PEPPOL-EN16931-R061:Missing direct debit mandate reference
When payment is by direct debit (SEPA or other), the invoice must include the mandate reference number. This is the unique identifier of the agreement that authorizes the seller to collect payment from the buyer's bank account.
Engine Classification
Business data required · Explicit input workflow · No assumptions made
Required input: Direct Debit Mandate Reference
What is PEPPOL-EN16931-R061?
PEPPOL-EN16931-R061 is a fatal validation rule defined in the Peppol BIS 3.0 specification. It validates the ID (BT-89) must be present. element under PaymentMandate > ID — Peppol rule PEPPOL-EN16931-R061. When PaymentMeansCode = 59 (direct debit), PaymentMandate 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: cac:PaymentMeans/cac:PaymentMandate/cbc:ID — Peppol rule PEPPOL-EN16931-R061. When PaymentMeansCode = 59 (direct debit), PaymentMandate/ID (BT-89) must be present.
Why This Error Matters
Invoice will be rejected by PEPPOL validation. Direct debit requires mandate reference for payment processing.
PEPPOL-EN16931-R061 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
- ·Rejected by PEPPOL Access Points
- ·Error returned: PEPPOL-EN16931-R061
- ·Specification: Peppol BIS 3.0
How to Fix It
Find the SEPA mandate
Check your bank records for the SEPA Direct Debit mandate signed by this customer. It has a unique mandate reference number.
Enter the reference
Add the mandate reference number (e.g. MANDATE-2024-001 or your bank's format).
Alternative: change payment method
If you do not use direct debit, change the PaymentMeansCode to a different method (e.g. 30 for credit transfer).
Before / After
<cac:PayerFinancialAccount> <!-- cbc:ID is missing --> </cac:PayerFinancialAccount>
<cac:PayerFinancialAccount> <cbc:ID>valid-value</cbc:ID> </cac:PayerFinancialAccount>
Technical Reference
XPath: cac:PaymentMeans/cac:PaymentMandate/cbc:ID — Peppol rule PEPPOL-EN16931-R061. When PaymentMeansCode = 59 (direct debit), PaymentMandate/ID (BT-89) must be present.Common Causes
- ·Direct debit configured without mandate reference
- ·SEPA mandate not linked in invoicing software
- ·Using payment code 59 but payment is actually credit transfer
Seeing this in production? The API handles PEPPOL-EN16931-R061 automatically. See the fix response →
Commonly Seen In
See Also
Related Errors
Last updated: 27 February 2026
Handle PEPPOL-EN16931-R061 Automatically in Your Pipeline
The compliance engine auto-remediates this error with controlled safety policies and evidence pack generation.