Peppol registration in Belgium: join the network and verify it

Peppol registration makes your business reachable on the Peppol network: a certified service provider publishes, under your enterprise number, which documents you accept and where to deliver them. You cannot register yourself, there is no government form, and a registration is needed only to receive, not to send. Since 1 January 2026 most VAT-registered businesses established in Belgium must be able to receive structured invoices, so for them it is no longer a choice.

This playbook is for business owners, sole traders and accountants who need to get a Belgian business registered, check an existing registration or move one held by another provider. Screen-by-screen OrdoGrid instructions are in Set up Peppol in OrdoGrid; the identifier itself is covered in Peppol ID explained.

What registration is, and what it is not

Peppol registration

The entry a certified service provider creates for your Peppol ID. The network's central locator (SML) records which publishing service (SMP) holds your details, and that service lists the document types you accept and the access point that receives them. One provider holds it at a time.

Who must be reachable on Peppol

Since 1 January 2026, a taxable person established in Belgium and identified there for VAT must be able to receive structured e-invoices, itself or through a third party (art. 53 §2bis VAT Code, as amended by the Law of 10 February 2026). On Peppol that means a registration: FPS Finance says network participants must at least be able to receive the Peppol BIS document type.

Source: FPS Finance, who must use electronic invoicing (French). A business with both art. 44-exempt and taxed supplies must be able to receive. A voluntary registration still counts as agreement to receive structured invoices.

A business that lacks the technical means to issue and receive structured e-invoices faces a fine of €1,500 for a first infringement, €3,000 for a second and €5,000 for each further one (annex to Royal Decree no. 44, section 2, heading I, point C, inserted by the Royal Decree of 8 July 2025). An infringement counts as a second or further one only if it is established at least three months after the previous fined one. The first-quarter tolerance ended on 31 March 2026; FPS Finance now waives fines only exceptionally, after an individual analysis. Full rules: the Belgian e-invoicing obligation.

The Belgian rules that shape your registration

Step 1: Check whether you are already registered

Many businesses were registered in 2025 by an accounting tool, their accountant's platform, a bank service or a trial they no longer use. Check before you sign up anywhere.

1. On lookup.peppol.org, the tool FPS Finance points to, enter 0208: followed by your ten-digit enterprise number, for example 0208:0712345630. It shows whether you can receive, not whether you can send. Also try 9925:BE followed by the same ten digits (for example 9925:BE0712345630): some providers registered that scheme, and OrdoGrid normally greys out activation while either exists, but not always: do not activate until both are removed.
2. Where the result lists document types, check that invoices and credit notes both appear.
3. Ask your accountant, your bookkeeping software supplier and your bank whether they have registered you, and keep the answer in writing.
4. Do not rely on the Peppol Directory: listing is voluntary and indexed asynchronously (Directory specification 1.1.1), so a missing entry does not mean you are unreachable.

Step 2: Register through OrdoGrid

OrdoGrid connects to Peppol through a certified access point. Its Peppol features work only for companies whose VAT number starts with BE, and the Peppol screens are in French in every interface language.

1. Check the company. Make the right company active (Changer d'entreprise in the profile menu). In Profil entreprise (company profile, editable by owners and administrators), Nom de l'entreprise should be the legal name, which OrdoGrid publishes as your registered name, and Numéro de TVA (Optionnel) must start with BE.
2. Sign the authorisation. Open Peppol in the sidebar: until your VAT number is authorised, it opens Autorisation Peppol. Check Nom complet du signataire (signatory's full name), read the Déclaration d'autorisation, tick the confirmation and click Signer et confirmer l'autorisation (sign and confirm).
3. Choose on Réception Peppol. After you sign, OrdoGrid opens Réception Peppol (Peppol reception). Click Activer la réception (activate reception) or Continuer en envoi seul (continue send-only), depending on what the screen shows (table below).
4. Check Peppol → Statut (status tab), then verify outside OrdoGrid (step 4).

Activating reception registers 0208: followed by the ten digits of your VAT number, under the name in Profil entreprise, for Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 invoices and credit notes, Invoice Responses, legacy status messages (MLR) and self-billing documents. OrdoGrid does not register a 9925 ID and has no test mode: activation acts on the real network.

