FACE-003:Digital signature invalid
Facturae requires XAdES-EPES digital signature with a valid Spanish digital certificate (certificado digital) from an accredited CA.
Engine Classification
Financial or legal field · Modification blocked by policy
Reason: Facturae requires a valid XAdES-EPES digital signature from an accredited Spanish Certification Authority. The signature is invalid or the certificate has expired/been revoked. Re-sign the invoice with a valid digital certificate.
What is FACE-003?
FACE-003 is a fatal validation rule defined in the Facturae specification (ESP national rules). It checks whether digital signature invalid.
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.
Why This Error Matters
FACE-003 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
- ·Error returned: FACE-003
- ·Specification: Facturae
How to Fix It
Technical Reference
Common Causes
- ·Certificate expired
- ·Certificate not from accredited CA
- ·Signature algorithm incorrect
Seeing this in production? The API handles FACE-003 automatically. See the fix response →
Frequently Asked Questions
Facturae requires XAdES-EPES digital signature with a valid Spanish digital certificate (certificado digital) from an accredited CA.
Configure a valid Spanish digital certificate and ensure it is not expired. This error involves a protected field — Invoice Navigator flags it in your pipeline so your team can correct it at the source.
Yes, FACE-003 is a critical error that will cause invoice rejection. It must be fixed before submission to ensure your invoice is accepted by the recipient's system.
FACE-003 involves a financial or legal field that cannot be auto-modified by policy. Invoice Navigator detects and flags this error immediately, but the correction must be made manually in your ERP or invoicing software.
Related Content
Last updated: 3 March 2026
Detect FACE-003 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.