E-invoicing in France: approved platforms, phases and e-reporting

Timeline

1. 1 January 201710,21Mandatory e-invoicing to public bodies for large companiesLarge companies and public entities supplying public bodiesPublic sector (B2G)
2. 1 January 201810,21Mandatory e-invoicing to public bodies for mid-sized companiesMid-sized companies (ETI) supplying public bodiesPublic sector (B2G)
3. 1 January 201910,21Mandatory e-invoicing to public bodies for SMEsSmall and medium-sized enterprises supplying public bodiesPublic sector (B2G)
4. 1 January 202010,9,21Mandatory e-invoicing to public bodies for micro-businesses: all suppliers covered (via Chorus Pro)Micro-businesses supplying public bodies; from this date all suppliers of public bodiesPublic sector (B2G)
5. 1 September 20262,1,13,15,20Mandatory B2B e-invoicing: issue and receive structured e-invoices through an approved platformLarge companies and mid-sized companies (ETI) established in France, plus members of a VAT group of any size; size assessed per legal entity as at 1 January 2025Issue and receive
6. 1 September 20261,13,15,20Obligation to receive structured e-invoices through an approved platformSMEs and micro-businesses established in France (including micro-entrepreneurs and the VAT franchise scheme)Receive
7. 1 September 20262,6,7,15,16E-reporting of transaction data (B2C and cross-border) and payment data through an approved platformLarge and mid-sized companies, established in France or not, for their sales in scopeReport
8. 1 September 20264,5,15Fines for missing e-invoices and e-reporting apply to invoices issued from this date; start-up phase without fines for businesses on a serious compliance pathBusinesses subject to the September 2026 obligationsPenaltiesThe tax authority's start-up guide (July 2026) sets no end date for the lenient start-up phase and stresses that it is neither a postponement nor a suspension.
9. Today, 3 October 2026
10. 1 January 20271,6,7,28,29,26,23VAT recodification: the e-invoicing and e-reporting articles of the General Tax Code (CGI) are repealed and taken over by the Code on Taxes on Goods and Services (CIBS)All businesses in scope (legal references change, e.g. rules for approved platforms and other intermediaries move to Article L. 215-39 CIBS, invoice formats to Article L. 216-36 CIBS and the invoice integrity rule of Article 289 V CGI to Article L102 B bis of the Tax Procedures Code; the CIBS articles were re-enacted by Ordinance No. 2026-671 of 27 July 2026)Other
11. 1 January 202725,24Tax retention period for books, records and supporting documents (including invoices) extended from six to ten yearsAll businesses, for documents whose retention period expires after 1 January 2027Archiving
12. 1 September 20272,13,15,16Mandatory issuing of structured e-invoices through an approved platformSMEs and micro-businesses established in France that are not members of a VAT groupIssueThe law allows a decree to defer this date to 1 December 2027 at the latest; the tax authority still states 1 September 2027 (FAQ of 1 September 2026).
13. 1 September 20272,13,16E-reporting of transaction data (B2C and cross-border) and payment data through an approved platformSMEs and micro-businesses, established in France or notReportThe law allows a decree to defer this date to 1 December 2027 at the latest.
14. 1 September 20273,16E-reporting of purchases for which a business not established in France is liable for French VATBusinesses not established in France, regardless of sizeReport
15. 1 September 20278Additional mandatory structured invoice data (e.g. item description, quantity, unit price, discounts, delivery address, eco-contribution)All e-invoices issued under the B2B obligationOther

Rules at a glance

Formats

UBL (EN 16931 profile or EXTENDED-CTC-FR profile, AFNOR XP Z12-012)(accepted)8,13,19,21
UN/CEFACT CII (EN 16931 profile or EXTENDED-CTC-FR profile, AFNOR XP Z12-012)(accepted)8,13,19,21
Factur-X (hybrid: PDF/A-3 with embedded CII XML, EN 16931 or EXTENDED profile)(accepted)8,13,19,21