Then read the Statut tab.

On the same tab, the Annuaire Peppol panel says whether OrdoGrid's lookup found your company: "Votre entreprise est référencée dans l'annuaire Peppol" (listed in the Peppol directory) or "Votre entreprise n'est pas encore dans l'annuaire Peppol" (not yet listed). When you are listed, it shows your Identifiant Peppol (Peppol ID) and, when known, the Access point de réception (receiving access point): Notre access point (ours) or Autre prestataire (another provider). For a Belgian company registered under 0208 it adds Nom enregistré (registered name), Pays (country) and Documents supportés (supported documents, such as Facture, Note de crédit and Réponse (IMR/MLR)). Check that invoices and credit notes both appear; a dated lookup.peppol.org result remains your proof outside OrdoGrid (step 4).

Who should sign, and what an accountant can do

We know of no legal rule on who signs a declaration to a Peppol provider. In OrdoGrid's statement the signatory confirms being authorised to act for the company and VAT number shown; it is stored with the typed name, user account, VAT number and date, and is not a qualified electronic signature. Its wording depends on OrdoGrid's network check: if you are found registered elsewhere, you sign a send-only version, and activating reception later asks for no new signature. If you then move reception to OrdoGrid, keep a written mandate that covers registration too. We recommend that the sole trader, a director or manager signs, or someone with a written mandate. An accountant can do it once they are a member of the company under Team (Équipe), since OrdoGrid does not restrict signing by role; keep the client's mandate.

Step 3: Registered elsewhere? Keep it or move it

1. Identify the holder. Note the ID OrdoGrid found and the Access point : address: it belongs to the publishing service holding your registration, and its domain name often reveals the provider. Compare it with what your accountant, bank and software suppliers told you.
2. Retrieve what was delivered there. Because FPS Finance treats a registration as agreement to receive, suppliers were entitled to deliver there, even if nobody opened the invoices. Download the XML and PDF of every received document and check due dates.
3. Decide. Keep the current provider if your accountant already processes purchase invoices from it, and choose Continuer en envoi seul; your customers' Invoice Responses (accept, reject or query messages) then go there, not to OrdoGrid. Move if you want everything in one place.
4. To move, arrange deregistration first. OrdoGrid does not support Peppol's migration key, so the old provider must remove your registration (0208 and any 9925 entry) first. Agree a date and time in writing, and warn regular suppliers: if a Peppol delivery fails in that window, they should retry the same invoice on Peppol after the switch; if they issue it on paper or as a PDF instead, they must not send it again on Peppol (FPS Finance B2B FAQ, question 8).
5. Activate once the release is confirmed. Wait for the old provider's written confirmation, and check that lookup.peppol.org no longer finds 0208: or 9925:BE followed by your number. Then reopen Réception Peppol: on the Peppol page, click Activer la réception in the Mode : Envoi seul banner (or on the Statut tab), and reload the page in your browser so that OrdoGrid checks the network again. When it shows Pas encore trouvé sur le réseau Peppol or Référencé sur Peppol, access point non vérifié, click Activer la réception: OrdoGrid refuses activation while another provider still holds your ID. Until then nobody receives for you.
6. If you cannot identify or reach the holder, contact OrdoGrid support with the ID and address shown. The Belgian Peppol Authority (FPS BOSA) coordinates Belgian service providers.

No official rule sets how fast a provider must deregister you, so ask for a written timeframe. For a dated cutover plan, a supplier notice and a rollback plan, see Switch Peppol access point or provider without losing invoices; leaving OrdoGrid with Libérer la réception (release reception) is covered there and in Set up Peppol in OrdoGrid.

