Fix BR-CO-19: Invoicing period date (BT-73/BT-74) missing

BR-CO-19 in your own invoice? Upload the file and find every error in seconds.

Check invoice Get an API key

What does BR-CO-19 mean?

If an invoicing period is used, the start or the end date must be set. That way the period is defined.

Common causes of BR-CO-19

The period group 'ram:BillingSpecifiedPeriod' was created but without start and end date.
The date was written into the wrong element instead of 'ram:StartDateTime' or 'ram:EndDateTime'.
An empty period element was left over from the export.

How to fix BR-CO-19

Find the faulty spot in the XML. Open the XML of the invoice and go to field BG-14 along this XPath://ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement/ram:BillingSpecifiedPeriod
Apply the fix. If the invoicing period (BG-14, 'ram:BillingSpecifiedPeriod' in the header) is used, at least the start date (BT-73, 'ram:StartDateTime') or the end date (BT-74, 'ram:EndDateTime') must be filled. Add one of the two dates or remove the empty period group altogether.
Validate again. Save the file and validate it again to check that BR-CO-19 is no longer reported.

Concrete fix

If the invoicing period (BG-14, 'ram:BillingSpecifiedPeriod' in the header) is used, at least the start date (BT-73, 'ram:StartDateTime') or the end date (BT-74, 'ram:EndDateTime') must be filled. Add one of the two dates or remove the empty period group altogether.

XPath//ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement/ram:BillingSpecifiedPeriod

Before / after: the XML example

This is the spot in question before and after the fix (Cross Industry Invoice, ZUGFeRD/Factur-X).

Wrong

<ram:BillingSpecifiedPeriod>
</ram:BillingSpecifiedPeriod>

Correct

<ram:BillingSpecifiedPeriod>
  <ram:StartDateTime>
    <udt:DateTimeString format="102">20260401</udt:DateTimeString>
  </ram:StartDateTime>
  <ram:EndDateTime>
    <udt:DateTimeString format="102">20260430</udt:DateTimeString>
  </ram:EndDateTime>
</ram:BillingSpecifiedPeriod>

Frequent questions about BR-CO-19

Do I have to state both start and end date?

No. BR-CO-19 only requires at least one of the two to be filled. In practice both (BT-73 and BT-74) are usually stated to make the period unambiguous.

What is the date format in CII?

'udt:DateTimeString' with the attribute format='102' in the pattern YYYYMMDD, for example 20260401 for 1 April 2026.

Related error codes

Check BR-CO-19 automatically

Instead of digging through the XML by hand you can validate your ZUGFeRD or XRechnung file online – upload the PDF or the XML and you get every error with rule ID, affected field, fix and XPath, as a readable report or as JSON through the API.

Validate online now Back to the lexicon