XRechnung explained: Germany's e-invoice format, deadlines and the Leitweg-ID

Updated 2026-11-12

Also available in: Deutsch

XRechnung is the German standard for electronic invoices. It is a national version (a "CIUS") of the European standard EN 16931, maintained by KoSIT on behalf of the German federal and state governments. An XRechnung is a structured XML file, not a PDF.

This guide is a plain-language summary, not tax or legal advice. Check the official information at e-rechnung-bund.de and xeinkauf.de, and talk to your tax adviser.

When German businesses must use e-invoices

For invoices between businesses in Germany (B2B), the obligation is being phased in:

From	What changes
1 January 2025	All businesses in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices.
1 January 2027	Businesses with more than €800,000 turnover in the previous year must send e-invoices.
1 January 2028	All businesses must send e-invoices for domestic B2B sales.

Some invoices are excluded, for example small-amount invoices up to €250 and travel tickets. Invoices to public bodies (B2G) already required e-invoices earlier.

An e-invoice in Germany does not have to be XRechnung. Other formats that follow EN 16931, such as ZUGFeRD / Factur-X in a suitable profile, are also accepted. XRechnung is the format public bodies ask for, and it is widely used between businesses too.

What an XRechnung needs on top of a normal EU e-invoice

XRechnung adds German rules (with IDs starting BR-DE-). The ones you notice most:

Requirement	Rule
Seller contact: name, phone and email	`BR-DE-2`, `BR-DE-5`, `BR-DE-6`, `BR-DE-7`
Seller and buyer city and postal code	`BR-DE-3`, `BR-DE-4`, `BR-DE-8`, `BR-DE-9`
Buyer reference (for public bodies: the Leitweg-ID)	`BR-DE-15`
Payment instructions (for example your IBAN)	`BR-DE-1`
A correct IBAN when paying by SEPA transfer	`BR-DE-19`

It is also recommended to state the date of delivery or the service period.

What is a Leitweg-ID?

A Leitweg-ID is a routing ID that tells a German public authority which of its departments should receive your invoice. It goes into the buyer reference field of the XRechnung.

It is issued by the authority, not by you. You usually find it in the order or contract documents; if not, ask the authority for it.
It is not the same as the authority's Peppol ID, even though they can look alike. On Peppol, German public bodies use the scheme 0204 for their electronic address.
A missing or wrong Leitweg-ID is a common reason for rejected invoices to public bodies.

Creating and checking an XRechnung

Check: drop any XRechnung (UBL) file into Check an invoice. It is validated in your browser against the official EN 16931 and KoSIT XRechnung rules; the file is not uploaded.
Create: in the invoice tool, choose the format XRechnung 3.0 (Germany). The tool lists any German requirement that is still missing before you download. XRechnung output is part of Pro.