The container is not a valid PDF/A-3
A Factur-X invoice is an XML file embedded in a PDF/A-3 container. When the container fails PDF/A validation, the document is not compliant — even when the XML it carries is correct.
Only the issuer holds this value: Factlint reports it and never fabricates it. Test your invoice to find out whether it is affected.
Common searches around this code
These phrases mirror what an integrator searches for: code, syntax, rule, business field and correction.
Test your file with this error in mind
Upload the invoice involved: the report will say whether this code appears, where it appears in the document, and whether Factlint can only report it or also fix it.
To automate this check in an ERP flow, call the validation API and link every returned code to its public page.
Why this error happens
This code is returned when validation of the container fails as a whole: fonts not embedded, missing colour profile, non-compliant structure or metadata. The XML is validated separately, so a report may carry this error alone while every business rule passes.
How to fix it
The container must be regenerated by a chain that really produces PDF/A-3: embedded fonts, a declared OutputIntent, XMP metadata in step. The two most frequent causes have their own page: PDFA-FONT-NOT-EMBEDDED and PDFA-OUTPUTINTENT-MISSING.
XML correction example
/Type /Catalog <!-- ni /OutputIntents ni /Metadata conformes au PDF/A-3 -->
/Type /Catalog /OutputIntents [...] /Metadata 12 0 R