E-invoicing in France: does it apply to you, and when?

Four answers are enough: the check gives your receiving and issuing dates, the e-reporting ahead of you and what to do before then.

E-invoices mandatory for issuing from

1 September 2027

Micro-enterprise: receiving on 1 September 2026, issuing on 1 September 2027.

Size category	Micro-enterprise
Receive e-invoices	1 September 2026
Issue e-invoices	1 September 2027
Sales e-reporting (consumers, abroad)	1 September 2027 · 1 send every 2 months, from the 25th to the end of the next month
Payment data (services)	1 September 2027 · 1 send every 2 months, from the 25th to the end of the next month

Basis: CGI article 289 bis, 2024 Finance Act article 91, BOFiP of 30 September 2026. Size is assessed on 1 January 2025 on the last closed financial year.

How this is calculated

What to do, in order
Step	Action
1	Choose an approved platform and sign up
2	Be able to receive supplier invoices from 1 September 2026
3	Add the 4 new mentions to your invoices
4	Collect the SIREN of each business customer
5	Prepare e-reporting of consumer and foreign sales
6	Transmit the payments received for your services
7	Check your entry in the directory
8	Keep invoices for 10 years

Receiving, everyone: 1 September 2026
Issuing, SMEs and micro: 1 September 2027
Fine per invoice: €50
Registered platforms: 149

Since 1 September 2026, every business subject to VAT in France must be able to receive electronic invoices, whatever its size, micro-entrepreneurs included. The duty to issue them follows company size: large companies and mid-sized companies (ETI) have been issuing e-invoices since 1 September 2026, while SMEs and micro-enterprises will start on 1 September 2027. These dates come from article 91 of the 2024 Finance Act and were confirmed by the tax administration on 30 September 2026. An e-invoice is not a PDF sent by email: it is a structured file (UBL, CII or Factur-X) that travels through a platform approved by the State. Sales to consumers and cross-border transactions do not become e-invoices but are covered by e-reporting, a transmission of data on the same date. An invoice issued outside a platform carries a fine of €50, capped at €15,000 a year.

Fine calculatorWhat does an invoice outside a platform or a missed report cost?
Approved platformsThe official list, filterable, with no ranking or affiliation.
New invoice mentionsCustomer SIREN, delivery, transaction type, VAT on invoicing: what is added.
Create a Factur-XPDF/A-3 with EN 16931 XML, free, no account, in your browser.
SIREN checkerCheck digit and derived VAT number, before you invoice.

How the tools calculate · Who runs this site

What does being late cost?

The fine applies to each invoice issued outside a platform and to each missed e-reporting send, with a cap per calendar year. The small calculator shows the effect of the number of invoices and of the first-breach rule, which cancels the fine if you correct within thirty days.

Possible fine for the year

€7,000

Non-electronic invoices (art. 1737 III)	€6,000
Transaction e-reporting (art. 1788 D I)	€1,000
Payment data (art. 1788 D II)	€0
Receiving without a platform (art. 1737 IV bis)	€0

Calculate every fine →

Why this site rather than another

Most pages about French e-invoicing are written by software vendors selling a platform. Their checks lead to their offer, their comparisons rank their partners, and their dates are not always dated. This site does better on three points. It sells nothing and takes no commission: the comparison tool only uses the list published by the DGFiP, in alphabetical order, with no prices or affiliate links. Every date and amount comes from a legal article or a BOFiP commentary cited at the foot of the page, with the date it was read. And the tools really calculate: your date according to your size, how often you report according to your VAT regime, the amount of a fine with its caps, and a valid Factur-X generated in your browser.

How the tools calculate, which texts were read and their limits are set out on the Method page. Who publishes the site and how it is funded is on the About page.

Mandate

The mandateWho must receive, issue and report, according to size.
TimetableReceiving, issuing and e-reporting dates, and when to start.
Micro-entrepreneurReceiving in 2026, issuing in 2027, e-reporting every two months.
Micro-enterpriseUnder 10 staff and 2 million euros: issuing in September 2027.
VAT basic exemptionNo VAT charged, but receiving, issuing and e-reporting all the same.
Receiving invoicesMandatory for everyone since September 2026: what to do and what delay costs.
E-reportingConsumer and foreign sales: what to send and how often.
Payment dataServices: report payments received, by status or by e-reporting.
The legal textsThe reform’s laws, decrees and orders, in order, with what each one changes.

Formats

DefinitionWhat makes an invoice electronic in the legal sense, and what does not.
Factur-XThe PDF that carries its own data: how it is built and when to choose it.
Factur-X exampleA complete e-invoice template to download and adapt.
UBL, CII, Factur-X formatsThe three base formats compared, and how to choose yours.
End of PDF invoicesUntil when an emailed PDF remains valid, and what it costs afterwards.
EDI and ERPYou already exchange through EDI: what stays and what changes with the reform.

