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Flag of Francee-Invoicing FranceMandatory, phasedLast reviewed October 2026

e-Invoicing in France, explained

France requires domestic B2B invoices between VAT-registered businesses to be issued, sent and received as structured e-invoices through an approved platform (plateforme agreee, PA, formerly called PDP). Data on B2C sales and cross-border sales and on payments is sent to the tax authority as e-reporting. The reform started on 1 Sep 2026: every business must be able to receive e-invoices, and large and mid-sized companies must also issue them and e-report. Small companies and micro-businesses follow on 1 Sep 2027.

General information only, not tax advice. Rules change, so check the official sources at the bottom of this page before you act.

The mandate

French B2B e-Invoicing and e-reporting reform (facturation electronique et e-reporting, Article 91 of Finance Law 2024, Law No. 2023-1322)

Who must issue

All businesses established in France and subject to VAT, whatever their turnover or legal form, must receive e-invoices for domestic B2B sales. Large companies and ETIs issue from 1 Sep 2026; SMEs and micro-enterprises from 1 Sep 2027. Businesses under the VAT franchise are also in scope. Invoices for VAT-exempt operations are outside the e-Invoicing obligation. B2C sales and transactions with foreign counterparts are covered by e-reporting only.

How it works

ERP or billing tool prepares the structured invoice → sent to the seller's approved platform → platform checks the data and extracts the tax data → platform finds the buyer's platform in the central directory → invoice delivered to the buyer's platform → status updates return to the seller → invoice and payment data reported to the tax authority

System type

Mixed

Different channels and rules apply to different types of invoice.

Public sector (B2G)

Mandatory via Chorus Pro (since 2020)

Business to business (B2B)

Receive from 1 Sep 2026; issue: large/mid 2026, others 2027

Consumers (B2C)

No invoice mandate; e-reporting from 1 Sep 2026

Key dates for France

  1. Nov 2019
    B2G e-Invoicing becomes mandatory for suppliers to public bodies through Chorus Pro, phased by size until 2020 (the European Commission country sheet gives inconsistent start dates)
  2. Oct 2024
    The state abandons its own public invoicing portal; the public platform keeps only the central directory and data concentrator roles
  3. 1 Sep 2026
    All VAT-registered businesses must be able to receive e-invoices; large companies and mid-sized companies (ETI) must issue e-invoices and e-report
  4. Sep 2026
    Start-up phase: no automatic sanctions for companies with documented difficulties who are taking corrective action; this is not a postponement
  5. 1 Sep 2027
    SMEs, small companies and micro-enterprises must issue e-invoices and e-report

What the invoice contains

An e-invoice must be structured data in a standard electronic form, sent through an approved platform. A scanned paper invoice, an ordinary PDF or an invoice sent by email no longer counts. The reform adds four mandatory mentions from 1 Sep 2026: the customer's SIREN number, the category of the operation (goods, services or both), the VAT-on-debits option where it applies, and the delivery address if it differs from the billing address. The formats used in France are UBL, UN/CEFACT CII and Factur-X (a hybrid PDF with embedded CII XML), based on EN 16931 with a French national set of extra rules. Approved platforms are registered by the tax authority for three renewable years, must connect to other platforms and must keep data inside the EU.

What your ERP has to deliver

Systems must produce invoices in one of the accepted structured formats with the new mandatory fields, and connect to an approved platform that the company chooses. They must receive and process incoming e-invoices from 1 Sep 2026, whatever the company size. They also need the SIREN of each French customer, the operation category and a way to handle lifecycle statuses returned by the platform. Credit notes, corrections and payment data for e-reporting must follow the same channel, and records must be kept for the legal retention period.

The data flow, step by step

ERP
structured invoice (UBL, CII or Factur-X)
seller's approved platform
central directory lookup
buyer's approved platform
buyer's ERP
invoice and payment data sent by the platforms to the tax authority (DGFiP)
status messages back to the seller

Practical insights

  • The reception duty applies to every VAT-registered business from 1 Sep 2026, even if the company has until Sep 2027 to issue. A small company must therefore choose and register with a platform before it has to send its first e-invoice.
  • A company does not connect directly to the tax authority. It needs an approved platform, and the official list on impots.gouv.fr is the place to check that a platform is registered. Billing software that is not itself registered must work through an approved platform.
  • E-reporting covers different data from e-Invoicing: B2C sales, sales to and purchases from foreign counterparts, and payment data for some services. Firms with a mix of domestic B2B, retail and export sales will send data through more than one flow.
  • Until 1 Sep 2027 a small company may start voluntarily, but no customer can force it to issue e-invoices before its legal date. Large customers may still ask suppliers to send e-invoices early for practical reasons.

Common pitfalls

  • Treating a PDF sent by email as an e-invoice. Only structured formats sent through an approved platform meet the rule.
  • Missing the new mandatory mentions, especially the customer SIREN and the operation category, which makes the invoice incomplete in the structured data.
  • Assuming VAT-franchise micro-businesses are exempt. They must receive and later issue e-invoices, and keep the 'TVA non applicable' mention.
  • Waiting for the end of the start-up tolerance. The guide states it is neither a postponement nor a suspension of the obligation.

Linked obligations in France

E-reporting: Transaction and payment data for B2C and cross-border sales is reported through the same approved platforms, on the same calendar.
Chorus Pro: B2G invoices to public bodies continue to go through the public Chorus Pro portal and are not part of the private platform flow.
VAT returns: The reform does not change VAT rules, return deadlines or payment dates; the data sent supports pre-filling and cross-checks by the tax authority.
ViDA: EU rules adopted in 2025 will later set an EU-wide digital reporting framework for cross-border B2B sales, which France will need to align with.

e-Invoicing France: questions, answered

Official sources

Keep this guide

Download the France e-Invoicing guide as a PDF. It has the same content as this page.

More e-Invoicing guides

All e-Invoicing countriese-Invoicing Belgiume-Invoicing Croatiae-Invoicing Germanye-Invoicing Greecee-Invoicing Hungarye-Invoicing Italye-Invoicing Polande-Invoicing Romaniae-Invoicing SpainAll countries in the Tax Tracker

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