What is a Peppol ID and how do you find your client's?
When you first start working with e-invoicing, you quickly come across the term "Peppol ID". But what is it exactly, where do you find your own Peppol ID, and how do you look up your client's? We explain it simply.
What is a Peppol ID?
A Peppol ID is the address at which a business can be reached on the Peppol network. Think of it as an e-mail address — but specifically for receiving electronic invoices.
Every business connected to Peppol has a unique Peppol ID. Based on that ID, the network knows exactly where an invoice should be delivered.
What does a Peppol ID look like?
In Belgium, the Peppol ID is always based on the CBE number (Crossroads Bank for Enterprises) of the business. It looks like this:
0208:0123456789
Where:
- 0208 is the code for the Belgian CBE number
- 0123456789 is the 10-digit CBE number of the business (without dots or spaces)
A Belgian business's CBE number is the same as the VAT number, but without the "BE" prefix and without the dots. If a business has VAT number BE 0123.456.789, then the Peppol ID is 0208:0123456789.
How do you find your own Peppol ID?
If you have signed up for the Peppol network through invoicing software, your Peppol ID was automatically created based on your CBE number. In Cleero you can find your Peppol ID in your account settings.
How do you look up your client's Peppol ID?
For Belgian businesses this is straightforward: you take your client's CBE number, remove the dots and the BE prefix, and put 0208: in front. That is the Peppol ID.
In most invoicing software, including Cleero, you do not need to do this manually. You enter your client's VAT number, and the software automatically checks whether that client is reachable on Peppol.
What if my client does not have a Peppol ID?
Then your client is not yet connected to the Peppol network. In that case, the invoice cannot be delivered digitally via Peppol.
Good invoicing software offers a fallback: if your client's Peppol ID cannot be found, the invoice is still sent by e-mail. This is a practical interim solution, but it does not mean your client is fully compliant — they are, after all, also required to be able to receive e-invoices.
In time, all Belgian VAT-registered businesses will be on Peppol. Receiving e-invoices is mandatory too.
In summary
- A Peppol ID is a business's address on the Peppol network
- In Belgium it is always based on the CBE number: 0208:CBEnumber
- You do not need to look it up yourself — good invoicing software does it automatically based on the VAT number
With Cleero you simply enter your client's VAT number and everything else happens automatically. Try for free.