Peppol is a pan-European network for exchanging structured electronic documents — primarily invoices. It uses a federated four-corner model where certified Access Points route documents between senders and receivers. Over 300,000 businesses across 39+ countries are registered on the network.

The Peppol network itself has no transaction fees. However, you need a certified Access Point to send and receive documents, and Access Points charge for their services. Pricing varies — typically per-document or monthly subscription models.

It depends on your country. Belgium mandates Peppol for all B2B transactions from January 2026. Germany requires Peppol-compatible reception from 2025. France supports Peppol as one of several channels from September 2026. The Netherlands has widespread voluntary adoption. Check /deadlines for the full country-by-country status.

What format does Peppol use?

Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, which is based on UBL 2.1 (Universal Business Language). It’s a CIUS of the EN 16931 European e-invoicing standard, meaning it follows EN 16931 with additional Peppol-specific rules.

Do I need a Peppol Access Point?

Yes. To send or receive documents on the Peppol network, you must connect through a certified Access Point. You can either become a certified Access Point yourself or use an existing provider’s services.

How do I get a Peppol ID?

Your Access Point provider handles Peppol ID registration. The ID combines a scheme identifier (which varies by country — e.g., 0208 for Belgium, 0106 for the Netherlands) with your business registration number.

Can I send Peppol invoices from my ERP?

Most ERPs don’t have native Peppol support built in. You typically need either an Access Point integration (API-based) or a middleware layer that converts your ERP output to Peppol BIS 3.0 format. See our ERP integration guides for SAP , Dynamics 365 , DATEV , Odoo , and Sage .

What’s the difference between Peppol and EN 16931?

EN 16931 is the European standard that defines what data an e-invoice must contain. Peppol BIS 3.0 is a CIUS (usage specification) of EN 16931 — it adds rules for how invoices are structured and delivered on the Peppol network. EN 16931 is the content standard; Peppol adds the transport and additional validation rules.

What happens if my Peppol invoice is rejected?

The receiving Access Point returns an error response. Common causes: invalid XML structure, missing required fields (like buyer reference), wrong scheme IDs, or VAT calculation mismatches. The invoice doesn’t reach the receiver — you need to fix the error and resubmit.

How do I validate a Peppol invoice before sending?

Run it through all four validation layers: XML schema, EN 16931 business rules, Peppol-specific rules, and country CIUS rules. You can use our free Peppol validator or integrate validation into your pipeline via our API .

Does Peppol work outside Europe?

Yes. Singapore uses Peppol for its nationwide InvoiceNow framework. Australia and New Zealand have Peppol-based e-invoicing for government procurement. Japan and other Asia-Pacific countries are piloting Peppol adoption.

What’s the difference between Peppol and XRechnung?

XRechnung is Germany’s national CIUS — a format specification that adds German-specific rules to EN 16931. Peppol is the network used to deliver XRechnung invoices. XRechnung defines what the invoice contains; Peppol defines how it gets from sender to receiver. For German public sector invoicing, you need both.

Learn · standards

What is Peppol?

Peppol (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) is the dominant e-invoicing network in Europe. It’s a set of open specifications that define how businesses exchange electronic documents — invoices, credit notes, purchase orders — across borders, systems, and formats. Think of it as SMTP for invoices. Your ERP connects to a certified Access Point. The Access Point routes your invoice to the receiver’s Access Point. Both sides speak the same language (Peppol BIS Billing 3.0), regardless of what ERP, accounting system, or country either party operates in. Originally an EU-funded project launched in 2008 for public procurement, Peppol now covers B2B e-invoicing across 39+ countries with 300,000+ registered participants. As of 2026, Belgium, Germany, and Poland mandate Peppol for B2B transactions. France, Spain, and others are adding Peppol support alongside national systems.

TL;DR

Peppol is the EU's cross-border e-invoicing network connecting businesses and governments across 39+ countries. Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 uses UBL syntax with additional rules for interoperability.

