What it means
A receiving advice reference (BT-15) is the number of the document in which the buyer confirmed that the goods or services arrived. The rule counts the identifiers in cac:ReceiptDocumentReference and allows at most one. It applies to invoices and credit notes alike.
Why it matters
EN 16931 allows at most one receiving advice reference per invoice or credit note.
How to fix it
Look for the receiving advice or goods received note number in your invoicing software and keep one value. Check that the number is not entered in two places that are both exported. If the invoice covers several receipts, list the extra numbers in the invoice note instead. In the XML, keep one cbc:ID in cac:ReceiptDocumentReference.
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
Receive advice identifier shall occur maximum once 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-SR-02 still fails, and which other rules do.
Related rules
- UBL-SR-03 An invoice can have only one despatch advice reference
- UBL-SR-04 An invoice can have only one invoiced object identifier
- UBL-SR-05 Payment terms can be given only once
- UBL-SR-06 A preceding invoice reference can name only one invoice
- UBL-SR-07 A preceding invoice reference needs the invoice number
- UBL-SR-08 An invoice can have only one invoice period