Peppol Identifiers

Every participant on the Peppol network has a unique identifier. Understanding how these identifiers work is essential for successful document exchange.

Identifier Structure

A Peppol identifier consists of two parts:

{scheme}:{identifier}

For example:

0106:12345678 — Netherlands Chamber of Commerce number
0204:DE123456789 — German VAT number
9925:0123456789 — French SIRET number

Common Identifier Schemes

European Schemes

Scheme	Country	Name	Format Example
`0007`	🇸🇪 Sweden	Organisationsnummer	1234567890
`0088`	🌍 Global	EAN/GLN	1234567890123
`0096`	🇩🇰 Denmark	CVR	12345678
`0106`	🇳🇱 Netherlands	KVK	12345678
`0130`	🇪🇺 EU	Directorates-General	DIGIT.B.3
`0184`	🇩🇰 Denmark	CVR (alternative)	DK12345678
`0190`	🇳🇱 Netherlands	OIN	00000001234567890000
`0192`	🇳🇴 Norway	Organisasjonsnummer	123456789
`0195`	🇸🇬 Singapore	UEN	S12345678A
`0196`	🇮🇸 Iceland	Kennitala	1234567890
`0198`	🇩🇰 Denmark	ERSTORG	12345678
`0200`	🇱🇹 Lithuania	Company Code	123456789
`0201`	🇱🇹 Lithuania	VAT	LT123456789
`0204`	🇩🇪 Germany	VAT	DE123456789
`0208`	🇧🇪 Belgium	Enterprise Number	0123456789
`0209`	🇩🇪 Germany	Leitweg-ID	991-12345-67
`0210`	🇮🇹 Italy	Codice Fiscale	12345678901
`0211`	🇮🇹 Italy	IPA Code	ABC123
`0213`	🇪🇪 Estonia	Registry Code	12345678
`0215`	🇫🇮 Finland	Y-tunnus	1234567-8
`0216`	🇫🇮 Finland	OVT	003712345678
`0221`	🇯🇵 Japan	Corporate Number	1234567890123
`0230`	🇲🇾 Malaysia	BRN	202301012345

VAT-based Schemes

Scheme	Country	Format
`9906`	🇮🇹 Italy	IT + 11 digits
`9914`	🇦🇹 Austria	ATU + 8 digits
`9917`	🇳🇱 Netherlands	NL + 9 digits + B + 2 digits
`9918`	🇪🇪 Estonia	EE + 9 digits
`9919`	🇪🇸 Spain	ESX + 8 digits
`9920`	🇦🇹 Austria	AT + 9 digits
`9922`	🇦🇩 Andorra	AD + 8 digits
`9923`	🇦🇱 Albania	AL + 10 digits
`9924`	🇧🇦 Bosnia	BA + 12 digits
`9925`	🇫🇷 France	FR + 11 digits (SIRET)
`9926`	🇭🇺 Hungary	HU + 8 digits
`9930`	🇮🇹 Italy	IT + Partita IVA
`9955`	🇸🇪 Sweden	SE + 12 digits
`9956`	🇧🇪 Belgium	BE + 10 digits
`9957`	🇫🇷 France	FR + 11 digits
`9959`	🇪🇺 EU	Employer ID Number

Validating Identifiers

There is no identifier-validation endpoint

Earlier revisions of this page documented a GET route under /api/v1 that checked a scheme and identifier for format validity and returned valid, scheme_name and format_description. No such endpoint exists, and nothing in the API returns those fields.

Check identifier format in your own code against the format rules below. To find out whether an identifier is actually registered on the network, use participant lookup.

Identifier format is enforced only as part of validating a whole document — for example the country layer's COUNTRY_AU_001 (ABN must be 11 digits) and COUNTRY_AU_002 (ABN checksum) on POST /api/v1/invoices/validate. There is no way to ask about an identifier on its own.

Looking Up Participants

Check whether a participant is registered on Peppol:

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://app.goroute.ai/peppol-api/api/v1/participants/lookup",
    params={"peppol_id": "0106:12345678"},
    headers={"X-API-Key": "your_api_key"},
)

participant = response.json()

if participant["found"]:
    print("Found:", participant["name"], participant["country"])
    print("Can receive:", participant["capabilities"])
else:
    print("Not on the Peppol network:", participant["message"])

One parameter, in scheme:value form

The lookup takes a single peppol_id (or its alias identifier) containing a colon — 0106:12345678. Passing scheme and identifier as two separate parameters does not work; a value without a colon returns 400 with Provide peppol_id as scheme:value, e.g. 0248:OM1100099003.

