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To validate a Factur-X or ZUGFeRD invoice, check each layer that applies: the PDF/A-3 container, the embedded or standalone CII XML against the correct profile-specific XSD, and the applicable Schematron rules. XSD validation alone is not enough: it can catch structural and datatype problems, but Schematron checks business-rule assertions. Even a clean technical report does not guarantee that a recipient’s platform will accept or route the invoice.
What does Factur-X / ZUGFeRD validation check?
Factur-X and ZUGFeRD are two names for the same hybrid e-invoice format, maintained jointly by FeRD and FNFE-MPE. A hybrid invoice combines a human-readable PDF/A-3 document with machine-readable XML embedded in the PDF. Some workflows may instead handle the XML by itself; that input does not require checking a PDF container, but it still needs the applicable XML and rule validation.
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Validation is not one yes-or-no test. It is a sequence of checks with different purposes. The PDF layer concerns the container and its conformity; the XML schema concerns whether the structured data has the expected form; Schematron checks whether relationships and values satisfy applicable business rules. A recipient or e-invoicing platform may then apply operational checks that are outside document conformity.
- Container: For a hybrid invoice, confirm that the PDF/A-3 file and its embedded XML can be handled as expected.
- XML structure: Apply the XSD for the invoice’s profile to catch schema, datatype, cardinality and structural errors.
- Business rules: Run EN 16931 Schematron rules and the profile’s FX-SCH rules, plus national or CIUS rules when required.
- Business meaning and delivery: Review whether the invoice data fits the transaction, then check recipient-specific acceptance separately.
These layers answer different questions. A file can be well-formed XML yet violate an XSD; it can pass XSD and fail a Schematron assertion; and it can pass the document checks yet fail a recipient’s routing or lifecycle requirements.
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Why does the profile determine which rules to run?
Factur-X / ZUGFeRD has five profiles, and FeRD says each has its own XSD and Schematron validation artefacts updated in accordance with EN 16931. Choosing a validator package without first identifying the profile risks applying the wrong constraints or missing the ones intended for that invoice.
The profile names are MINIMUM, BASIC WL, BASIC, EN 16931 and EXTENDED. A French national or reference rule set may also be relevant to a particular transaction; it supplements the applicable profile rules rather than replacing the need to identify the base profile.
Read the guideline or profile identifier in the CII XML before selecting artefacts. Keep the identifier with the validation results. If the profile is unclear, do not infer it from the appearance of the PDF or from a successful run against whichever schema is convenient: resolve the identifier and intended recipient requirements first.
Which release package and rule files should I use?
Use a coherent, version-pinned set of artefacts: the format release, the CII schema, code lists and Schematron files should belong together. FeRD’s 2.5 information package, dated 10 June 2026, is based on UN/CEFACT CII D22B, is backward compatible with D16B, and includes separate schemas, XSLT files, code lists and sample invoices. FeRD says version 2.5 should be used from 1 July 2026.
That date matters when validating an invoice in a controlled workflow: “latest” is not a reproducible rule-set identifier. Record the release and individual artefact revisions used for each run. If you need to reproduce an earlier result, you need the artefacts and validator version that generated it, not just the invoice file.
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A practical source-control record should tie together:
- the input document and its hash;
- the extracted XML, if the input was a PDF/A-3 hybrid;
- the profile identifier and FeRD/FNFE-MPE package release;
- the schema, Schematron, XSLT and code-list revisions;
- the validator and version;
- the full validation report, including SVRL output where generated.
This record turns a pass or failure into something another person can inspect and reproduce. It also helps distinguish a changed invoice from a changed rule set when results differ between runs.
How do I validate an invoice step by step?
Start with the actual artefact you intend to send, not only a source XML file from an earlier stage. Validate the container if the submitted invoice is a PDF/A-3 hybrid, then run the matching XML and business-rule checks.
- Identify the input and profile. Determine whether you have a hybrid PDF/A-3 with embedded CII XML or standalone CII XML. Read the profile or guideline identifier in the XML and select the corresponding release package.
- Extract and retain the XML when needed. For a hybrid invoice, extract the embedded XML using your chosen workflow and preserve the extracted file with the original PDF. For standalone XML, begin at the XML checks.
- Check the PDF/A-3 container. Run a PDF/A-3 conformity check on the hybrid document. This does not replace XML validation, and XML validation does not establish PDF/A-3 conformance.
- Run the profile-specific XSD. Apply the XSD supplied for the identified profile and release. Capture the exact diagnostics; classify schema, datatype, cardinality and structural problems separately from business-rule failures.
- Run the applicable Schematron sets. Apply EN 16931 rules and the profile’s FX-SCH rules. Add national or CIUS rules—such as French BR-FR—only when the transaction and recipient require them.
- Review warnings, not just errors. Inspect the rule identifier, severity and source location for each finding. FeRD warns that optional fields should be omitted rather than emitted empty; empty elements can trigger CII rule R74, “Document MUST not contain empty elements.”
- Check the business data and recipient path. Confirm totals, VAT categories and rates, payment data, identifiers and profile choice against the transaction. Then test the intended recipient or platform’s submission process.
- Archive the evidence. Store the input hash, relevant XML, artefact and tool versions, rule-set versions, and full report so the result can be reproduced.
