Peppol Document Types & Standards
Complete overview of all supported message types within the Peppol network, from invoices to catalogs and orders
The Peppol network supports a wide range of business documents that each form part of a complete procure-to-pay cycle. With the introduction of PINT alongside BIS 3.0, countries outside Europe with GST and other tax systems can now fully participate in the global eInvoicing network.
BIS & PINT Standards
Dual-standard approach with BIS 3.0 for Europe and PINT for worldwide adoption, converging towards unified BIS 4.0 in 2026.
Validation & Compliance
Each document type undergoes strict validation with Schematron business rules and syntactic checks for guaranteed compliance.
Global Interoperability
PINT makes Peppol accessible to countries with GST, SST and other tax systems - from Japan to Australia and Singapore.
Peppol BIS Standards
Peppol Business Interoperability Specifications (BIS) define the business processes and document formats for electronic document exchange. Each BIS describes a specific business process with corresponding messages.
Core Document Types
Peppol BIS Billing 3.0
Most Used- Invoice
- Credit Note
- Corrective Invoice
- EN 16931 compliant
- Cross-border support
Order & Response
- Order (Purchase Order)
- Order Response
- Order Agreement
- Advanced Ordering
- Order Change/Cancel
Despatch Advice
- Despatch Advice 3.0
- Shipping information
- Transport details
- Item tracking
- Batch/serial numbers
Catalogue
- Catalogue (Product Catalog)
- Catalogue Response
- Price lists
- Product specifications
- Update mechanism
Message Level Response
- MLR 3.0
- Technical receipt confirmation
- Business level validation
- Error reporting
- Status updates
Invoice Response
- IMR (Invoice Message Response)
- Acceptance/rejection of invoice
- Clarification requests
- Status tracking
- Workflow support
PINT & International Extension
PINT (Peppol International Invoice Model) is a groundbreaking development that makes Peppol accessible to countries outside Europe. Launched in July 2023, PINT solves the limitations of BIS 3.0's EU-centric approach.
Why PINT Was Needed
Peppol BIS 3.0 is based on the European standard EN 16931, which enforces EU-specific VAT rules and terminology. This made it impossible for countries with GST, VAT systems or other tax structures to join the Peppol network without compromises.
Pricing Models: Tax-inclusive and tax-exclusive pricing
Multi-currency: Separate document and tax currencies
Flexibility: Three-layer architecture for local adaptations
Current PINT Adoption
Japan (JP-PINT)
Production- Three specialized variants
- Consumption tax support
- Self-billing functionality
- Non-tax registered businesses
Australia & New Zealand
Active- PINT A-NZ joint specification
- Mandatory since November 2024
- GST compliance
- 30,000+ active businesses
Singapore (PINT-SG)
Coming Soon- Mandatory from April 2025
- IRAS real-time integration
- 5-corner model
- InvoiceNow platform
Malaysia (PINT-MY)
Rollout- MyInvois system
- Phased implementation
- 900,000+ businesses planned
- Mandatory eInvoicing
Future: Convergence to BIS 4.0
OpenPeppol has announced that PINT and BIS 3.0 will converge in Peppol BIS 4.0, expected late 2025 or early 2026. This new standard combines the global flexibility of PINT with the stability of BIS 3.0.
Standards & Versions
Technical Standards
| Standard | Version | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PINT | 1.0.2 | Global Active | Peppol International Invoice Model for worldwide adoption |
| Peppol BIS 3.0 | 3.0.15 | EU Active | Business Interoperability Specifications for Europe |
| UBL 2.1 | 2.1 | Active | Universal Business Language for document structure |
| EN 16931 | 1.3.9 | EU Mandatory | European standard for electronic invoicing |
| SBDH | 1.3 | Active | Standard Business Document Header |
| AS4 | 1.0 | Transport | OASIS AS4 Profile for message transport |
| Peppol BIS 4.0 | Planned | Development | Unified global standard (expected 2026) |
| Peppol BIS 2.0 | Deprecated | Phased Out | No longer supported since 2020 |
May 2025: Mandatory PINT wildcard support for all service providers
2025-2026: Transition to BIS 4.0 as unified standard
International trade: PINT required for trade with Asia-Pacific countries
Document Process Flow
A typical Peppol document exchange follows a structured process from order to payment, where different document types follow each other.
Validation & Compliance
All Peppol documents undergo multiple validation steps to ensure compliance with standards.
Syntactic Validation
- XML schema validation (XSD)
- UBL structure check
- Data type verification
- Mandatory fields check
Schematron Validation
- Business rules application
- Peppol-specific rules
- Country-specific validation
- Warnings & errors
Identifier Schemes
Party Identifiers
| Country | Scheme ID | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 0106 | KvK number | 0106:12345678 |
| Netherlands | 0190 | OIN (Government ID number) | 0190:00000001234567890000 |
| Belgium | 0208 | KBO/BCE number | 0208:0123456789 |
| Germany | 0204 | Leitweg-ID | 0204:991-12345-67 |
| EU VAT | 9925 | VAT identification number | 9925:NL123456789B01 |
Invoice: urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:Invoice-2::Invoice##urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:3.0::2.1
Order: urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:Order-2::Order##urn:fdc:peppol.eu:poacc:trns:order:3::2.1
Ready for the Future of Document Exchange?
Whether you trade within Europe with BIS 3.0 or globally with PINT - discover which document types and standards best fit your business processes and prepare for the transition to BIS 4.0.
Peppol.now - Your guide in the world of electronic invoicing
