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Warning

UBL-CR-545: A line's document reference should not have a validity period

In short

Warning: worth checking.

UBL-CR-545 means a document reference on an invoice line contains a validity period, the dates between which the referenced document is valid. EN 16931 has no field for it, so remove the validity period from the line.

On this page

What it means

The rule checks every line of the invoice, or of the credit note, for a document reference that contains a validity period (cac:ValidityPeriod). The test only looks at whether the element is there, not at what it says.

Why it matters

This is a warning. It is worth fixing if the recipient needs those dates to check or pay the invoice.

How to fix it

Remove the validity period from the line's document reference. If the recipient needs the dates, write them in the line description or in a note on the invoice. If you build the XML yourself, delete cac:ValidityPeriod under cac:DocumentReference in cac:InvoiceLine, or in cac:CreditNoteLine.

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 DocumentReference ValidityPeriod

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-545 still fails, and which other rules do.

Updated 6 November 2026