Quick facts

Full NamePan-European Public Procurement Online

TypeDocument exchange network

Founded2008 (EU project), 2012 (OpenPeppol)

Coverage39+ countries worldwide

DocumentsInvoices, credit notes, orders, catalogs

FormatPeppol BIS Billing 3.0 (EN 16931)

How Peppol works

The Four-Corner Model

Peppol uses a federated architecture called the four-corner model:

Corner 1: The sender (your business or your customer’s ERP)
Corner 2: The sender’s Access Point (certified Peppol service provider)
Corner 3: The receiver’s Access Point
Corner 4: The receiver

The sender’s ERP generates a Peppol BIS invoice and submits it to their Access Point. The Access Point looks up the receiver’s Peppol ID in the network’s directory (SML/SMP), finds the receiver’s Access Point, and delivers the invoice via the AS4 transport protocol. The receiver’s Access Point delivers the invoice to the receiver’s system.

No direct connection between sender and receiver is needed. No bilateral agreements. No format negotiation. As long as both sides have a certified Access Point and a registered Peppol ID, they can exchange documents.

Access Points

An Access Point is a certified service provider that connects your business to the Peppol network. It handles message routing, delivery receipts, and protocol compliance.

Access Points are certified by a Peppol Authority (one per country or region). Certification requires passing conformance tests for message handling, security, and SLA compliance.

As a business, you choose one Access Point. As an ERP vendor, you either become a certified Access Point yourself (significant investment, full control) or you integrate with an existing one via their API.

Most mid-market ERP vendors choose the second option. The Access Point handles the transport; the ERP vendor focuses on generating valid invoices.

Peppol IDs

Every participant on the Peppol network has a unique identifier. The format combines a scheme ID (identifying the type of identifier) with the actual value.

Common scheme IDs:

Scheme	Country	Identifier Type
0208	Belgium	KBO/BCE enterprise number
0106	Netherlands	KvK Chamber of Commerce number
9930	Germany	VAT number (USt-IdNr)
0007	International	GLN (Global Location Number)
0088	International	EAN Location Code
9906	Italy	Codice Fiscale

In UBL, a Peppol ID looks like this:

<cbc:EndpointID schemeID="0208">0123456789</cbc:EndpointID>

Getting the scheme ID wrong is one of the most common integration errors. The scheme must match the identifier type and the country. An invoice with a Dutch KvK number but scheme ID 9930 (German VAT) will be rejected.

SML and SMP (Service Discovery)

The Service Metadata Locator (SML) and Service Metadata Publisher (SMP) form Peppol’s directory system. When an Access Point needs to deliver an invoice, it queries the SML to find which SMP holds the receiver’s metadata, then queries the SMP to get the receiver’s Access Point URL and supported document types.

This happens automatically — you don’t interact with SML/SMP directly unless you’re building an Access Point.

Peppol BIS Billing 3.0

Peppol BIS (Business Interoperability Specification) Billing 3.0 is the invoice format specification. It’s a CIUS (Core Invoice Usage Specification) of EN 16931, meaning it takes the European e-invoicing standard and adds Peppol-specific rules on top.

The underlying syntax is UBL 2.1 (Universal Business Language). An alternative CII syntax exists but UBL is the default for most implementations.

Every Peppol invoice must pass:

UBL 2.1 XML schema validation
EN 16931 business rules (BR-01 through BR-65)
Peppol-specific rules (PEPPOL-EN16931-R001 through R080)
Country CIUS rules (if applicable — e.g., XRechnung for Germany, BEvCIUS for Belgium)

The specification identifier that goes in your invoice:

urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:3.0

Full specification: docs.peppol.eu/poacc/billing/3.0

Why Peppol matters

Where Peppol Is Mandatory (2026)

The mandate landscape is moving fast. Here’s where Peppol stands as of March 2026:

