E-Invoicing in France: Rules and Deadlines

Since 1 September 2026, every business established in France and registered for VAT must be able to receive e-invoices, auto-entrepreneurs under the VAT exemption (franchise en base) included. Issuing them becomes mandatory on 1 September 2027 for small and medium-sized businesses and micro-enterprises; large companies and mid-caps (ETI) have had to issue them since 1 September 2026. In practice: pick an approved platform (plateforme agréée) now, and get ready to send invoices to French business clients as Factur-X, UBL or CII through that platform from September 2027.

This guide is for English speakers running a business in France, and for anyone abroad wondering whether the French rules apply to them (usually not).

Need a Factur-X file today, to test with a client or your platform? The free Factur-X generator creates one without an account. For a regular PDF invoice until your issuing date, the France invoice generator is enough.

What changes, at a glance

What counts as an e-invoice in France

A PDF sent by email is not an e-invoice, even though it's digital. The reform is about invoices made of structured data that software can read, exchanged between approved platforms.

The rules provide for three formats:

For a sole trader, Factur-X is usually the easiest: the client opens a normal PDF, and their platform reads the embedded data. It's the French twin of Germany's ZUGFeRD.

The timeline

For this reform, a micro-enterprise has fewer than 10 employees and less than €2 million in turnover or balance-sheet total. Virtually every auto-entrepreneur falls into this group, so into the 2027 wave.

These dates are no longer theoretical: the reform came into force on 1 September 2026, and the administration keeps 1 September 2027 for small businesses.

Example. Emma, a British illustrator living in Bordeaux, is an auto-entrepreneur under the VAT exemption. She bills a Paris publisher €1,200 for a book cover.

• In October 2026, she must be able to receive her suppliers' e-invoices (her coworking space, for instance) on her approved platform. She can still send the publisher a PDF.
• In October 2027, her invoice to the publisher must be an e-invoice sent through her platform. A portrait she paints for a private customer is not e-invoiced; that sale falls under e-reporting.

Receiving: what to do now

Receiving is the only obligation already in force for you, and it takes one thing: an approved platform.

• Choose a plateforme agréée (PA, formerly called PDP). The tax authority (DGFiP) publishes the list of registered platforms, which carry a dedicated logo. Compare prices and how each connects to your invoicing tool.
• Check the directory. The e-invoicing directory (annuaire) shows each business's platform and invoicing addresses. That's where your suppliers find where to send their invoices.
• You can switch later. The new platform handles the move, and the old one keeps some services running for a year.

Large companies and ETI already issue e-invoices, so suppliers of that size (your phone carrier, energy supplier, a big retailer) may already be sending you some.

Issuing: what changes on 1 September 2027

The obligation covers sales of goods and services between businesses established in France and registered for VAT. The rules say so explicitly: that includes businesses under the franchise en base, so most auto-entrepreneurs.

It does not cover:

• sales to consumers (B2C): you keep handing over a PDF or paper invoice;
• clients established abroad: a client in London or New York still gets a PDF.

Those sales fall under e-reporting instead: from the same date, some data (transaction amount, VAT charged) goes to the tax authority through your platform. If you have both French business clients and private customers, both obligations apply.

The new mandatory invoice details

The reform adds four details to the usual ones:

1. the client's SIREN number, when the client is a business;
2. the delivery address of goods, if different from the client's address;
3. the nature of the transaction: goods, services, or both;
4. the option to pay VAT on debits (TVA d'après les débits), if you chose it.

Everything else stays: a unique sequential invoice number, date, both parties' details, description, quantities, unit price before tax, VAT rate and amount, due date, late-payment penalties and the €40 fixed recovery fee. Our guide to invoicing as a freelancer in France walks through each with examples.

Approved platform vs compatible software

• The approved platform is the only intermediary the tax authority recognises for issuing, receiving and transmitting e-invoices and transaction and payment data. It is registered by the DGFiP.
• Compatible software (invoicing or accounting tools) prepares invoices and connects to an approved platform, but can't send anything to the tax authority itself.
• The State's portal no longer exchanges invoices between businesses: it keeps the directory and receives the tax data. Invoices to the public sector still go through Chorus Pro.

Get ready in five steps

1. Pick your approved platform, if you haven't yet: receiving has been mandatory since September 2026.
2. Collect each business client's SIREN. It becomes a mandatory detail and is used to route the invoice. A SIRET or a French VAT number contains the SIREN.
3. Check your numbering. The French technical rules cap invoice numbers at 35 characters: letters, digits and - _ /. "INV-2027-014" works; "Invoice #14 (Dupont)" doesn't.
4. Sort your clients. French businesses (e-invoice), consumers and clients abroad (e-reporting): you'll know what 2027 means for you.
5. Test before the deadline. Create a Factur-X for a regular client and upload it to your platform to see if it goes through.

Creating a Factur-X now

For occasional invoices, the free Factur-X generator is enough. You enter both businesses (SIREN, SIRET or VAT number), goods or services, lines with French VAT rates (20%, 10%, 5.5%, 2.1%), and download a PDF/A-3 with its XML data (EN 16931 profile). It handles the franchise en base (art. 293 B CGI), reverse charge, VAT on debits, the delivery address and the late-payment wording. Nothing is stored and no account is needed, and the form is in English.

If you invoice regularly, the app makes the same file from any invoice of a French business, from the Starter plan up. KipBill is not an approved platform and doesn't transmit your invoices: you upload the file to your own platform.

To compare with other EU countries, see our overview of EU e-invoicing requirements in 2026.

FAQ

Is an auto-entrepreneur under the VAT exemption affected?

Yes. They must be able to receive e-invoices since 1 September 2026 and issue them from 1 September 2027 to business clients established in France. Not charging VAT doesn't take you out of the reform.

Can I still send PDF invoices?

Yes, to French business clients until 1 September 2027 if you are a micro-enterprise or an SME. After that, PDF remains fine for consumers and clients abroad, with e-reporting on top.

I live outside France and bill French companies. Does this apply to me?

The e-invoicing obligation covers businesses established in France. If you have no establishment there, your French clients can keep receiving your PDF invoices, although some may prefer a Factur-X, and the generator can make one.

Factur-X, UBL or CII: which should I use?

Your approved platform must be able to receive all three. Factur-X is the most practical for a small business, because it remains a PDF anyone can read.

Is KipBill an approved platform?

No. The app and the generator create the file; your approved platform sends it to your client and passes the data to the tax authority.

As of 23 October 2026. Sources: entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr (sheets F39785 and F23266, checked August and September 2026), art. 289 bis CGI, Law 2023-1322 of 29 December 2023 (art. 91), Decree 2026-677 and Order of 27 July 2026. This article is not tax advice.