French e-invoicing: the official dates, and when to start
Pick your category and preparation time: the tool gives the latest start date and spreads the steps up to go-live.
Start no later than
9 June 2027
To be ready to issue on 1 September 2027.
| Invoice and customer inventory | 9 June 2027 |
| Choice of approved platform | 30 June 2027 |
| Mentions and SIREN update | 21 July 2027 |
| Sending and receiving tests | 11 August 2027 |
| Go-live | 1 September 2027 |
Steps spread evenly; adjust the length to your invoice volume.
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · Tax code, BOFiP and approved-platform list checked on 25 October 2026
The French e-invoicing timetable comes down to two dates. On 1 September 2026, every VAT taxable business had to be able to receive e-invoices, and large companies and mid-sized ETIs started issuing them and sending their e-reporting data. On 1 September 2027, it will be the turn of SMEs and micro-enterprises, sole traders under the micro regime included, to issue and report. These dates are set in article 91 of the 2024 Finance Act, which rewrote article 26 of the amending finance law of 16 August 2022, and in the order of 27 July 2026. The law allowed the government to postpone each deadline by up to three months, to 1 December 2026 and 1 December 2027; that option was not used for the first wave. On the date of our last review, 311 days remained before the SME deadline. Since the dates have been pushed back in the past, check them against the official texts before making any decision.
The timetable in one table
The dates are set by article 91 of the 2024 Finance Act and repeated in the order of 27 July 2026, which replaced the earlier dates in article 41 septies D of annex IV to the tax code. The administration confirms them in its news item of 30 September 2026.
| Date | What starts | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| 1 September 2026 | Receiving e-invoices | Every taxable business |
| 1 September 2026 | Issuing and e-reporting | Large companies, ETIs, VAT groups |
| 1 September 2027 | Issuing and e-reporting | SMEs and micro-enterprises |
| 1 January 2027 | New numbering of the tax code | Everyone (articles get new numbers) |
The last row is not a new duty. An ordinance of 17 December 2025 recodifies the French tax code from 1 January 2027: article 289 bis and its neighbours will be repealed on that date and carried over under other numbers. The rules do not change, but references quoted in contracts and software will need to follow.
A history of postponements
The rollout was first planned between 2024 and 2026. The 2024 Finance Act moved it to 2026 and 2027 and gave the government the option of postponing each date by up to three months. The date set for large companies and ETIs, 1 September 2026, held. The SME date, 1 September 2027, can in theory still move to 1 December 2027. It is wiser to prepare for the official date and treat any postponement as slack.
Start no later than
Start no later than
7 July 2027
| Invoice and customer inventory | 7 July 2027 |
| Choice of approved platform | 21 July 2027 |
| Mentions and SIREN update | 4 August 2027 |
| Sending and receiving tests | 18 August 2027 |
Your category sets your date
The size used is the one on 1 January 2025, under the 2008 decree thresholds. A business created after that date takes the category of its first closed financial year. Members of a VAT group all issue in the first wave. The calculation is on the mandate page, and the smallest businesses are covered on the micro-enterprise page and the micro-entrepreneur page.
Start from the date and work backwards
The calculator at the top of the page starts from your issuing date and splits the run-up into four steps: invoice and customer inventory, platform choice, mentions and SIREN update, sending and receiving tests. The split is even by default; adjust the total length to your volume. Each step is detailed on the preparation page. Remember that receiving is already mandatory: if you do not have a platform yet, that is the first thing to sort out.