Seller contact email is required for German B2G invoices in Germany

This is the rejection, word for word: „[BR-DE-05] XRechnung to German public sector requires valid Leitweg-ID as buyer reference.“

Why this matters in Germany

Germany requires e-invoicing using XRechnung (UBL), XRechnung (CII), ZUGFeRD 2.x. An invoice with this error is rejected; it cannot be processed under Germany's rules.

German government portals (ZRE, OZG-RE) route invoices based on Leitweg-ID.

What to have readyThe missing value from your purchase order, contract or bookkeeping.

What we doAdd correctly formatted Leitweg-ID.

Choose the rejected invoiceor drop it here

XRechnung XML or ZUGFeRD PDF. Checking is free · corrected file €1.90 · the first every 30 days is free · no sign-up.

How to fix BR-DE-05

01Get Leitweg-IDFrom public sector buyer (format: 04011000-12345-67)

02Add to BuyerReferencePlace in cbc:BuyerReference element

03Validate formatMust match Leitweg-ID pattern

If you enter it yourself in your invoicing software

Before

<cac:Contact>
  <!-- cbc:ElectronicMail is missing -->
</cac:Contact>

After

<cac:Contact>
  <cbc:ElectronicMail>valid-value</cbc:ElectronicMail>
</cac:Contact>

Germany e-invoicing requirements

Phase	Status	Scope
B2G	Live (Nov 2020)	All federal suppliers
B2B receiving	Live (Jan 2025)	All German businesses
B2B sending	Jan 2027	>€800K annual revenue
B2B sending	Jan 2028	All businesses

Known causes

Wrong format

Missing Leitweg-ID

Invalid checksum

Read on

BR-DE-05, the full explanation →Germany e-invoicing guide →All Germany error codes →