France e-invoicing mandate: 2026 and 2027 timeline
France's B2B e-invoicing reform: all companies must receive from September 2026, large and mid-sized firms must issue from 2026, SMEs from 2027. Formats: Factur-X, UBL, CII.
| Obligation to RECEIVE (all companies) | from 1 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Obligation to ISSUE (large + mid-sized companies / ETI) | from 1 September 2026 |
| Obligation to ISSUE (SMEs and micro-enterprises) | from 1 September 2027 |
| Accepted formats | Factur-X (hybrid), UBL, CII — all EN 16931 |
France is phasing in mandatory structured B2B e-invoicing. The reform, run by the DGFiP (tax authority), separates two obligations: the obligation to receive and the obligation to issue.
Timeline
From 1 September 2026, all companies must be able to receive e-invoices; at the same date the obligation to issue begins for large enterprises and mid-sized companies (ETI). From 1 September 2027 the issuance obligation extends to SMEs and micro-enterprises. Exchange runs through approved platforms (Plateformes de Dématérialisation Partenaires).
Formats: Factur-X, UBL, CII
The DGFiP recognises three EN-16931-compliant formats: Factur-X, a hybrid PDF/XML format (technically identical to Germany's ZUGFeRD from 2.0.1), plus the pure XML syntaxes UBL and CII. Factur-X is maintained by the FNFE-MPE together with Germany's FeRD association.
How invowerk helps
invowerk validates Factur-X, UBL and CII invoices against EN 16931 and explains every BR error code in plain language (see /codes). Because Factur-X and ZUGFeRD embed the same CII XML, one API covers both German and French outbound invoices and converts between UBL and CII when needed.