E-Invoice Template: EN 16931 Fields Your Invoice Needs

Quick answer: An e-invoice template built on EN 16931 must carry the core business terms: invoice number (BT-1), issue date (BT-2), type code (BT-3), currency (BT-5), seller and buyer names and countries, at least one invoice line with quantity, unit, price and VAT category, a VAT breakdown, and the document totals (BT-106 to BT-115).

EN 16931 is the European standard that defines what a structured electronic invoice contains. It sits behind Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, Germany's XRechnung, the EN 16931 profile of ZUGFeRD and Factur-X, and many national mandates. This guide maps an EN 16931 template field by field, shows how the totals must reconcile, and explains where a readable PDF fits. If you only need a clean human-readable invoice today, the free invoice generator lays out the same core fields, but be aware that it produces a PDF, not a structured XML e-invoice.

What is EN 16931?

EN 16931 is a family of standards published by CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, under the EU e-invoicing Directive 2014/55/EU. Part 1 (EN 16931-1) is the semantic data model of the core elements of an electronic invoice. "Semantic" means it defines the meaning of each piece of information, not how it is written in a file. Part 2 lists the syntaxes that may carry it: UBL 2.1 and UN/CEFACT CII.

Public bodies in the EU must be able to receive invoices that comply with EN 16931. National B2B mandates in Germany, Belgium, France, Poland and elsewhere build on it or on formats aligned with it. For the bigger picture of mandates and networks, see our e-invoicing guide and the country list in e-invoicing mandates 2027.

A revised version, EN 16931-1:2026, was approved by CEN in March 2026 in connection with the ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age) package, according to the European Commission's announcement. The BT codes in this article follow the model as used in Peppol BIS Billing 3.0. Check which version your format and software implement.

How the EN 16931 semantic data model is organised

The model has two building blocks:

• Business terms (BT): single items of information, each with a number such as BT-1. Example: BT-27 Seller name.
• Business groups (BG): containers for related terms, such as BG-4 Seller, BG-7 Buyer, BG-16 Payment instructions, BG-22 Document totals, BG-23 VAT breakdown and BG-25 Invoice line.

Each term has a cardinality: 1..1 (mandatory, once), 0..1 (optional), 1..n (at least one) or 0..n. Business rules labelled BR-xx then add conditions, such as "an invoice shall have an invoice number" (BR-02) or "an invoice with a VAT breakdown in category AE shall show the buyer's VAT identifier". Specifications built on top of the standard, called CIUS (core invoice usage specifications), can tighten these rules. Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, for example, makes the seller and buyer electronic addresses (BT-34 and BT-49) mandatory.

Mandatory EN 16931 fields: the invoice header

BT code	Business term	What to put there
BT-1	Invoice number	Your unique sequential number, e.g. INV-2026-0142
BT-2	Invoice issue date	Date the invoice is issued (YYYY-MM-DD in the XML)
BT-3	Invoice type code	From the UNTDID 1001 list: 380 commercial invoice, 381 credit note
BT-5	Invoice currency code	ISO 4217 code, e.g. EUR
BT-23	Business process type	Optional in the core model, mandatory in Peppol
BT-24	Specification identifier	Identifies the specification the invoice follows (fixed value per format)

Strongly recommended or conditional header terms include BT-9 Payment due date, BT-10 Buyer reference (mandatory in XRechnung, where it carries the Leitweg-ID for German public buyers), BT-13 Purchase order reference, BT-20 Payment terms, BT-22 Invoice note and BT-25 Preceding invoice reference for credit notes. BT-7 Value added tax point date and BT-8 its code are mutually exclusive. If your numbering needs work, our invoice numbering system guide covers sequences that never break, and invoice reference number explains how BT-1 differs from a payment reference.