Country	Status	Peppol Role	Details
Belgium	Mandatory B2B (Jan 2026)	Required network	Grace period ended March 31
Germany	Reception mandatory (Jan 2025), sending phased 2027–2028	XRechnung delivered via Peppol	Largest EU market
Poland	KSeF mandatory	Peppol supported alongside KSeF	Dual-track system
France	Phased from Sep 2026	Supported via certified platforms (PDP)	Peppol is one of several options
Italy	FatturaPA mandatory	Peppol growing for cross-border	SDI remains dominant domestically
Netherlands	Voluntary, widely adopted	De facto standard	Highest Peppol adoption in EU
Norway	B2G mandatory	Required for public sector	Early Peppol adopter
Singapore	Nationwide e-invoicing	Peppol-based InvoiceNow	Asia-Pacific expansion
Australia / NZ	B2G pilots	Peppol-based eInvoicing	Growing adoption

For the complete country-by-country breakdown with mandate dates: EU e-invoicing deadlines →

Why ERP Vendors Need Peppol Support

If you build or maintain an ERP that serves EU businesses, Peppol support is no longer optional in most markets. The question isn’t whether to support it — it’s how to support it without breaking your existing invoice pipeline.

The common pitfall: adding Peppol as an afterthought. ERP generates a PDF or flat file, a converter turns it into UBL, and the result gets pushed to an Access Point. This works until it doesn’t — and it stops working exactly when your customer needs it most (month-end, audit, cross-border transaction with edge-case VAT rules).

The structural approach: validate every invoice against all four rule layers before it reaches the Access Point. Catch schema errors, missing fields, wrong scheme IDs, and rounding mismatches before they become rejections.

That’s what a pre-submission compliance gate does. It sits between your ERP export and the Access Point, and it makes sure nothing leaves your system that would get rejected on the other end.

Invoice Navigator validates Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 documents against both the Peppol-specific rules and the underlying EN 16931 standard, ensuring compliance for cross-border exchange.

Common errors

Common Peppol Validation Errors

These are the errors we see most frequently in production Peppol pipelines:

PEPPOL-EN16931-R010 — Buyer reference is missing or invalid. Required for all Peppol invoices. Maps to BT-10 (Buyer Reference). Many ERPs leave this blank by default.

PEPPOL-EN16931-R001 — Business process identifier missing. The ProfileID element must contain the Peppol BIS 3.0 process identifier.

BR-CO-10 — Sum of invoice line net amounts doesn’t match the total. Usually a rounding issue — especially common with Belgian invoices after the 2026 rounding rule change.

BR-16 — Order reference missing when required. Some country CIUS rules make this mandatory (Germany’s BR-DE-15 requires a buyer reference for public sector invoices).

BR-CO-09 — VAT identifier prefix doesn’t match the country code. The VAT number must start with the correct two-letter country prefix.

For the full error library with fix guidance: All validation errors →

Comparisons

Peppol vs. Other Systems

Peppol vs. email with PDF attachment — Peppol delivers structured, machine-readable data. PDFs require OCR or manual entry. Most EU mandates explicitly require structured formats, making PDF invoices non-compliant.

Peppol vs. Italy’s SDI (FatturaPA) — SDI is Italy’s centralized national system. Peppol is federated and pan-European. Italy uses SDI domestically but is adopting Peppol for cross-border B2B. Compare in detail →

Peppol vs. France’s Chorus Pro / PDP — France uses certified platforms (PDP) that connect to a government portal (PPF). Peppol can serve as a PDP-compatible channel. France is Peppol-compatible but not Peppol-exclusive.

Peppol vs. Poland’s KSeF — KSeF is Poland’s centralized e-invoicing system. Peppol runs alongside it for cross-border transactions. Businesses selling to Polish buyers may need both.

Peppol vs. XRechnung — XRechnung is Germany’s CIUS (format specification). Peppol is the network. XRechnung invoices are sent via Peppol. You need both for German government invoicing. Compare in detail →

How to get started

Step 1: Choose Your Access Point Strategy

Become an Access Point — if you process 100K+ invoices/year and want full network control. Requires Peppol Authority certification, infrastructure investment, and ongoing compliance obligations.

Use an existing Access Point — if you want to focus on invoice generation and let someone else handle transport. Most Access Points offer APIs for programmatic submission and delivery.

Step 2: Register Peppol IDs

Your customers each need a Peppol ID registered on the network. The Access Point handles registration. You need to know which scheme ID to use per country (see the table above).

