CII-SR-05:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement required
CII must specify seller and buyer.
Engine Classification
Financial or legal field · Modification blocked by policy
Reason: CII documents require the ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement element containing seller and buyer information. Update your CII document generator to include this mandatory element.
What is CII-SR-05?
CII-SR-05 is a fatal validation rule defined in the cii-d16b specification. It validates the ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement element under rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice > rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction in the UBL invoice XML.
When this rule fires, the invoice is non-compliant and will be rejected by Peppol access points and national validation services. The sending system receives a rejection response and the invoice does not reach the buyer.
Target path: XPath: /rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement
Why This Error Matters
Trade agreement contains party details.
CII-SR-05 is a hard failure. Invoices that trigger this rule are rejected at the access point and never reach the recipient. In Peppol networks, this means your sending system receives an MLR (Message Level Response) with a rejection status. The invoice must be corrected and re-sent, adding delay to your payment cycle.
Validator Behavior
- ·Causes invoice rejection
- ·Fails CII schema validation
- ·Error returned: CII-SR-05
- ·Specification: cii-d16b
How to Fix It
Add agreement
ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement element
Add parties
SellerTradeParty and BuyerTradeParty
XML Example
Generic example based on the rule's target XPath. Your actual XML structure may differ.
<!-- Triggers validation error --> <ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement></ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement>
<!-- Corrected --> <ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement>VALID_VALUE</ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement>
Technical Reference
XPath: /rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreementCommon Causes
- ·Missing trade agreement
- ·Missing parties
Seeing this in production? The API handles CII-SR-05 automatically. See the fix response →
Frequently Asked Questions
CII must specify seller and buyer.
Add HeaderTradeAgreement with party information. This error involves a protected field — Invoice Navigator flags it in your pipeline so your team can correct it at the source.
Yes, CII-SR-05 is a critical error that will cause invoice rejection. It must be fixed before submission.
Related Content
Last updated: 3 March 2026
Detect CII-SR-05 Before Submission
This error involves a financial or legal field that cannot be auto-modified. The compliance engine flags it immediately with a clear diagnosis so your team can fix it at the source.