Germany 🇩🇪

XRechnung requirements and e-invoicing compliance for the German market.

Overview

Aspect	Details
B2G Mandate	Required (federal since 2020, states 2022-2024)
B2B Mandate	2025 (receiving), 2027-2028 (sending)
Required CIUS	XRechnung (mandatory for B2G)
Primary Scheme	0204 (Leitweg-ID for B2G), 9930 (VAT)
Government Portal	ZRE (federal), various state portals

B2B Mandate Coming

Germany has mandated B2B e-invoicing:

• 2025: All businesses must be able to receive e-invoices
• 2027: Businesses >€800k turnover must send e-invoices
• 2028: All businesses must send e-invoices

XRechnung CIUS

XRechnung is Germany's national extension of EN16931, mandatory for B2G.

Customization ID

<!-- XRechnung 3.0.1 (current version) -->
<cbc:CustomizationID>urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:xeinkauf.de:kosit:xrechnung_3.0</cbc:CustomizationID>

Profile ID

<cbc:ProfileID>urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0</cbc:ProfileID>

Identifier Schemes

Leitweg-ID (0204) — B2G Required

The routing ID for German public administration:

# Format: 04-xxx-xxxxx-xx (structure varies by state)
participant = {
    "scheme": "0204",
    "identifier": "04011000-12345-67",
    "name": "Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft",
    "country": "DE"
}

Structure:

• Coarse routing: Entity type + region
• Fine routing: Specific department
• Check digit for validation

VAT Number (9930) — B2B

For business-to-business invoicing:

# Format: DE + 9 digits
participant = {
    "scheme": "9930",
    "identifier": "DE123456789",
    "name": "Example GmbH",
    "country": "DE"
}

Looking Up Leitweg-IDs

Government entities are listed in:

• LeitID-Service (official lookup)
• Invoice portal documentation

Government Portals

Federal (ZRE)

All federal invoices go through the Zentrale Rechnungseingangsplattform:

# Sending to federal government
response = requests.post(
    "https://app.goroute.ai/peppol-api/api/v1/documents",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "your_api_key"},
    json={
        "receiver_scheme": "0204",
        "receiver_id": "04011000-12345-67",
        # The buyer reference is MANDATORY and is carried in the UBL document
        # as cbc:BuyerReference (Leitweg-ID format), not as a request field.
        "document": invoice_xml
    }
)

Requirements:

• ✅ XRechnung format
• ✅ Leitweg-ID as buyer endpoint
• ✅ Buyer reference (often Leitweg-ID or PO number)

State Portals

Each German state has its own portal:

State	Portal	Mandate Date
Baden-Württemberg	service-bw.de	01/2022
Bayern	eBill Bayern	04/2024
Berlin	ZRE	11/2020
Brandenburg	ZRE	11/2020
Nordrhein-Westfalen	eRechnung.NRW	04/2020

Invoice Requirements

Mandatory for XRechnung

<Invoice>
    <!-- XRechnung CustomizationID -->
    <cbc:CustomizationID>urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:xeinkauf.de:kosit:xrechnung_3.0</cbc:CustomizationID>
    
    <!-- CRITICAL: Buyer Reference (Leitweg-ID often used) -->
    <cbc:BuyerReference>04011000-12345-67</cbc:BuyerReference>
    
    <!-- German sender with VAT -->
    <cac:AccountingSupplierParty>
        <cac:Party>
            <cbc:EndpointID schemeID="9930">DE123456789</cbc:EndpointID>
            
            <cac:PartyTaxScheme>
                <cbc:CompanyID>DE123456789</cbc:CompanyID>
                <cac:TaxScheme>
                    <cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID>
                </cac:TaxScheme>
            </cac:PartyTaxScheme>
        </cac:Party>
    </cac:AccountingSupplierParty>
    
    <!-- Government receiver with Leitweg-ID -->
    <cac:AccountingCustomerParty>
        <cac:Party>
            <cbc:EndpointID schemeID="0204">04011000-12345-67</cbc:EndpointID>
        </cac:Party>
    </cac:AccountingCustomerParty>
</Invoice>

Banking Information

SEPA payment information is expected:

