France: e-invoicing for SMEs from 1 September 2027 — eleven months to go

In France, since 1 September 2026, all VAT-registered businesses must be able to receive electronic invoices, and large companies and ETI (mid-sized companies) must already issue them. For PME (SMEs) and micro-enterprises, issuing becomes mandatory on 1 September 2027. That leaves eleven months. Here is what is already in place, what changes for you next year and how to use the time.

The timeline

E-reporting — sending the tax authorities data on transactions that do not go through an electronic invoice between French businesses, such as sales to consumers or international sales — follows the same timeline as issuing. The scheme is described in detail in What is Factur-X.

What already applies to you

Even if you only start issuing in 2027, receiving has been mandatory since September. In practice:

• Your supplier invoices arrive via a plateforme agréée (PA, approved platform). Since the loi de finances pour 2026 (2026 Finance Act; Article 123, 19 February 2026), the term is no longer "PDP" but plateforme agréée (PA); the role is the same. Many articles still use the old name.
• The public portal, PPF (public invoicing portal), does not carry invoices. It maintains the central directory and collects e-reporting data; the exchange itself goes through the approved platforms.
• The platform you chose for receiving can also issue for you in 2027 — this is often the simplest option. Check this now rather than next August.

Four new mandatory details on the invoice

The reform adds four details to the existing mandatory set. They apply to invoices you issue from 1 September 2027:

• the customer's SIREN number (French company identification number), where the customer is a business established in France — it is what routes the invoice to the recipient's platform. Take care not to confuse it with the SIRET (the number of an individual establishment);
• the delivery address of the goods, if it differs from the billing address;
• the nature of the transaction: supply of goods, supply of services, or both;
• where applicable, a statement of the option to pay VAT on a debit basis (option pour le paiement de la TVA d'après les débits).

This information must appear in the structured data of the invoice, not only in its human-readable version. This is often the first piece of work: software that prints an invoice correctly does not necessarily fill these fields in the file.

Eleven months: a realistic plan

1. Confirm your approved platform. Check that it will also handle issuing and e-reporting, and at what price.
2. Take stock of your outgoing invoices. How many per month, to whom (French businesses, consumers, abroad), from which tool. Sales to consumers and abroad fall under e-reporting, not electronic invoicing.
3. Collect your customers' SIREN numbers and update your customer records. It is tedious, and it is the data most often missing.
4. Check the format your tool produces. Every approved platform must accept at least Factur-X, UBL and CII. If your tool produces Factur-X, look at the profile: the EN 16931 profile carries the full data set of the standard, which the reduced profiles do not. The differences are explained in Profiles.
5. Test with real invoices. Not the vendor's sample: your own invoices, with your customers and your rates. A validator shows within seconds whether the file complies with EN 16931 and which rule it breaks.
6. Plan for a run-in period. The first weeks bring rejections that only show up in production. Better to have them in spring than in September.

And where does E-Rechnung Pro fit in?

Let us be precise about what the service does. E-Rechnung Pro creates Factur-X invoices (BASIC, EN 16931 and EXTENDED profiles), converts an existing PDF invoice into Factur-X and validates a file against the standard. It is not an approved platform: it does not transmit your invoices and does not do e-reporting. In France, invoices must be sent through a PA. The service works upstream: producing a correct file and checking that it is correct before you hand it over to your platform.

Frequently asked questions

I am a micro-entrepreneur exempt from VAT. Does this apply to me?

For receiving, yes: it has applied to all businesses since 1 September 2026. For issuing, the date for micro-enterprises is 1 September 2027. The specific arrangements for the franchise en base (VAT exemption scheme) are worth checking with your accountant.

Can I still send a PDF by email?

Between businesses established in France, no, once the issuing obligation applies to you: the invoice must be a structured electronic invoice transmitted through an approved platform. A plain PDF is not an electronic invoice within the meaning of the reform.

My customers are in Germany. What changes?

The French obligation covers transactions between businesses established in France; sales abroad fall under e-reporting. On the German side, your customers are subject to their own timeline — see the German mandate from 2027. A Factur-X file in the EN 16931 profile can be read on both sides.

What is the difference between Factur-X and ZUGFeRD?

None in substance: it is the same specification, published jointly by FNFE-MPE and FeRD under two names. The current version is Factur-X 1.09.2, identical to ZUGFeRD 2.5.2.

In brief

• Since 1 September 2026: receiving mandatory for everyone; issuing for large companies and ETI.
• On 1 September 2027: issuing and e-reporting for PME and micro-enterprises.
• Invoices go through a plateforme agréée (formerly PDP); the PPF does not carry invoices.
• Four new mandatory details: customer's SIREN, delivery address, nature of the transaction, option for VAT on debits.
• Formats accepted by every PA: Factur-X, UBL, CII.

To see where your invoice stands today: check a file for free, no sign-up required.