Registering on Peppol in Belgium: a self-employed guide
Registering on Peppol is not something you do yourself: according to the FOD, a certified Peppol service provider registers you, usually through the software you invoice with, and your Peppol ID is at least your company number. Afterwards you check that you are listed.
How do you register your business on Peppol?
You cannot register on Peppol yourself: a certified Peppol service provider does it for you, usually through your invoicing software. The FOD’s Peppol FAQ puts it briefly: “You cannot register directly on Peppol.” A Peppol service provider, also called an access point in the FAQ, connects businesses and governments to the Peppol network. In some cases, the FAQ says, your software supplier gives you the free choice of the access point yourself.
You register because since 1 January 2026 all Belgian VAT-registered businesses must use structured electronic invoices between themselves and must also be able to receive them, says the FOD in Voor wie wordt e-facturatie verplicht? (who must use e-invoicing). Whether that obligation applies to you is in who must use Peppol, and what Peppol and that obligation involve is in Peppol in Belgium. This article belongs to Invoices and Peppol, where all the articles on this subject are listed.
The steps for you are:
- Check whether your software is connected to Peppol. According to the FAQ on the B2B obligation you need software that is connected to the Peppol network, and the article on software solutions recommends checking that it allows both sending and receiving a structured electronic invoice. If you do not have such software, choose one that can.
- Ask your provider to switch Peppol on for you. A switch of its own in the software belongs to that provider and is not a second registration.
- Pass on what the provider asks for: in practice your company number. Which documents that involves, none of the FOD pages we read says, so the list is missing here.
- Check that it worked, as described below.
Registering is not choosing. Which provider suits you is a different question, and the article on the access point answers it.
BravoLisa is not a Peppol service provider and sends or receives nothing through Peppol; you need another solution for that.
What do you need and what is your Peppol ID?
Your Peppol ID is the number that identifies you on the Peppol network, and in Belgium that is at least your company number. According to the FOD’s Peppol FAQ, the agreement in Belgium is to register a business with at least its company number, and Peppol service providers are contractually bound to do so. What the network itself is, is in what Peppol is and how it works.
Other numbers, such as your VAT number, IBAN, GLN or DUNS, can be added on top, voluntarily, according to the same FAQ. In the network the company number gets the identification scheme (scheme ID) 0208, according to the same FAQ, and you type that in the search tool in the next section.
You pass on to your provider what its software asks for, in practice your company number. You do not need to ask your clients for their Peppol ID: to that question in the FAQ on the B2B obligation the FOD answers “No”.
How do you check whether you are on Peppol?
Look yourself up in Lookup Peppol, the tool the FOD points to, by name or with 0208: followed by your company number. That tool only shows that you can receive documents. The FOD says in its Peppol FAQ that it does not indicate whether the organisation can also send documents.
Whether sending works, you therefore check separately: send a test invoice through your provider. That is advice that follows from this limitation, not a statement by the FOD.
If you are in the tool, then according to the FOD in the FAQ on the B2B obligation that publication counts as agreement to receive structured electronic invoices. If your software has a step of its own to activate Peppol, it belongs to your provider and is not a second registration.
What does a Peppol registration cost?
The price is your provider’s and depends on the software. The FOD writes in its article on the list of solutions that the cost of meeting the legal obligation can be zero euros (free), as part of the base price of other components you choose, such as bookkeeping or a bank account. It does not put prices on that list, and it builds no tool of its own: it says it chose “deliberately for a decentralised, market-driven approach”.
A place on the FOD’s list is not certification by the FOD, says the article on software solutions. So ask what the Peppol connection costs before you choose. The free routes and the prices as a whole are in Peppol invoicing and what it costs.
Frequently asked questions
Can I register on Peppol myself?
No. According to the FOD you cannot register directly on Peppol: only a certified Peppol service provider, also called an access point, can do it. That usually runs through the software you invoice with. In some cases you may choose which access point your software supplier uses.
How do I register on Peppol?
You get software that is connected to the Peppol network and can both send and receive, ask your provider to switch Peppol on, and pass on what it needs, in practice your company number. Afterwards you check in Lookup Peppol that you are listed.
What is my Peppol ID?
Your Peppol ID is the number that identifies you on the Peppol network. According to the FOD, a business in Belgium is registered with at least its company number, and Peppol service providers are contractually bound to do so. Your VAT number, IBAN, GLN or DUNS can be added voluntarily.
How do I know whether I am on Peppol?
Look yourself up in Lookup Peppol, by name or with 0208: followed by your company number. That only shows that you can receive documents, not, according to the FOD, whether you can also send them. You check that sending works with a test invoice through your provider.
What does a Peppol registration cost?
The price depends on your provider and your software. The FOD names no prices, but writes that the cost of meeting the legal obligation can be zero euros (free), as part of the base price of other components you choose, such as bookkeeping or a bank account. So ask what the Peppol connection costs before you choose.
Registering once and running one check takes a worry off your shoulders. If you know who you are with and that it works, you invoice without concern afterwards.
💜💙 Your BravoLisa Team
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. Every situation is different — consult a qualified professional (tax adviser, accountant, or lawyer) for advice specific to your circumstances. BravoLisa does not accept liability for decisions made based on this information.
Sources (6)
- efactuur.belgium.be — Algemene vragen over Peppol, vragen 3 tot 6
- efactuur.belgium.be — Voor wie wordt e-facturatie verplicht?
- efactuur.belgium.be — Algemene vragen over de B2B-verplichting, vragen 4, 9 en 15
- efactuur.belgium.be — Softwareoplossingen voor het verzenden, ontvangen en verwerken van elektronische facturen
- OpenPeppol — Lookup Peppol
- efactuur.belgium.be — De lijst met oplossingen is lang: waar beginnen?