<cac:PaymentMeans>
    <cbc:PaymentMeansCode>58</cbc:PaymentMeansCode>
    <cbc:PaymentID>Rechnungsnr-2024-001</cbc:PaymentID>
    <cac:PayeeFinancialAccount>
        <cbc:ID>DE89370400440532013000</cbc:ID>
        <cbc:Name>Muster GmbH</cbc:Name>
        <cac:FinancialInstitutionBranch>
            <cbc:ID>COBADEFFXXX</cbc:ID>
        </cac:FinancialInstitutionBranch>
    </cac:PayeeFinancialAccount>
</cac:PaymentMeans>

German VAT

VAT Format

# German VAT: DE + 9 digits
def validate_german_vat(vat: str) -> bool:
    if not vat.startswith("DE"):
        return False
    if len(vat) != 11:
        return False
    return vat[2:].isdigit()

VAT Rates

Code	Rate	Description
S	19%	Standard rate
AA	7%	Reduced rate
Z	0%	Zero rate
E	0%	Exempt

Example XRechnung Invoice

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Invoice xmlns="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:Invoice-2"
         xmlns:cac="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CommonAggregateComponents-2"
         xmlns:cbc="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CommonBasicComponents-2">
    
    <!-- XRechnung 3.0 -->
    <cbc:CustomizationID>urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:xeinkauf.de:kosit:xrechnung_3.0</cbc:CustomizationID>
    <cbc:ProfileID>urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0</cbc:ProfileID>
    
    <cbc:ID>DE-RG-2024-001234</cbc:ID>
    <cbc:IssueDate>2024-01-15</cbc:IssueDate>
    <cbc:DueDate>2024-02-15</cbc:DueDate>
    <cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>380</cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>
    <cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode>EUR</cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode>
    
    <!-- MANDATORY for XRechnung -->
    <cbc:BuyerReference>04011000-12345-67</cbc:BuyerReference>
    
    <!-- Seller (German company) -->
    <cac:AccountingSupplierParty>
        <cac:Party>
            <cbc:EndpointID schemeID="9930">DE123456789</cbc:EndpointID>
            <cac:PartyName>
                <cbc:Name>Beispiel GmbH</cbc:Name>
            </cac:PartyName>
            <cac:PostalAddress>
                <cbc:StreetName>Musterstraße 1</cbc:StreetName>
                <cbc:CityName>Berlin</cbc:CityName>
                <cbc:PostalZone>10115</cbc:PostalZone>
                <cac:Country>
                    <cbc:IdentificationCode>DE</cbc:IdentificationCode>
                </cac:Country>
            </cac:PostalAddress>
            <cac:PartyTaxScheme>
                <cbc:CompanyID>DE123456789</cbc:CompanyID>
                <cac:TaxScheme>
                    <cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID>
                </cac:TaxScheme>
            </cac:PartyTaxScheme>
            <cac:PartyLegalEntity>
                <cbc:RegistrationName>Beispiel GmbH</cbc:RegistrationName>
            </cac:PartyLegalEntity>
            <cac:Contact>
                <cbc:Name>Max Mustermann</cbc:Name>
                <cbc:ElectronicMail>rechnung@beispiel.de</cbc:ElectronicMail>
            </cac:Contact>
        </cac:Party>
    </cac:AccountingSupplierParty>
    
    <!-- Buyer (German government) -->
    <cac:AccountingCustomerParty>
        <cac:Party>
            <cbc:EndpointID schemeID="0204">04011000-12345-67</cbc:EndpointID>
            <cac:PartyName>
                <cbc:Name>Bundesministerium</cbc:Name>
            </cac:PartyName>
            <cac:PostalAddress>
                <cbc:StreetName>Regierungsstraße 1</cbc:StreetName>
                <cbc:CityName>Berlin</cbc:CityName>
                <cbc:PostalZone>10117</cbc:PostalZone>
                <cac:Country>
                    <cbc:IdentificationCode>DE</cbc:IdentificationCode>
                </cac:Country>
            </cac:PostalAddress>
            <cac:PartyLegalEntity>
                <cbc:RegistrationName>Bundesministerium</cbc:RegistrationName>
            </cac:PartyLegalEntity>
        </cac:Party>
    </cac:AccountingCustomerParty>
    
