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Warning

UBL-CR-525: A line should not carry a sales order line number

In short

Warning: worth checking.

UBL-CR-525 means the order reference on an invoice or credit note line contains a sales order line identifier (cbc:SalesOrderLineID), which EN 16931 does not use. It is a warning; remove that identifier, keep any purchase order line reference and recheck the file.

On this page

What it means

The rule warns when cac:OrderLineReference inside any cac:InvoiceLine or cac:CreditNoteLine contains cbc:SalesOrderLineID, the identifier of a line in the seller's sales order. It does not check the purchase order line reference (BT-132) in cbc:LineID.

Why it matters

The data model has no place for your own sales order line number on a line. It is worth fixing when you want a clean file, or when the buyer relies on that number.

How to fix it

Remove the sales order line identifier from the line's order reference, keeping any purchase order line reference (BT-132). If you need to retain the sales order line number as text, put it in the line note (BT-127). The sales order reference (BT-14) is for the sales order number, not its line number. In the XML, delete cbc:SalesOrderLineID from cac:OrderLineReference inside cac:InvoiceLine (cac:CreditNoteLine in a credit note). 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 InvoiceLine OrderLineReference SalesOrderLineID

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-525 still fails, and which other rules do.

Updated 6 November 2026