Step 4: Prove that you can receive

1. Statut tab: Envoi (Outbox) shows Autorisé, and Réception (Inbox) shows Enregistré with a date and no warning that another provider manages your Peppol ID, or you hold written confirmation that another provider receives for you. If Réception Peppol ever showed Déjà inscrit sur le réseau Peppol, Enregistré alone is not proof: keep the old provider's written deregistration and wait for a first document in Inbox (item 3).
2. lookup.peppol.org: 0208: plus your enterprise number shows you as registered, for invoices and credit notes. Save a dated screenshot.
3. A real document: ask a regular supplier to send its next invoice on Peppol. It appears in Peppol → Inbox marked NOUVEAU (fetched hourly, or at once with Actualiser (refresh)), and owners and administrators get an email alert.
4. Timing: FPS Finance says most invoices arrive within minutes to a couple of hours; raise delays beyond one working day with your software supplier. No official figure exists for publishing a registration: if lookup.peppol.org shows nothing the next working day, contact support.

Suppliers can deliver to your enterprise number without asking for a Peppol ID; if one asks, see share your Peppol ID with suppliers.

Worked example: Brasserie Dumont finds a forgotten registration

Brasserie Dumont SRL, a microbrewery in Namur, has enterprise number 0712.345.630, VAT number BE 0712.345.630 and Peppol ID 0208:0712345630. In 2025 its manager, Sophie Dumont, tried an e-invoicing portal for a month and then forgot about it.

The forgotten registration still counted: FPS Finance treats a published registration as agreement to receive, so Lambert Maintenance was entitled to deliver the €1,633.50 invoice there in August, although nobody opened it. Had it not been registered anywhere, it would have lacked the means to receive and risked a €1,500 fine if this had been detected. Before activating reception anywhere, log into every e-invoicing tool and bank or accountant platform you have used since 2025.

Edge cases and common mistakes

Evidence to keep

What the law requires. You must be able to receive structured invoices. Invoices sent and received must be kept for seven years from 1 January of the year after their date (art. 60 VAT Code, as amended by the Law of 18 December 2025), including those received at a provider you leave.

What OrdoGrid keeps. The authorisation (typed name, statement, user account, VAT number, date), listed under Autorisations on Statut with "Signé par" (signed by), and the reception date ("Depuis le"). OrdoGrid is not a legal archive.

What we recommend:

1. A screenshot of the Déclaration d'autorisation before you sign: Statut later shows only signer and date.
2. A dated lookup.peppol.org result after registration and after every provider change.
3. If another provider receives for you, its written confirmation for 0208: plus your number, covering invoices and credit notes.
4. When you move, the old provider's deregistration confirmation and a full export of received documents.
5. The signatory's mandate, if an accountant or employee signed.

FAQ

How do I register my company on Peppol in Belgium?

Through a certified Peppol service provider, usually built into your invoicing or accounting software; FPS Finance confirms you cannot register directly. In OrdoGrid, sign the Autorisation Peppol, click Activer la réception, then check lookup.peppol.org.

Is there a government form or office for Peppol registration?

No. Nothing is filed with FPS Finance. FPS BOSA, the Belgian Peppol Authority, oversees service providers rather than registering businesses; FPS Finance takes over that role from 2027. Mercurius, the mailroom and portal for invoicing Belgian public authorities, does not register you to receive B2B invoices.

How do I find out whether I am already registered, and by whom?

Enter 0208: and your enterprise number on lookup.peppol.org. In OrdoGrid, Réception Peppol shows Déjà inscrit sur le réseau Peppol with the ID and, where available, the address of the service holding it. Then ask your accountant, software suppliers and bank.

Another provider already registered me. Can I still use OrdoGrid?

Yes. Choose Continuer en envoi seul to send from OrdoGrid while the other provider keeps receiving. To receive in OrdoGrid instead, that provider must deregister you first, because OrdoGrid does not support Peppol migration keys.

How long does registration take?

There is no official figure. OrdoGrid shows the result as soon as activation succeeds, while Directory listings can lag because indexing is asynchronous. If lookup.peppol.org still shows nothing the next working day, contact support.

Do sole traders and businesses under the franchise scheme need to register?

Yes, if they are VAT-registered and established in Belgium: both must be able to receive structured invoices. See sole trader Peppol in Belgium.

Should I also be registered under my VAT number (scheme 9925)?

It is optional. Belgian participants must be registered at least under 0208, and FPS Finance allows other identifiers in addition by agreement. OrdoGrid registers 0208 only.