How many UK businesses use Peppol?

Method

Once a day a script queries the public Peppol Directory search API run by OpenPeppol, with country=GB, and stores the total-result-count it returns. The same day it records:

• Identifier schemes. 0088 (GLN) and 0060 (DUNS) are exact: we fetch every candidate entry and keep those whose Peppol ID starts with the scheme. 9932 (UK VAT) is the number of GB entries matching a free-text search for "9932", which can also catch a few entries that merely contain those digits, so treat it as an upper bound (in a sample of 1,000 matches, all were genuine 9932 IDs). "Other" is what remains, so it may be slightly understated.
• Document types. Entries whose Directory record declares Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 invoice, BIS Billing 3.0 credit note or Peppol Order 3.0 support.
• Listings by registration date. For each of the previous seven days, the number of GB entries whose Directory record carries that registration date. Recent days are re-checked daily, so late updates are picked up. These figures are labelled "by listing date": they count entries that still exist when we check, not every registration ever made, and we have not reconstructed history before 19 September 2026.

We do not estimate, smooth or back-fill missing days. If a query fails, that figure is left blank in the CSV.

What these numbers do and do not show

• Listing is optional. The Directory only holds the business cards that a participant or its Access Point chooses to publish. A business can be live on Peppol without appearing here, so the real number of UK Peppol participants is higher.
• Details are self-declared. Country, name and capabilities come from the participant's service provider and are not checked by OpenPeppol.
• Listings, not ready businesses. We count Directory entries (business entities), not companies. One organisation can hold several Peppol IDs, for example a VAT-based ID and a GLN, and one ID can carry more than one entity. A listing does not prove a business is sending or receiving e-invoices.
• Isle of Man shows as GB. Isle of Man businesses use GB VAT numbers and are listed under GB; a search for country=IM returned no entries on 20 October 2026. See Peppol IDs for the Isle of Man.
• Share of VAT-registered businesses is approximate. We divide Peppol IDs based on a UK VAT number by HMRC's count of 2,285,900 live VAT-registered traders (2024 to 2025). The two sources measure different things: the numerator is an upper bound and can include several IDs for one VAT number (for example VAT groups or numbers with and without the GB prefix), businesses on Peppol with a GLN or other ID are not counted, and not every VAT-registered business will issue B2B or B2G invoices. Treat the figure as an order of magnitude.
• Day-to-day noise. Bulk uploads or removals by a single Access Point can move the total sharply in one day. Look at the trend over weeks rather than one day's change.

To check a single company, use our Peppol directory lookup. For what the scheme codes mean, see Peppol participant IDs in the UK.