diff --git a/dhp-common/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/dhp/schema/oaf/utils/IdentifierFactory.java b/dhp-common/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/dhp/schema/oaf/utils/IdentifierFactory.java
index 2c77c3b376..da245d67c5 100644
--- a/dhp-common/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/dhp/schema/oaf/utils/IdentifierFactory.java
+++ b/dhp-common/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/dhp/schema/oaf/utils/IdentifierFactory.java
@@ -204,6 +204,7 @@ public class IdentifierFactory implements Serializable {
 			.map(
 				pp -> pp
 					.stream()
+					.filter(p -> StringUtils.isNotBlank(p.getValue()))
 					// filter away PIDs provided by a DS that is not considered an authority for the
 					// given PID Type
 					.filter(p -> shouldFilterPidByCriteria(collectedFrom, p, mapHandles))
diff --git a/dhp-common/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/dhp/schema/oaf/utils/PidCleaner.java b/dhp-common/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/dhp/schema/oaf/utils/PidCleaner.java
index 114c2b3af0..678ed71dd9 100644
--- a/dhp-common/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/dhp/schema/oaf/utils/PidCleaner.java
+++ b/dhp-common/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/dhp/schema/oaf/utils/PidCleaner.java
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ public class PidCleaner {
 		String value = Optional
 			.ofNullable(pidValue)
 			.map(String::trim)
-			.orElseThrow(() -> new IllegalArgumentException("PID value cannot be empty"));
+			.orElseThrow(() -> new IllegalArgumentException("PID (" + pidType + ") value cannot be empty"));
 
 		switch (pidType) {