E-invoicing in France and Germany: dates, formats and where Factur-X fits
Both countries are moving invoices between businesses from paper and PDF attachments to structured electronic formats that accounting software can read without anyone retyping them. The two sets of rules share a standard and differ in the details that decide whether an invoice is accepted. This guide sets out the dates, the formats, and the decision most small businesses actually face: which file their invoices go out as. It is general information as of September 2026, not tax advice; your accountant or e-invoicing platform can confirm what applies to your business.
Updated September 15, 20267 min read
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What counts as an e-invoice
An e-invoice is not a PDF sent by email. It is an invoice in a structured data format that follows the European standard EN 16931, so the receiving system can read the parties, amounts and VAT automatically. A PDF on its own is a picture of an invoice: a person can read it, software cannot rely on it.
Factur-X, known as ZUGFeRD in Germany, bridges the two. It is a PDF/A-3 file that looks like an ordinary invoice and carries the structured invoice data inside it as an XML file. A person opens the PDF; the accounting system reads the XML.
France: what changes from 1 September 2026
From 1 September 2026, every business established in France and subject to VAT must be able to receive electronic invoices, whatever its size. From the same date, large and mid-sized companies must also issue them and send certain transaction and payment data to the tax administration. Small and medium-sized businesses and micro-enterprises must start issuing e-invoices on 1 September 2027.
The invoices do not travel directly from one company to another. They pass through a platform accredited by the state, a plateforme agréée, either directly or through software connected to one, and the tax administration publishes the list of accredited platforms on impots.gouv.fr. Factur-X is one of the formats these platforms handle, alongside UBL and CII.
Choosing an accredited platform is the first step for a French business, including one that only needs to receive invoices for now. A correctly built Factur-X file is something you hand to that platform; it does not replace it.
Germany: receiving since 2025, sending by 2027 or 2028
Since 1 January 2025, every business in Germany has had to be able to receive e-invoices from other domestic businesses. Sending has a transition period: until the end of 2026 any business may still issue paper invoices, or other electronic formats such as a plain PDF if the customer agrees, and a business whose turnover in the previous year was no more than €800,000 may keep doing so until the end of 2027. After that, invoices between domestic businesses must be e-invoices.
An invoice counts when it meets EN 16931, which includes XRechnung and ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1, except the MINIMUM and BASIC WL profiles. The Federal Ministry of Finance states plainly that a simple PDF no longer counts, because it has no structured format. Germany has no central platform for these invoices: an e-invoice can be sent by email like any other attachment.
- Small invoices of up to €250 may continue to be issued in other formats.
- Receiving is already mandatory, so a German business that only buys still needs a way to read the XML it is sent.
Choosing the right Factur-X profile
Factur-X comes in profiles that carry more or less data. The profile is written inside the XML, and it is what decides whether an invoice is accepted.
- MINIMUM and BASIC WL carry only document-level data, without invoice lines. They do not meet EN 16931 and are not accepted as e-invoices in France or in Germany.
- BASIC adds the invoice lines and is a compliant subset of EN 16931. It is the lowest profile accepted in both countries.
- EN 16931 carries everything the European standard defines and is the safest choice for both.
- EXTENDED adds data for more complex invoices; use it when a customer or platform asks for it.
The Factur-X tool reads the profile from your XML and tells you whether France will accept it before you send anything.
Turning an invoice into a Factur-X file
Most accounting software can export invoice data as a CII XML file, even when it normally prints a PDF. With both files at hand, building the Factur-X invoice takes about a minute.
- Open Create a Factur-X invoice and add two files: the invoice PDF and the CII XML exported from your accounting software.
- Check the profile the tool reads from the XML. If it says the profile will be rejected, ask whoever produces the XML to export a higher one.
- Download the result: one PDF/A-3 invoice with factur-x.xml embedded and marked the way the standard requires.
- Send it through your accredited platform in France, or to your customer directly in Germany.
The tool builds and checks the file; it does not invent invoice data, and it is not an accredited platform. In France the invoice still has to travel through one. If you have no invoice PDF yet, the invoice generator linked below creates one from a form, but it does not produce the XML, so on its own the result is not an e-invoice.