Who is in scope

All taxable persons established in France (seat or VAT fixed establishment) for supplies to other taxable persons established in France, whatever their size, turnover, legal form or tax regime, including micro-entrepreneurs and businesses under the VAT franchise scheme. Even a business that issues no invoices must be able to receive them. Large companies, mid-sized companies (ETI) and members of a VAT group issue from 1 September 2026; SMEs and micro-businesses from 1 September 2027. Out of scope: VAT-exempt operations without an invoicing obligation (Articles 261 to 261 E CGI, e.g. healthcare, education, certain real-estate transactions, banking and insurance), classified defence operations, and businesses not established in France, which may still have to e-report. Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion are in scope; French Guiana, Mayotte and the overseas collectivities are not.1,2,13,14,16

Thresholds and phases

No turnover threshold for the obligation itself; company size only sets the start date. Categories follow Article 51 of the Law of 4 August 2008, assessed per legal entity (SIREN) as at 1 January 2025 on the last financial year closed before that date: micro-business = under 10 staff and turnover or balance sheet total up to €2 million; SME = under 250 staff and turnover up to €50 million or balance sheet total up to €43 million; mid-sized company (ETI) = under 5,000 staff and turnover up to €1.5 billion or balance sheet total up to €2 billion; large company = everything above. Members of a VAT group start in 2026 regardless of size.2,16

B2B

Phased1,2,13,20Domestic supplies between taxable persons established in France: receiving applies to all since 1 September 2026, issuing to large and mid-sized companies since 1 September 2026 and to SMEs and micro-businesses from 1 September 2027.

B2G (public sector)

Mandatory9,10,21Suppliers to public bodies (and subcontractors paid directly) have had to send e-invoices since a phase-in from 2017 to 2020 by company size, via the State's shared portal Chorus Pro; a few buyers such as defence contracts, the Caisse des dépôts and SNCF entities are excluded.

B2C

None6,14No e-invoices to consumers are required, but sales to non-taxable persons fall under e-reporting: aggregated daily totals by VAT rate are sent to the tax authority through an approved platform.

Transmission

Approved platforms1,3,9,15,18,19,22Invoices travel between the approved platforms of supplier and buyer, which also send invoice, transaction and payment data to the tax authority. Platforms are registered by the DGFiP for three renewable years; non-registered 'compatible solutions' must route through one. For B2B, the State's public invoicing portal (PPF) no longer exchanges invoices: it runs the central directory that tells platforms which platform receives for each business, and collects the data for the tax authority. Chorus Pro remains the channel for public-sector buyers.

Reporting

E-reporting through the approved platform, on the same 2026/2027 timetable as issuing. Transaction data: sales to non-taxable persons (daily totals by VAT rate) and cross-border transactions with businesses not established in France (invoice by invoice). Payment data: amounts collected for supplies where VAT is due on receipt (typically services), whoever the customer is. Frequency depends on the VAT regime: standard monthly regime every ten days (transactions) and monthly (payments); simplified regime monthly; VAT franchise every two calendar months. Data from domestic B2B e-invoices is extracted by the platform automatically.6,7,14,16,17

Transition and tolerance

No legal tolerance period, but the DGFiP start-up guide (July 2026) says no fines will be applied during the start-up phase to businesses facing real, documented difficulties and taking corrective action; inertia or refusal is not covered and the calendar is unchanged. Invoices received by e-mail, PDF or paper must not be rejected for that reason alone, and VAT deduction is not automatically lost. SMEs may issue e-invoices voluntarily before September 2027, but customers cannot force them to. By law, a first infringement is not fined if it is corrected spontaneously or within 30 days of a first request.15,4,5

Penalties

Failure to issue an e-invoice: €50 per invoice, up to €15,000 per calendar year (raised from €15 by the 2026 Finance Act). Failure to use an approved platform to receive: formal notice to comply within three months, then €500, then €1,000 for each further three-month period of non-compliance. Missing transaction or payment e-reporting: €500 per transmission, up to €15,000 per year. Approved platforms face €50 per invoice (up to €45,000) and €750 per transmission (up to €100,000). First infringements corrected within 30 days are not fined.3,4,5,16

Archiving period

10 years12,11,24,25,21Ten years under commercial law (accounting records and supporting documents). The tax retention period is six years from the date of the document and becomes ten years from 1 January 2027 for all documents whose retention period expires after that date.