    <cac:PaymentMeans>
        <cbc:PaymentMeansCode>58</cbc:PaymentMeansCode>
        <cbc:PaymentID>RG-2024-001234</cbc:PaymentID>
        <cac:PayeeFinancialAccount>
            <cbc:ID>DE89370400440532013000</cbc:ID>
            <cbc:Name>Beispiel GmbH</cbc:Name>
            <cac:FinancialInstitutionBranch>
                <cbc:ID>COBADEFFXXX</cbc:ID>
            </cac:FinancialInstitutionBranch>
        </cac:PayeeFinancialAccount>
    </cac:PaymentMeans>
    
    <cac:TaxTotal>
        <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="EUR">19.00</cbc:TaxAmount>
        <cac:TaxSubtotal>
            <cbc:TaxableAmount currencyID="EUR">100.00</cbc:TaxableAmount>
            <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="EUR">19.00</cbc:TaxAmount>
            <cac:TaxCategory>
                <cbc:ID>S</cbc:ID>
                <cbc:Percent>19</cbc:Percent>
                <cac:TaxScheme>
                    <cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID>
                </cac:TaxScheme>
            </cac:TaxCategory>
        </cac:TaxSubtotal>
    </cac:TaxTotal>
    
    <cac:LegalMonetaryTotal>
        <cbc:LineExtensionAmount currencyID="EUR">100.00</cbc:LineExtensionAmount>
        <cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount currencyID="EUR">100.00</cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount>
        <cbc:TaxInclusiveAmount currencyID="EUR">119.00</cbc:TaxInclusiveAmount>
        <cbc:PayableAmount currencyID="EUR">119.00</cbc:PayableAmount>
    </cac:LegalMonetaryTotal>
    
    <cac:InvoiceLine>
        <cbc:ID>1</cbc:ID>
        <cbc:InvoicedQuantity unitCode="HUR">10</cbc:InvoicedQuantity>
        <cbc:LineExtensionAmount currencyID="EUR">100.00</cbc:LineExtensionAmount>
        <cac:Item>
            <cbc:Description>IT-Beratung</cbc:Description>
            <cbc:Name>Beratungsleistung</cbc:Name>
            <cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory>
                <cbc:ID>S</cbc:ID>
                <cbc:Percent>19</cbc:Percent>
                <cac:TaxScheme>
                    <cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID>
                </cac:TaxScheme>
            </cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory>
        </cac:Item>
        <cac:Price>
            <cbc:PriceAmount currencyID="EUR">10.00</cbc:PriceAmount>
        </cac:Price>
    </cac:InvoiceLine>
</Invoice>

GoRoute validation for German invoices

Which German checks run depends on how you submit the invoice, so pick the endpoint that matches what you have.

If you build the invoice through GoRoute

POST /api/v1/invoices/validate is a dry run over the canonical invoice model, and it is the path that applies the German rules:

response = requests.post(
    "https://app.goroute.ai/peppol-api/api/v1/invoices/validate",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "your_api_key"},
    json={"invoice": invoice_payload}
)

# German checks applied here:
# - DE_001 (error)   Leitweg-ID required in buyer_reference for B2G (scheme 0204)
# - DE_002 (warning) Leitweg-ID format looks wrong
# - DE_003 (warning) German VAT number should be DE followed by 9 digits

If you already have UBL XML

POST /api/v1/documents/validate checks the document itself — XML syntax, UBL schema and Peppol BIS 3 business rules:

response = requests.post(
    "https://app.goroute.ai/peppol-api/api/v1/documents/validate",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "your_api_key"},
    json={
        "document": invoice_xml,  # UBL XML string
        "profile": "en16931"
    }
)

Full XRechnung schematron is not run

GoRoute does not currently execute the XRechnung CIUS schematron, so BR-DE-3 through BR-DE-26 are not checked. The German rules listed above are the ones that actually run. Passing GoRoute validation is therefore not evidence that an invoice satisfies XRechnung in full — validate against an XRechnung validator as well before you rely on it for a B2G submission.

B2B Mandate Preparation

What to Do Now

1. Register on Peppol to receive invoices
2. Update accounting systems to process e-invoices
3. Test with partners before mandate dates
4. Archive digitally (GoBD compliance)

Timeline

Resources

• KoSIT XRechnung
• Leitweg-ID Lookup
• ZRE Portal
• GoBD Guidelines

Next Steps

• Belgium Guide
• XRechnung Validation
• Registration

Further reading

• XRechnung and ZUGFeRD explained
• Germany overview
• 2026 e-invoicing mandate tracker — every country, one page
• How to choose a Peppol Access Point
• One API for multi-country e-invoicing

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