Business participant identifiers

Participant identifiers drive document routing to recipients, while also uniquely identifying the sender.

Business participants are identified using an ISO identifier with the following format:

{Type}:{Identifier}

These identifiers are used internally for participant lookup, document routing, and validation of senders and receivers.

Identifier format rules

• The type corresponds to an ISO 6523 identifier scheme.
• The identifier is the value used for lookup.
• Identifiers must not contain redundant characters, such as:
  • periods (.)
  • hyphens (-)
  • spaces ( )

Supported identifier types

Supported identifier types are defined in the ISO 6523 ICD list.
The identifier type corresponds to the code in that list.

Examples

These identifiers are used for lookup purposes and therefore contain only the canonical identifier value.

VAT numbers with country prefixes

When representing a VAT number explicitly, for example in documents, user interfaces, or external communication, a country prefix may be required.

Examples:

• Croatian VAT number: HR12345678901
• Belgian VAT number: BE0123456789
• Serbian VAT number: RS123456789

In these cases:

• The country prefix (such as HR, BE, or RS) is part of the VAT number representation
• The ISO identifier (for example 9934:12345678901 or 9925:123456789) is used internally for lookup
• The two forms represent the same legal entity, but are used in different contexts

Company identifiers not used for lookup

In some countries, companies have a national registration number that is not used for participant lookup in messaging or exchange networks.

A common example is:

• Serbia – Matični broj (company registration number)

In such cases:

• The VAT number is used as the business participant identifier for lookup
• The company registration number is still important and must be included in documents
• These identifiers are typically provided in documents as a registration number, not as a participant identifier

Example

• Participant lookup identifier:
  9925:123456789 (Serbian VAT identifier)

• Registration number in document:
  12345678 Matični broj

• VAT number in document:
  12345678 PIB

Key takeaway

• Use {Type}:{Identifier} without country prefixes for participant identification and lookup
• Use country-prefixed VAT numbers (for example HR…, BE…, RS…) only when explicitly referring to VAT numbers
• National registration numbers that are not used for lookup must still be included in documents as registration numbers
• Do not mix lookup identifiers and document registration identifiers