In practice

Choosing a platformNeutral criteria for choosing, and the legal periods for switching platforms.
DigitisationScanning, emailing a PDF, moving to e-invoicing: three different things.
Keeping invoicesHow long, in what form, and who handles it.
DirectoryThe reform’s address book: who is in it, how to get listed, how to look it up.
Getting readyThe five steps before your issuing date, and the latest date to start.

The reform in detail

The three duties, and who has them

The reform comes down to three separate duties. Receiving applies to every VAT taxable person established in France from 1 September 2026: suppliers send their invoices through their platform, and you need an approved platform to receive them. Issuing covers the invoices you send to other businesses established in France; it starts on 1 September 2026 for large companies and ETIs, and on 1 September 2027 for SMEs and micro-enterprises. E-reporting covers what does not become an e-invoice: consumer sales, cross-border transactions and, for services, payment data. Details are on the mandate page and the e-reporting page.

How your size is determined

The law refers to article 51 of the 2008 Economy Modernisation Act and to the decree of 18 December 2008. A micro-enterprise has fewer than 10 staff and a turnover or balance sheet total of at most €2,000,000. An SME has fewer than 250 staff with a turnover of at most €50,000,000 or a balance sheet of at most €43,000,000. Above that come mid-sized and then large companies. The category used is the one on 1 January 2025, based on the last financial year closed before that date or, failing that, the first one closed after it. The calculation is on the micro-enterprise page.

What changes on your invoices

Four mentions are added to the usual ones: the customer’s SIREN number, the delivery address when it differs from the customer’s, the type of transaction (goods, services or both) and, if you opted to pay VAT on invoicing (option pour les débits), the sentence that says so. They are set out in article 242 nonies A of annex II to the French tax code and apply from your issuing date. The checklist is on the mandatory mentions page.

Choosing an approved platform

An approved platform (plateforme agréée) is an operator registered by the tax administration to carry invoices and data. The official list counted 149 registered operators in its version of 30 September 2026. You can switch at any time, and the law governs portability. To compare without a commercial ranking, the neutral comparison tool filters the list and gives you the questions to ask; the choosing page explains the criteria.

Creating a Factur-X for free

Factur-X is a readable PDF that carries the invoice’s XML file. It is one of the three formats every platform accepts, alongside UBL and CII. The free creator produces a Factur-X in the EN 16931 profile, as PDF/A-3, with no account and no data sent. Keep the limit in mind: from your mandatory issuing date, an invoice between businesses must go through an approved platform, however good the file is.

Common questions

Does a micro-entrepreneur have to switch to e-invoicing?

Yes for receiving, from 1 September 2026: a micro-entrepreneur is a VAT taxable person even under the basic exemption, and suppliers will send e-invoices through an approved platform. For issuing, the micro-enterprise timetable applies, so 1 September 2027, and only for business customers established in France. Sales to consumers fall under e-reporting instead.

Can I keep emailing my invoices as PDF files?

Until your mandatory issuing date, yes, if your customer agrees. After that, an invoice between two businesses established in France must be issued in a structured format and sent through an approved platform. A plain PDF sent by email no longer counts as a compliant invoice and exposes you to a fine of 50 euros per invoice.

Is this site an approved platform?

No. This site is an independent publisher that transmits no invoices and sells no subscription. It helps you find out when you are affected, what a breach costs and how to pick a platform from the official list. The Factur-X creator produces a file on your computer, useful before your deadline or to understand the format.

What happens if I choose no platform for receiving?

Article 1737 IV bis of the French tax code provides for a formal notice giving three months to comply. If nothing changes, a 500 euro fine applies, then 1,000 euros for each further three-month period without a platform. This fine has no annual cap, unlike the fine for invoices not issued electronically.

Is the list of approved platforms final?

No. The DGFiP publishes a list of registered operators and a list of operators awaiting interoperability tests, and updates it as files are processed. The comparison tool on this site uses the version read on the date shown under the table. Before signing a contract, check that the platform still appears on the official impots.gouv.fr page.

Do sales to consumers become e-invoices?

No. E-invoicing only covers transactions between taxable persons established in France. For consumer sales you send daily totals through your platform, without customer names: this is transaction e-reporting. How often depends on your VAT regime, from three sends a month under the standard monthly regime to one every two months under the basic exemption.

Are my answers to the check stored anywhere?

No. The check, the fine calculator and the invoice creator run in your browser. No data goes to a server, and there is no account, form or email address to leave. The share link only holds your answers in the page address, and only if you copy it yourself.

Official sources for this page

Prepared by Radif Partners

Publisher of free tools on France's e-invoicing mandate: date check, fines, approved platforms, invoice mentions and Factur-X creation in the browser

Updated on 25 October 2026 · Editorial policy · Contact

As of 2026, official texts checked on 25 October 2026

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