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Warning

UBL-CR-018: The purchase order reference should not have an issue date

In short

Warning: worth checking.

UBL-CR-018 means the document-level purchase order reference contains an issue date (cbc:IssueDate), which EN 16931 does not use. Remove it and keep the purchase order number (BT-13).

On this page

What it means

The rule checks that the document-level cac:OrderReference has no cbc:IssueDate, which would be the date of the purchase order. It does not concern the invoice date (BT-2) at the top of the file, which is required and must stay.

Why it matters

EN 16931's UBL rules exclude the order's issue date from the document-level order reference. This does not apply to the separate invoice date (BT-2).

How to fix it

Delete cbc:IssueDate inside the document-level cac:OrderReference and keep cbc:ID. If the order date matters to the buyer, add it to the invoice note (BT-22) as text. Take care to remove only the date inside the order reference and not the invoice date. 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 OrderReference IssueDate

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
Rule text from phive-rules 4.6.4.

Check your file

Drop your e-invoice to see whether UBL-CR-018 still fails, and which other rules do.

Updated 6 November 2026