Peppol Directory: how to find and check a company's Peppol ID

"Is my customer on Peppol?" is the question every Belgian business has asked since 1 January 2026, when structured e-invoicing between Belgian companies became mandatory. The usual answer is a Peppol check: a quick search in the public Peppol Directory or the Peppol Lookup tool.

This guide explains what the Peppol Directory is, how to search it step by step, how a Belgian Peppol ID is built, how to get your own company listed and, most importantly, what it means when a company does not show up.

What the Peppol Directory is

The Peppol Directory, at directory.peppol.eu, is a free public search service operated by OpenPeppol AISBL, the association that manages the Peppol network. In its own words, it "contains information about entities participating in the Peppol Network" and helps you find Peppol participants "in order to start exchanging business documents with them".

It does not hold the routing data itself. Every Peppol participant is registered by its service provider in an SMP (Service Metadata Publisher), which tells the network where to deliver documents. The Directory "aggregates public information from SMPs" and shows it centrally as business cards: company name, country, identifiers and the document types the company can receive.

How to search the Peppol Directory

Searching takes less than a minute:

1. Open directory.peppol.eu.
2. Type a company name or an identifier into the search box. The term is matched against all indexed fields at once.
3. Narrow the results to one country if the name is common.
4. Open a result to see its Peppol identifiers and the document types it accepts, for example invoices and credit notes in Peppol BIS Billing 3.0.

For automated checks, OpenPeppol also offers a REST API and downloadable exports of all business cards and participant IDs.

Search tips for Belgian companies

Searching by name works, but it is the least reliable route: trading names, abbreviations and legal forms differ. Searching by identifier is better. In Belgium every business is registered on Peppol at least under its enterprise number (KBO/BCE) with the scheme code 0208, so search for:

0208:0123456789

Use the enterprise number without the "BE" prefix, spaces or dots. If the number search returns nothing, try the name as a second check, then move on to the Lookup tool below.

Peppol Directory or Peppol Lookup: which check to use

The FPS Finance itself points Belgian businesses to Peppol Lookup (lookup.peppol.org), OpenPeppol's SMP and business card lookup. You can search there by name and by enterprise number in the form 0208:[enterprise number].

The practical rule: when you know the enterprise number, check the ID in Lookup. When you only know a name, start in the Directory.

What a Peppol ID looks like

A Peppol participant ID has two parts: a scheme code that says which kind of identifier follows, and the identifier itself, separated by a colon.

The Belgian convention is the reason Peppol works smoothly in Belgium: suppliers can address 0208: plus the customer's enterprise number without asking for a Peppol ID first. Service providers are contractually obliged to register their Belgian customers this way, and a provider that refuses can lose its certification. Other identifiers, such as the VAT number, can be added voluntarily.

In Germany, the Leitweg-ID used for invoices to public authorities was registered as scheme 0204 so it can double as a Peppol ID. See our Leitweg-ID guide.

What "not found" means

A failed Peppol check is common, and it does not always mean the company is off the network. The Directory states it plainly: publication "happens on a voluntary basis", so "if your desired partner does not show up in here it doesn't mean that the entity is not in the Peppol Network". On the other hand, if a company does show up, you can be sure it is a Peppol participant.

When a search comes back empty, work through these possibilities:

1. The company is on Peppol but has no public business card. Its provider did not publish one. Check the exact ID in Peppol Lookup instead.
2. It is registered under a different identifier. Try the name, or ask the customer which ID they use. In Belgium, 0208 registration is the agreed minimum, so a missing 0208 entry is worth raising with them.
3. It can send but not receive. Sending-only participants do not appear, because only receiving capabilities are registered. OpenPeppol notes a workaround: the provider can create a dummy ID so the company can still be indexed.
4. It is genuinely not connected yet. The company has not chosen a provider, or registration is still in progress.
5. It is not in scope. Consumers, foreign businesses and companies with no seat or fixed establishment in Belgium do not have to be on Peppol.

If your Belgian customer really cannot receive

Since 1 January 2026, Belgian B2B invoices must be structured. If your Belgian customer technically cannot receive one, the fallback rule applies: you may issue the invoice on paper or in another electronic format such as PDF (electronic needs the customer's consent). The rule was applied administratively from the start of 2026 and written into the law of 10 February 2026. The customer, not you, is then in breach for being unable to receive.

How to get your own company on Peppol and in the Directory

You cannot register on Peppol directly. The FPS is explicit that registration is "only possible through a certified Peppol service provider". In practice, this happens inside your invoicing or accounting software:

1. Choose software that sends and receives Peppol invoices. Our Belgian Peppol software comparison lists options, including Accountable, Dexxter and Billit.
2. Activate Peppol in the software. The provider registers your enterprise number under scheme 0208 in its SMP.
3. Ask the provider whether it also publishes your business card to the Peppol Directory. Publication is voluntary, so it is worth asking: some customers search the Directory before they invoice you.
4. Check the result yourself: search for 0208: plus your enterprise number in Lookup and in the Directory.

If you switch software, ask both the old and the new vendor how your Peppol registration will be moved, so invoices do not go missing in between.

Checking many customers at once

If you invoice hundreds of Belgian businesses, checking them one by one is slow. OpenPeppol publishes the full Directory as downloadable exports: business cards (with or without document types) and participant ID lists, in XML, JSON and CSV. You can match your customer list against the participant IDs file, or query the REST API from your own system. Remember that the exports carry the same limitation as the search: a company missing from them may still be reachable, so treat a non-match as "check again", not as "not on Peppol".

Common Peppol check mistakes

• Searching with the VAT prefix. Enter 0208:0123456789, not BE0123456789.
• Treating a missing listing as proof. It is only proof of a missing business card. Check Lookup before using the fallback rule.
• Assuming a listed company can send to you. A listing shows receiving capability only.
• Checking only once. Registrations change. Re-check customers who were missing a few weeks ago.

Once you are connected, you will receive Peppol BIS invoices as XML files. If you ever need to read or check one outside your software, our free e-invoice validator opens it in your browser and runs the official Peppol BIS rules, without uploading the file.

For background on the network, formats and access points, read What is Peppol?. For terms like SMP, access point or BIS, see the e-invoicing glossary.