French e-invoicing 2026–2027: timeline and obligations

Published 26 September 2026 · reviewed 26 September 2026

In short: from 1 September 2026, every VAT-registered business established in France must be able to receive electronic invoices. The obligation to issue them — and to transmit e-reporting data — applies from 1 September 2026 to large companies and mid-caps (ETI), and from 1 September 2027 to SMEs and micro-enterprises. Invoices travel through an approved platform (plateforme agréée).

The timeline

The dates come from article 91 of the 2024 French Finance Act and are restated by the tax administration (DGFiP) and entreprendre.service-public; links are at the end of this page. The receiving obligation does not depend on turnover or VAT regime: a micro-enterprise under the VAT franchise is covered from 1 September 2026.

In July 2026 the ministry announced a tolerant approach at the start for businesses acting in good faith. It moves no date: it is guidance on penalties, not a postponement.

Who carries the invoices: approved platforms

An approved platform (PA, formerly "PDP") is a provider registered by the tax administration for a renewable three-year term. It issues, transmits and receives e-invoices, extracts the data the administration needs, and builds the e-reporting. Every business must choose one to receive its invoices.

Your invoicing software can be a compatible solution without being an approved platform itself: it prepares invoices and hands them to one. The question for your vendor is therefore "which approved platform do you go through?".

The public invoicing portal (PPF) has been refocused on two roles: the directory that routes invoices to the right recipient, and the concentrator that passes data to the tax administration. It is not a free invoicing service.

Which formats

Approved platforms must accept at least a base set of three formats, all EN 16931-compliant:

• UBL — an XML format, widely used internationally and on Peppol;
• CII — the UN/CEFACT Cross Industry Invoice XML;
• Factur-X — a readable PDF carrying an embedded CII XML: the PDF for people, the XML for machines.

How they differ, and how to choose, is in our Factur-X, UBL and CII comparison.

What about e-reporting?

Transactions that do not produce an e-invoice between French businesses are reported as data, aggregated per day: sales to consumers, international transactions (exports, intra-EU trade) and, for services, payment data when VAT becomes due on payment. No personal data about a consumer customer is transmitted. The dates are the same as for issuing.

What to do now

1. Work out your category (large, mid-cap, SME, micro) and therefore your two dates.
2. Choose the approved platform that will receive your invoices from 1 September 2026.
3. Check with your vendor that your software produces a base-set format (UBL, CII or Factur-X) with a complete profile — not only header data.
4. Test real invoices before the switch: how to validate a Factur-X invoice before sending it, then the France validator (BR-FR rules).

eDocument Tools is independent: it is not an approved platform or a DGFiP service, and a validation here is neither acceptance nor certification. The tools check a file's structure and rules in your browser, without sending it anywhere.