Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr and BAAINBw belong to the direct federal administration. The Federal E-Invoicing Ordinance (E-RechV) applies: invoices must be submitted as structured e-invoices conforming to EN 16931, as a rule in the XRechnung standard. The central routing element is the Leitweg-ID, which is communicated with the order.
Platform change — the ZRE no longer exists. On 19 September 2025 the entire direct federal administration was migrated to the OZG-RE and the Central Invoice Submission Platform (ZRE) was switched off at the same time. Invoices to the Bundeswehr now run exclusively through the OZG-RE. Anyone still set up for ZRE access or ZRE addresses has to migrate.
Accepted formats
- XRechnung in its currently valid version — the default standard.
- Any other standard that meets EN 16931, the E-RechV and the platform’s terms of use. ZUGFeRD 2.2.0 in the XRECHNUNG profile explicitly satisfies these requirements.
- Formats that do not conform to the European standard cannot be processed.
A PDF file is not an e-invoice. Under Directive 2014/55/EU an e-invoice is a structured data set. A PDF invoice does not meet that requirement — not even when it is sent digitally.
Transmission channels
Web submission
Manual entry of the invoice directly on the platform. Suitable if no invoicing system is in place.
Upload
Upload of an externally created e-invoice in XML format.
The finished XML file is sent to the platform. Suitable for high volumes.
Peppol
Sending straight from the issuing software over the Peppol network. Suitable for high volumes.
Use requires registration on the platform and activation of the chosen transmission channel. Access is also possible through the ELSTER business account. The platform is free of charge for invoice issuers. Anyone sending via Peppol should register as well in order to see the status of submitted invoices.
Mandatory content under § 5 E-RechV
In addition to the VAT-law components required by § 14 UStG, the e-invoice must contain at least the following.
| Item | Field | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Leitweg-ID | BT-10 (buyer reference) | Communicated when the order is placed. Mandatory under German law |
| Payment terms | BT-9 or BT-20 | Due date or a textual description |
| Bank details | BG-17 (BT-84 to 86) for credit transfer, BG-19 (BT-89 to 91) for direct debit | Details of the payee |
| E-mail address of the invoice issuer | BT-43 | Mandatory |
Conditionally mandatory content
| Item | Field | When it becomes mandatory |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier number | BT-29 | If it was transmitted when the order was placed |
| Order number | BT-13 | If it was transmitted when the order was placed |
These two fields are not universally mandatory. They become mandatory once the contracting authority has supplied them with the order — at that point they are decisive for internal assignment.
Supporting documents
- Attachments must be embedded in the invoice data set and must not be sent separately as e-mail attachments. For externally created invoices they are embedded Base64-encoded in the XML.
- Permitted file types: PDF, PNG, JPG, JPEG, XLSX, ODS, CSV and XML when the XRechnung extension is used.
- A maximum of 200 embedded documents per invoice.
- Attachments must not contain active content such as macros.
- Bulky material can be attached by reference through the “Large attachments” function, up to a combined total of 200 MB.
- The permitted invoice size depends on the transmission channel and is published on the platform. Documents that other legislation requires to be sent on paper — export certificates, customs documents — are unaffected by these rules.
Validation and status
- The platform performs technical checks: invoice size, number and type of attachments, virus scan and completeness of the mandatory fields. The invoice is then routed to the recipient via the Leitweg-ID.
- With web submission and upload the invoice can be validated before sending; formal errors are shown in a test report.
- The processing status of submitted invoices can be tracked on the platform.
- For data protection reasons invoices are deleted from the platform 28 days after provision or the last status change. The statutory ten-year retention obligation under § 14b UStG is unaffected — download your documents in time.
