RLE (RPR)

What does ‘RPR’ mean on an invoice?

Invoices must refer to the ‘register of legal entities’, abbreviated in Belgium as ‘RPR’ (RLE), followed by a place name, for example Mechelen. That place is the city of the (commercial) court for the judicial area in which your company’s registered office is located. What does this mean?

Legal entities - that is, companies, non-profit associations (VZW) and foundations - must be registered in the Rechtspersonenregister (register of legal entities). Belgium has many legal entities, so there is a separate register for different regions. The abbreviation ‘RPR’ is therefore followed by the judicial district under which the legal entity, such as your own company, falls. Sometimes this is a city supplemented with a division, for example ‘RPR Antwerpen, afdeling Mechelen’ or ‘RPR Gent, afdeling Dendermonde’. If you also receive French-language invoices, they will show RPM, for Registre des Personnes Morales.

Looking up the correct RPR reference

You can find the composition of districts and divisions on the website of the enterprise courts. You can easily find the court competent for your company based on the postcode of the registered office.

RPR in onFact

Do you work with onFact? Then enter your appropriate RPR reference in the Company information. It will then appear automatically on your invoices.