BR-01: missing specification identifier

Original rule text

[BR-01]-An Invoice shall have a Specification identifier (BT-24).

Stored validation assertion

normalize-space(cbc:CustomizationID) != ''

BR-01 is a fatal rule in the business layer of Peppol BIS Billing 3.0.20 · UBL. An invoice that breaks it is rejected. It refers to BT-24.

What this rule requires

The rule requires that an invoice or credit note includes a specification identifier (BT-24). In UBL, cbc:CustomizationID must not be empty or contain only whitespace; in CII, the corresponding rsm:ExchangedDocumentContext/ram:GuidelineSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter/ram:ID must be non-empty. A document fails validation when this element is absent, empty, or contains only spaces or line breaks.

How to fix

In UBL, add or populate cbc:CustomizationID with a non-empty value. In CII, populate rsm:ExchangedDocumentContext/ram:GuidelineSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter/ram:ID. Ensure the value is not blank or only whitespace. If your system generates invoices, configure it to insert the appropriate specification identifier; check the expected identifier for the invoice format and version you are sending, as the rule only tests that the value is non-empty.

Guidance on this rule. The original text above is authoritative.

How to resolve BR-01

The invoice needs a specification identifier in its top-level cbc:CustomizationID element. This is business term BT-24.

This value declares the specification the document follows. An omitted element, an empty value, or whitespace alone fails this presence check. A business process identifier in ProfileID does not replace it.

Configure the specification identifier in your invoice exporter and regenerate the XML. For a Peppol BIS Billing invoice, use the identifier required by that specification. Do not copy an identifier from an unrelated invoice profile.

XML examples

These synthetic UBL fragments illustrate this rule only. Place the field directly under the Invoice or CreditNote root, using the UBL common basic components namespace for cbc. They are not complete invoices.

Fails this presence check

<cbc:CustomizationID> </cbc:CustomizationID>

Supplies the required field

<cbc:CustomizationID>urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:3.0</cbc:CustomizationID>

Run the complete invoice through the Peppol invoice validator after correcting it. Supplying this field does not establish that the complete document passes all rules.

Related header checks

Reference: official Peppol BR-01 definition. Guidance checked against that definition on 19 October 2026. The stored assertion above identifies the rule in this archived version; the linked documentation may advance to a newer release.