BR-DE-5: Seller contact point (BT-41) is missing

StandardXRechnung 3.0.2 (KoSIT, German CIUS of EN 16931)SeverityError: the invoice is rejectedSyntaxUBL, CIIBusiness terms

BT-41 Seller contact point

Applies toXRechnung in UBL or CII syntax, including ZUGFeRD / Factur-X PDFs with the XRECHNUNG profile. Invoices to German public authorities (federal, state and municipal) must pass it.

Official rule text

[BR-DE-5] The element "Seller contact point" (BT-41) must be transmitted.

Official text (German): Das Element "Seller contact point" (BT-41) muss übermittelt werden.

Why this error occurs

Within the seller contact group XRechnung requires a contact name: cbc:Name in cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:Contact (UBL) or ram:PersonName or ram:DepartmentName in ram:SellerTradeParty/ram:DefinedTradeContact (CII). Public authorities want a named person or department for queries. The error occurs when only telephone and e-mail are mapped, or when the name field is filled with blanks.

How to fix it

In UBL add cbc:Name as the first child of the seller cac:Contact with a person name or a department ("Accounts receivable", "Sales team"). In CII add ram:PersonName or ram:DepartmentName to ram:DefinedTradeContact; one of the two is enough. The value must contain visible characters, not just spaces.

Example (valid)

<cac:Contact>
  <cbc:Name>Jane Doe</cbc:Name>
  <cbc:Telephone>+49 30 1234567</cbc:Telephone>
  <cbc:ElectronicMail>jane.doe@muster-gmbh.de</cbc:ElectronicMail>
</cac:Contact>

What the validator checks

Checked element (context):

UBL

/ubl:Invoice/cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:Contact | /cn:CreditNote/cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:Contact

Test (XPath):

cbc:Name[boolean(normalize-space(.))]

CII

/rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement/ram:SellerTradeParty/ram:DefinedTradeContact

Test (XPath):

(ram:PersonName,ram:DepartmentName)[boolean(normalize-space(.))]

Check your invoice

Drop your XML or PDF on the validator and every failed rule is linked to its page here. Free, no account, the file is not stored.

Check your invoice →

Same check via API:

curl -F file=@invoice.xml https://einvoicechecker.com/v1/validate

Related rules

BR-DE-1 Payment instructions (BG-16) are missing
BR-DE-2 Seller contact (BG-6) is missing
BR-DE-3 Seller city (BT-37) is missing
BR-DE-4 The element "Seller post code" must be transmitted
BR-DE-6 Seller contact telephone number (BT-42) is missing
BR-DE-7 Seller contact email address (BT-43) is missing
BR-DE-8 The element "Buyer city" must be transmitted
BR-DE-9 The element "Buyer post code" must be transmitted

Frequently asked questions

What does BR-DE-5 mean?

BR-DE-5 is a xrechnung rule: The element "Seller contact point" (BT-41) must be transmitted.

Will my invoice be rejected because of BR-DE-5?

Yes. BR-DE-5 is flagged "fatal"; validators (KoSIT, Peppol access points, the German ZRE/OZG-RE portals) reject the invoice until it is fixed.

Which formats does BR-DE-5 apply to?

XRechnung in UBL or CII syntax, including ZUGFeRD / Factur-X PDFs with the XRECHNUNG profile. Invoices to German public authorities (federal, state and municipal) must pass it. Syntax: UBL and CII.

Source: XRechnung 3.0.2, schematron 2.6.0 (KoSIT, September 2026). Catalogue generated from the official schematron on 2026-10-14.