The SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) Core scheme is used by thousands of payment service providers (PSPs) who offer individual consumers and businesses the convenience and security of euro direct debits in Europe. This page provides the information PSPs need in order to implement the SDD Core scheme.
The SDD Core rulebook currently in effect up to and including 16 November 2025 is the 2023 SDD Core rulebook version 1.1. Version 1.1 formally replaced version 1.0 of the 2023 SDD Core rulebook at its publication on 14 November 2023.
Read more about the 2023 SDD Core rulebook version 1.1
The Implementation Guidelines of the 2023 SDD Core rulebook are based on the 2019 message version of the ISO 20022 standard.
Read more about the 2023 SDD Core Customer-to-PSP IGs version 1.1
Read more about the 2023 SDD Core Inter-PSP IGs version 1.1
Read more about the 2023 SDD Core e-Mandate service IGs version 1.1
Do you want to use the EPC’s Intellectual Property Rights related to its SEPA payment schemes’ rulebooks and implementation guidelines for non-euro transactions? Click here for more information.
Guidance on the migration to the 2019 version of the ISO 20022-based XML messaging standard Guidance on the use of structured addresses under the SEPA payment schemes as of November 2025
Guidance to improve transparency for retail payment end-users
Guidance on reason codes for SEPA Direct Debit R-transactions
Clarification paper on SEPA Direct Debit Core and SEPA Direct Debit Business-to-Business rulebooks
Clarification Paper on the Use of Slashes in References, Identifications and Identifiers
Clarification letter on electronic mandates to SEPA Direct Debit scheme participants
Recommendation on customer reporting of SCT and SDD
Explanatory note on use of ‘COR1’ and ‘SMNDA’ in SDD R-transactions
SEPA requirements for an extended character set (UNICODE subset) – best practices
Yearly update of the Payment Threats and Fraud Trends Report