The named files and invocation details depend on the release package and validator implementation. There is no single command or UI path established here that applies to every installation; use the instructions for the exact tool and artefacts you have pinned.
What is the difference between XSD and Schematron?
XSD and Schematron are complementary, not competing, tests. XSD evaluates whether XML conforms to a defined structure and constraints such as datatypes and cardinality. Schematron evaluates assertions about the content and relationships within the document, including EN 16931 and profile-specific business rules.
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| Check | What it can establish | What it does not establish by itself |
|---|---|---|
| Profile-specific XSD | XML structure, datatypes, cardinality and schema constraints | Compliance with all business assertions or PDF/A-3 conformance |
| EN 16931 and profile Schematron | Applicable business-rule assertions for the rule sets applied | That the PDF container is conformant or that a recipient will accept the submission |
| PDF/A-3 check | Conformity of the PDF container to the tested PDF/A-3 requirements | That embedded invoice data passes the XML schema or business rules |
| Recipient or platform checks | Acceptance under that recipient’s operational process | That the invoice’s commercial amounts or VAT treatment are substantively correct |
For this reason, “the XML is valid” is incomplete unless it says which schema and rule sets were run. A useful result names the profile, release, artefacts, validator and report, and states clearly whether the PDF layer was also checked.
Why can XML pass validation but still fail business rules?
A schema-valid document can still contain a combination of values that violates a business assertion. Structural validity answers whether data is expressed in an allowed shape; it does not answer every question about how the values relate or whether the invoice satisfies the applicable EN 16931, profile or national rules.
Empty elements are one concrete diagnostic case. FeRD advises not to generate empty elements, even when a field is optional; an empty tag is different from omitting the optional field and may trigger CII rule R74. When a report points to an empty element, inspect the XML producer’s serialization logic and remove the element when no value is intended, rather than treating the warning as a cosmetic issue.
Another possible source of confusion is rule scope. A document may pass the base XSD but fail a profile FX-SCH assertion or an added national CIUS rule. Read the rule ID and the rule set that emitted it before changing invoice data. That distinction helps avoid “fixing” a field to satisfy a rule set that does not apply to the transaction.
Do not equate a technical pass with proof that the invoice is commercially correct. The amount, VAT treatment, payment details, identifiers and profile selection still need to be checked against the underlying transaction and the recipient’s requirements.
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What does a conformity report prove—and what does it not?
A conformity report can show that a specific toolchain tested a specific set of files against specific artefacts. It cannot prove that another validator, recipient platform or production configuration will return the same result, nor can it certify the truth of the commercial data.
A 2026 conformity report documents a layered stack: veraPDF for PDF/A-3 against ISO 19005-3 level B; Mustangproject 2.26.0 for XML structure; CEN Schematron 1.3.16 for EN 16931; profile FX-SCH rules; and French BR-FR rules where applicable. It records 10,210 assertions for veraPDF/ISO 19005-3 and a 17-file Factur-X API conformity corpus. The corpus includes French standard VAT, French VAT-franchise and intra-EU reverse-charge cases, reports zero business-rule errors in that corpus, and documents a French EXTENDED-CTC-FR code-list mismatch plus an empty mandatory CII delivery element warning.
Those results are useful as evidence of what that report’s test set and stack covered, not as a universal pass guarantee. A mismatch or warning in a documented example is a diagnostic lead: compare the file, profile, code list and rule scope involved before concluding that your own invoice has the same issue.
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A standards validation checks document conformance; recipient platforms can impose additional directory, routing and lifecycle checks. A technically valid invoice may therefore be unsuitable for the intended submission path or fail a platform-specific step.
After the document checks, test the intended recipient’s actual acceptance path where possible. Keep any platform rejection separate from XSD or Schematron errors in your records. The distinction points the fix to the right layer: invoice content, applicable rules, PDF container, or delivery process.
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What should a useful validation report contain?
A report is useful when it makes the result repeatable and the diagnostics actionable. Preserve the full machine-readable output as well as a human-readable summary when the validator provides both.
- Input filename and hash, plus the extracted XML hash for a hybrid PDF.
- Profile identifier and format release package.
- Validator name and version, schema and Schematron revisions, and code-list versions.
- Separate outcomes for PDF/A-3, XSD, EN 16931, profile rules, national rules and recipient acceptance.
- Each diagnostic’s severity, rule ID and source location, with warnings retained rather than silently discarded.
- The complete SVRL or equivalent report output and the date of the run.
This level of detail matters when comparing results across environments. Without it, a “passed” screenshot cannot show which checks were included or whether another person used the same profile and artefacts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an XSD validate the PDF/A-3 part of a Factur-X invoice?
No. An XSD applies to XML, not to the PDF container. The PDF/A-3 portion needs its own container-conformity check.
What does SVRL mean in a Schematron validation report?
SVRL is the machine-readable result format commonly used to report Schematron validation findings. Retaining the full output can preserve rule-level details that a short pass/fail summary leaves out.
Can I rely on a validator’s green result as proof that the VAT is correct?
No. A validation result is evidence about the checks and rule sets that were run; it does not verify the commercial truth of the transaction or establish that its VAT treatment is substantively correct.
Can two validators give different results for the same invoice?
They can, particularly if they use different release artefacts, profiles, code lists, national rules or tool versions. Compare those inputs and the rule IDs in each report before treating the results as contradictory.
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