What it means
A despatch advice reference (BT-16) is the number of the document in which the seller announced what was sent, often called a delivery note or shipping notice. The rule counts the identifiers in cac:DespatchDocumentReference and allows at most one. It applies to invoices and credit notes alike.
Why it matters
The field is built for one despatch advice number.
How to fix it
Look for the despatch advice, delivery note or shipment number in your invoicing software and keep one value. If the invoice covers several deliveries, either send one invoice per delivery or list the extra numbers in the invoice note. In the XML, keep one cbc:ID in cac:DespatchDocumentReference.
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
Despatch 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-03 still fails, and which other rules do.
Related rules
- 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
- UBL-SR-09 An invoice can have only one seller name