| XRechnung 3.0 (UBL) | 3.0.2 |
| XRechnung 3.0 (UBL credit note) | 3.0.2 |
| Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (invoice) | 2026.5 |
| Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (credit note) | 2026.5 |
| SI-UBL 2.0 / NLCIUS (invoice) | 2.0.3.13 |
| SI-UBL 2.0 / NLCIUS (credit note) | 2.0.3.13 |
| France CTC (UBL invoice) | 1.4.0-04 |
| France CTC (UBL credit note) | 1.4.0-04 |
| CIUS-RO UBL Invoice 1.0.9 | 1.0.9 |
| CIUS-RO UBL Credit Note 1.0.9 | 1.0.9 |
Check your file
Drop your e-invoice to see whether UBL-CR-011 still fails, and which other rules do.
Related rules
- UBL-CR-012 The document-level invoicing period should not have a start time
- UBL-CR-013 The document-level invoicing period should not have an end time
- UBL-CR-014 The document-level invoicing period should not contain a duration
- UBL-CR-015 The document-level invoicing period should not have a free-text description
- UBL-CR-016 The purchase order reference should not have a copy indicator
- UBL-CR-017 The purchase order reference should not have a UUID