Step 3: Generate Valid Peppol BIS 3.0 Invoices

Your ERP’s invoice export must produce valid UBL 2.1 XML that passes Peppol validation. The specification defines required fields, data types, and business rules.

Key required fields: invoice number (BT-1), issue date (BT-2), currency code (BT-5), seller/buyer identifiers, line items with prices and quantities, VAT breakdown.

Step 4: Validate Before Submission

Run every invoice through the four validation layers before sending it to the Access Point. This catches errors before they cause rejections.

Validate a Peppol invoice now →

For API integration: Developer documentation →
For sandbox testing: Sandbox environment →

What is EN 16931?
The European e-invoice standard
What is XRechnung?
Germany's national format
Belgium E-Invoicing 2026
Full mandate guide
Belgium Country Page
Mandate details
Peppol vs XRechnung
Format comparison
Peppol vs Factur-X
Format comparison
E-Invoicing Deadlines
All EU mandate dates

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Peppol?: Peppol is a pan-European network for exchanging structured electronic documents — primarily invoices. It uses a federated four-corner model where certified Access Points route documents between senders and receivers. Over 300,000 businesses across 39+ countries are registered on the network.
Is Peppol free?: The Peppol network itself has no transaction fees. However, you need a certified Access Point to send and receive documents, and Access Points charge for their services. Pricing varies — typically per-document or monthly subscription models.
Is Peppol mandatory?: It depends on your country. Belgium mandates Peppol for all B2B transactions from January 2026. Germany requires Peppol-compatible reception from 2025. France supports Peppol as one of several channels from September 2026. The Netherlands has widespread voluntary adoption. Check /deadlines for the full country-by-country status.
What format does Peppol use?: Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, which is based on UBL 2.1 (Universal Business Language). It’s a CIUS of the EN 16931 European e-invoicing standard, meaning it follows EN 16931 with additional Peppol-specific rules.
Do I need a Peppol Access Point?: Yes. To send or receive documents on the Peppol network, you must connect through a certified Access Point. You can either become a certified Access Point yourself or use an existing provider’s services.
How do I get a Peppol ID?: Your Access Point provider handles Peppol ID registration. The ID combines a scheme identifier (which varies by country — e.g., 0208 for Belgium, 0106 for the Netherlands) with your business registration number.
Can I send Peppol invoices from my ERP?: Most ERPs don’t have native Peppol support built in. You typically need either an Access Point integration (API-based) or a middleware layer that converts your ERP output to Peppol BIS 3.0 format. See our ERP integration guides for SAP, Dynamics 365, DATEV, Odoo, and Sage.
What’s the difference between Peppol and EN 16931?: EN 16931 is the European standard that defines what data an e-invoice must contain. Peppol BIS 3.0 is a CIUS (usage specification) of EN 16931 — it adds rules for how invoices are structured and delivered on the Peppol network. EN 16931 is the content standard; Peppol adds the transport and additional validation rules.
What happens if my Peppol invoice is rejected?: The receiving Access Point returns an error response. Common causes: invalid XML structure, missing required fields (like buyer reference), wrong scheme IDs, or VAT calculation mismatches. The invoice doesn’t reach the receiver — you need to fix the error and resubmit.
How do I validate a Peppol invoice before sending?: Run it through all four validation layers: XML schema, EN 16931 business rules, Peppol-specific rules, and country CIUS rules. You can use our free Peppol validator or integrate validation into your pipeline via our API.
Does Peppol work outside Europe?: Yes. Singapore uses Peppol for its nationwide InvoiceNow framework. Australia and New Zealand have Peppol-based e-invoicing for government procurement. Japan and other Asia-Pacific countries are piloting Peppol adoption.
What’s the difference between Peppol and XRechnung?: XRechnung is Germany’s national CIUS — a format specification that adds German-specific rules to EN 16931. Peppol is the network used to deliver XRechnung invoices. XRechnung defines what the invoice contains; Peppol defines how it gets from sender to receiver. For German public sector invoicing, you need both.