Fix BR-DE-17: Invalid invoice type code (BT-3)

What does BR-DE-17 mean?

The element "Invoice type code" (BT-3) must carry only the following codes from code list UNTDID 1001: 326 (Partial invoice), 380 (Commercial invoice), 384 (Corrected invoice), 389 (Self-billed invoice) and 381 (Credit note), 875 (Partial construction invoice), 876 (Partial final construction invoice), 877 (Final construction invoice). This is a national KoSIT rule (XRechnung) that goes beyond EN 16931 and is mandatory for German e-invoices.

Common causes of BR-DE-17

• The element required by the German KoSIT rule is missing from the XML.
• The value appears only in the PDF, not in the structured data set.
• The entry was left empty.

How to fix BR-DE-17

1. Find the faulty spot in the XML. Open the XML of the invoice and go to field BT-3 along this XPath://rsm:ExchangedDocument/ram:TypeCode
2. Apply the fix. Use only permitted UNTDID 1001 codes for the invoice type (BT-3): 326, 380, 384, 389, 381, 875, 876, 877.
3. Validate again. Save the file and validate it again to check that BR-DE-17 is no longer reported.

Frequent questions about BR-DE-17

Related error codes

Check BR-DE-17 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.