Keeping e-invoices: how long and in what form
Choose the year the financial year closes: the tool gives the date until which to keep invoices, for tax and commercial purposes.
Keep your invoices until
31 December 2036
10 years under the commercial code; the 6-year tax period ends on 31 December 2032.
| Tax period (tax procedure code) | 31 December 2032 |
| Commercial period | 31 December 2036 |
| Form to keep | The original file (XML or Factur-X) |
Service-public sheet F10029. An e-invoice is kept in its original format.
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · Tax code, BOFiP and approved-platform list checked on 25 October 2026
An e-invoice is kept like a paper invoice, but in its original electronic form. Two periods apply. The tax procedure code requires 6 years, from the date of the last transaction recorded in the books or the date the documents were drawn up. The commercial code requires 10 years from the close of the financial year. In practice, the longer period prevails: 10 years after the close. Form matters as much as duration. An invoice received as XML or Factur-X must be kept in that format, not printed or converted into a plain PDF, because the original file is the authentic one. The approved platform may offer storage, but the business remains responsible for being able to produce its invoices in an audit. You therefore need to know where they are, how long the platform keeps them, and how to get them back if you switch.
The two periods
The service-public.fr page on keeping documents recalls the rules, which do not change with the reform.
| Rule | Period | Starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Tax procedure code | 6 years | Last transaction or date drawn up |
| Commercial code | 10 years | Close of the financial year |
| Formal agreement with the platform | 3 years | Date of the agreement |
The third line is new: the decree of 27 July 2026 requires keeping the formal agreement signed with the platform for 3 years, as proof of whom you entrusted your invoices to.
The form: the original file
Article 289 bis of the French tax code makes the electronic form the invoice’s form. Keeping it therefore means keeping the file received or issued, without changing it. A Factur-X is kept as is, with its embedded XML. A UBL or CII is kept as XML. A printout or plain PDF is only a reading copy, with no evidential value of its own. The archive must also guarantee that the file has not been altered and stays readable for the whole period.
Keep your invoices until
Keep your invoices until
31 December 2037
| Tax period (tax procedure code) | 31 December 2033 |
| Commercial period | 31 December 2037 |
| Form to keep | The original file (XML or Factur-X) |
Who handles it
Three solutions coexist. The approved platform keeps your invoices, often for a period set in the contract: check that it covers 10 years, or plan to retrieve your files before it ends. Your accounting software keeps the invoices it has taken in. A dedicated archiving service offers more formal integrity guarantees. For a small business, the simplest combination is the platform plus a regular copy in a backed-up folder.
Good habits
Name your files consistently, for example with the date and invoice number. Keep a backup outside your computer. Note, for each year, the date until which to keep, which the tool works out. Before switching platforms, retrieve your invoices and statuses. And keep paper invoices received before the reform for the same periods: they remain valid in their original form.
In an audit, the tax authority may ask to see invoices on site or by transmission. A well-ordered archive, with the original files and their statuses, cuts the time spent answering and avoids depending on a provider at the wrong moment.