Seller and buyer fields (BG-4 and BG-7)

Seller	Buyer	Notes
BT-27 Seller name (mandatory)	BT-44 Buyer name (mandatory)	Full legal or registered name
BT-31 Seller VAT identifier	BT-48 Buyer VAT identifier	Buyer VAT number required for reverse charge and intra-EU supplies
BT-34 Seller electronic address	BT-49 Buyer electronic address	Peppol ID with a scheme identifier; mandatory in Peppol
BT-35 Seller address line 1	Buyer address lines	Street address
BT-37 / BT-38 Seller city and post code	Buyer city and post code	Required by some national rules
BT-40 Seller country code (mandatory)	BT-55 Buyer country code (mandatory)	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2, e.g. DE, FR

Seller identifiers such as BT-29 Seller identifier and BT-30 Seller legal registration identifier (company registration number) are optional in the core model but often required nationally. Our guide to the tax ID on an invoice explains which number goes where.

Invoice line fields (BG-25)

Every EN 16931 invoice needs at least one invoice line (rule BR-16). Each line carries:

• BT-126 Invoice line identifier: 1, 2, 3 and so on.
• BT-129 Invoiced quantity and BT-130 unit of measure code, taken from the UN/ECE Recommendation 20 list (for example HUR for hour, C62 for one unit, DAY for day).
• BT-146 Item net price: the price per unit after any price discount.
• BT-131 Invoice line net amount: quantity times net price, minus line allowances, plus line charges.
• BT-151 Invoiced item VAT category code and BT-152 VAT rate.
• BT-153 Item name: a short, specific description.

The free-text "Description" column on a typical PDF template maps to BT-153 (and optionally BT-154 Item description). An itemized invoice layout is the closest PDF equivalent to this structure.

VAT breakdown and document totals (BG-23 and BG-22)

The VAT breakdown groups lines by VAT category and rate. There must be at least one breakdown (BR-CO-18), and each one carries BT-116 VAT category taxable amount, BT-117 VAT category tax amount, BT-118 VAT category code and BT-119 VAT category rate. Exempt or reverse-charge categories also need BT-120 VAT exemption reason text or BT-121 the reason code.

Code	Meaning
S	Standard rate
Z	Zero rated goods
E	Exempt from VAT
AE	VAT reverse charge
K	Intra-community supply of goods and services
G	Free export item, VAT not charged
O	Services outside scope of tax

Document totals then reconcile everything: BT-106 Sum of invoice line net amounts, BT-107 and BT-108 document-level allowances and charges, BT-109 Invoice total amount without VAT, BT-110 Invoice total VAT amount, BT-112 Invoice total amount with VAT, BT-113 Paid amount, BT-114 Rounding amount and BT-115 Amount due for payment. Validators check this arithmetic, so a one-cent rounding error will get an e-invoice rejected.

Worked example: an EN 16931 invoice with two VAT rates

A German design studio invoices a German client in EUR: 10 hours of design at €85.00 (standard rate 19%) and 20 printed books at €4.50 (reduced rate 7%), with a €300.00 deposit already paid.

BT-126	BT-153 Item name	BT-129 / BT-130	BT-146	BT-131	BT-151 / BT-152
1	Brand design, October	10 HUR	85.00	850.00	S / 19%
2	Printed books	20 C62	4.50	90.00	S / 7%

VAT breakdown (BG-23), one group per rate:

• Category S, 19%: BT-116 = 850.00; BT-117 = 850.00 x 0.19 = 161.50
• Category S, 7%: BT-116 = 90.00; BT-117 = 90.00 x 0.07 = 6.30

Document totals (BG-22):

• BT-106 Sum of line net amounts = 850.00 + 90.00 = 940.00
• BT-109 Total without VAT = 940.00 (no document-level allowances or charges)
• BT-110 Total VAT = 161.50 + 6.30 = 167.80
• BT-112 Total with VAT = 940.00 + 167.80 = 1,107.80
• BT-113 Paid amount = 300.00
• BT-115 Amount due = 1,107.80 - 300.00 = 807.80

Note that the same category code (S) appears twice because the rates differ: the breakdown is per category and rate. If the client were a VAT-registered business in France and the service fell under the general B2B place-of-supply rule, the lines would instead use category AE at 0%, the VAT total would be 0.00, and the buyer's VAT number (BT-48) plus a reverse charge note would be required. Our reverse charge invoice guide covers the wording.