Identifier Requirements

Format Rules

Each scheme has specific format requirements:

Scheme	Length	Format	Check Digit
`0106`	8	Numeric only	No
`0192`	9	Numeric only	Modulo 11
`0204`	11	DE + 9 digits	Yes
`0208`	10	Numeric only	Modulo 97

Common Validation Errors

Common Mistakes

Including country prefix when not required (e.g., NL in KVK numbers)
Omitting country prefix when required (e.g., DE in German VAT)
Wrong number of digits
Including spaces or special characters

Best Practices

1. Validate Early

Always validate identifiers before storing:

import re

# Format rules are yours to enforce — see the table above.
SCHEME_FORMATS = {
    "0106": re.compile(r"^\d{8}$"),        # NL KVK
    "0192": re.compile(r"^\d{9}$"),        # NO Org.nr
    "0208": re.compile(r"^\d{10}$"),       # BE CBE
}


def is_well_formed(scheme: str, identifier: str) -> bool:
    """Check identifier format locally. There is no API for this."""
    pattern = SCHEME_FORMATS.get(scheme)
    return bool(pattern and pattern.match(identifier))


def is_on_the_network(peppol_id: str) -> bool:
    """Check registration. peppol_id must be in scheme:value form."""
    response = requests.get(
        f"{API_BASE}/api/v1/participants/lookup",
        params={"peppol_id": peppol_id},
        headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY},
    )
    return response.json().get("found", False)

2. Normalize Before Storage

Store identifiers in a consistent format:

def normalize_identifier(scheme: str, identifier: str) -> str:
    """Normalize identifier for storage."""
    # Remove spaces and convert to uppercase
    identifier = identifier.replace(" ", "").upper()
    
    # Remove common separators
    identifier = identifier.replace("-", "").replace(".", "")
    
    return identifier

3. Use the Correct Scheme

Different schemes may cover the same organization:

# A Dutch company might be registered with:
# - 0106 (KVK number) - Preferred for Peppol
# - 0190 (OIN) - Government organizations
# - 9917 (VAT) - VAT number scheme

# Always check which scheme the receiver is registered with

Scheme Selection Guide

When should you use which scheme?

Country	B2B	B2G	Recommended
🇳🇱 Netherlands	0106	0190	0106 (KVK)
🇩🇪 Germany	0204	0209	0204 (VAT)
🇧🇪 Belgium	0208	0208	0208 (CBE)
🇫🇷 France	9925	0009	9925 (SIRET)
🇮🇹 Italy	0210	0211	0210 (Codice Fiscale)
🇳🇴 Norway	0192	0192	0192 (Org.nr)
🇸🇪 Sweden	0007	0007	0007 (Org.nr)

API Reference

Validate identifier

There is no such endpoint. See Validating Identifiers above.

Lookup participant

GET /api/v1/participants/lookup

Requires the participants:read permission.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Description
`peppol_id`	string	Yes (or `identifier`)	The full identifier in `scheme:value` form, e.g. `0106:12345678`
`identifier`	string	Accepted as an alias for `peppol_id`	Same `scheme:value` form

A value with no colon returns 400.

Response:

{
    "found": true,
    "participant_id": "0106:12345678",
    "name": "Example BV",
    "country": "NL",
    "capabilities": [
        "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"
    ],
    "message": null
}

The response is flat — there is no nested participant object, no registered_at, and the document types are in capabilities, not document_types. When the participant is not found, found is false and message explains why; the call still returns 200.

Identifier Structure​

Common Identifier Schemes​

European Schemes​

VAT-based Schemes​

Validating Identifiers​

Looking Up Participants​

Identifier Requirements​

Format Rules​

Common Validation Errors​

Best Practices​

1. Validate Early​

2. Normalize Before Storage​

3. Use the Correct Scheme​

Scheme Selection Guide​

API Reference​

Validate identifier​

Lookup participant​

Next Steps​