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Warning

UBL-CR-085: Leave the language out of the tender or lot reference

In short

Warning: worth checking.

UBL-CR-085 means the tender or lot reference contains a language identifier, which EN 16931 does not use. Remove it and keep only the reference number. The file is still accepted, so this is a warning.

On this page

What it means

An invoice or credit note can refer to a tender or lot (BT-17) through cac:OriginatorDocumentReference, where only the identifier (cbc:ID) is part of EN 16931. This rule checks that there is no cbc:LanguageID, which would state the language the referenced document is written in.

Why it matters

This is a warning, so the file is still accepted and can be delivered. The standard has no field for the language of the referenced document, so the recipient's software ignores it in most cases. It is worth removing so the file follows the standard to the letter.

How to fix it

In your invoicing software, look at the tender or lot reference and clear any language setting stored with it. Keep the reference number. The language of the invoice itself is not affected. If you build the XML yourself, delete cbc:LanguageID from cac:OriginatorDocumentReference.

The rule as published

A UBL invoice should not include the OriginatorDocumentReference LanguageID

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-085 still fails, and which other rules do.

Updated 6 November 2026