How mandatory invoice fields in EU VAT law relate to EN 16931

Do not confuse two sets of rules. Article 226 of the EU VAT Directive (2006/112/EC) lists the details every VAT invoice must show, paper or electronic: date, sequential number, supplier and customer VAT numbers where relevant, names and addresses, quantity and nature of goods or services, date of supply, taxable amount per rate, rate, VAT payable, and exemption or reverse charge references. EN 16931 covers all of those and adds structure so software can read them. A paper or PDF invoice can meet Article 226 without being an e-invoice. Our VAT invoice guide covers the legal content, and e-invoice vs PDF invoice explains why a PDF is not a structured e-invoice under the new mandates.

EN 16931 formats: XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X and Peppol BIS

Format	Syntax	Where it is used
Peppol BIS Billing 3.0	UBL 2.1	Peppol network across Europe, Australia, Singapore and others
XRechnung	UBL or CII	German public sector and B2B
ZUGFeRD 2.x / Factur-X (EN 16931 profile and above)	CII XML embedded in a PDF/A-3	Germany and France; the Minimum and Basic WL profiles do not meet EN 16931

The Peppol specification and its validation rules are public on the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 documentation. For the German formats, see XRechnung vs ZUGFeRD, and for sending, how to send a Peppol invoice.

How to design a PDF template that mirrors EN 16931

Even if you still send PDFs to some clients, building your template around the EN 16931 field list makes the switch easier and reduces queries:

1. Use the same labels. "Invoice number", "Issue date", "Due date", "Buyer reference", "PO number".
2. Show both VAT numbers near the party names.
3. Give every line a quantity, unit, unit price, VAT rate and net amount. Avoid lines like "Services: €940".
4. Add a VAT summary table per rate under the lines, matching BG-23.
5. Show totals in the EN 16931 order: net, VAT, gross, paid, amount due.
6. Put IBAN and BIC in a payment block (BT-84 Payment account identifier and BT-86 Payment service provider identifier). See bank details on an invoice.
7. Use ISO codes for currency and country.

Common EN 16931 validation errors

• Totals that do not add up because VAT was rounded per line instead of per category.
• Missing buyer reference for German public buyers (XRechnung rejects it).
• Reverse charge without the buyer VAT number or exemption reason.
• Wrong unit code, such as "hrs" instead of HUR.
• Free-text dates instead of the ISO date format.
• Using a ZUGFeRD Basic WL or Minimum profile where an EN 16931-compliant invoice is required.

EN 16931 template checklist

• BT-1, BT-2, BT-3, BT-5 filled
• Seller and buyer names (BT-27, BT-44) and country codes (BT-40, BT-55)
• VAT identifiers where required (BT-31, BT-48)
• Electronic addresses for Peppol (BT-34, BT-49)
• Each line: BT-126, BT-129, BT-130, BT-131, BT-146, BT-151, BT-153
• One VAT breakdown per category and rate (BT-116 to BT-119)
• Totals reconcile: BT-106, BT-109, BT-110, BT-112, BT-115
• Payment instructions (BG-16) with BT-81 payment means code

Important: This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Field requirements vary by country, by format (CIUS) and by version of the standard. Confirm current rules with your national tax authority and the official specification, such as the Peppol BIS documentation, or speak to an adviser.

Next step

If you are not yet in scope for a mandate, set up a PDF layout with the same fields in the invoice generator using the Corporate template, which has room for both VAT numbers and a clear totals block. When you are ready to issue structured e-invoices, use accounting software or a Peppol access point that validates EN 16931 output, and keep your field habits the same.