Archiving requirements

Documents received or created electronically must be kept in electronic form for the whole tax retention period (six years, ten years from 1 January 2027); paper originals may be kept on paper or digitised under rules set by ministerial order. The business must ensure authenticity of origin, integrity of content and legibility from issue until the end of the retention period (Article 289 V of the General Tax Code; from 1 January 2027 Article L102 B bis of the Tax Procedures Code). From 1 January 2027 the customer keeps the original invoice and the supplier a copy (Article L. 216-38 CIBS).11,23,24,26,27

Authority

DGFiP – Directorate General of Public Finances

Sources

1. Code général des impôts, article 289 bis (version in force since 21 February 2026; repealed from 1 January 2027 by Ordonnance n° 2025-1247, art. 9)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
2. Loi n° 2023-1322 du 29 décembre 2023 de finances pour 2024, article 91 (JORF, 30 December 2023)Légifrance (DILA) / Journal officielOfficial source, checked 3 October 2026
3. Loi n° 2026-103 du 19 février 2026 de finances pour 2026, article 123Légifrance (DILA) / Journal officielOfficial source, checked 3 October 2026
4. Code général des impôts, article 1737 (fines for invoicing offences, version in force since 21 February 2026)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
5. Code général des impôts, article 1788 D (fines for e-reporting offences, version in force since 21 February 2026)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
6. Code général des impôts, article 290 (transaction data e-reporting)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
7. Code général des impôts, article 290 A (payment data e-reporting)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
8. Code général des impôts, annexe IV, articles 41 septies A to 41 septies P (formats, profiles and invoice data, as amended by the Arrêté du 27 juillet 2026)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
9. Code de la commande publique, articles L2192-1 to L2192-15 (invoicing in public procurement)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
10. Ordonnance n° 2014-697 du 26 juin 2014 relative au développement de la facturation électronique, article 3 (B2G phase-in, version 2014–2019)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
11. Livre des procédures fiscales, article L102 B (retention of documents; six-year version in force until 31 December 2026)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
12. Code de commerce, article L123-22 (retention of accounting records)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
13. Je découvre la facturation électronique (updated 26 May 2026)DGFiP (impots.gouv.fr)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
14. J'approfondis mes connaissances sur la réforme (updated 6 January 2026)DGFiP (impots.gouv.fr)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
15. Facturation électronique : guide pratique de démarrage au 1er septembre 2026 (July 2026)DGFiP (impots.gouv.fr)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
16. Foire aux questions – J'approfondis la facturation électronique (version of 1 September 2026)DGFiP (impots.gouv.fr)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
17. Fréquences et délais de transmission des données de transaction et de paiement (e-reporting) (August 2026)DGFiP (impots.gouv.fr)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
18. Je consulte la liste des plateformes agréées (updated 22 September 2026)DGFiP (impots.gouv.fr)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
19. Spécifications externes et normes pour la facturation électronique (updated 2 July 2026; external specifications v3.2 of 30 April 2026)DGFiP (impots.gouv.fr)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
20. Facturation électronique (news, 28 September 2026)DGFiP (impots.gouv.fr)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
21. eInvoicing in France (country factsheet, last updated 18 April 2024)European CommissionOfficial source, checked 3 October 2026
22. Facturation électronique et plateformes agrééesDGFiP (impots.gouv.fr)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
23. Code général des impôts, article 289 (invoicing rules; V: authenticity of origin, integrity of content and legibility until the end of the retention period; repealed from 1 January 2027 by Ordonnance n° 2025-1247, art. 9 – replaced by article L102 B bis LPF and article L216-38 CIBS)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
24. Livre des procédures fiscales, article L102 B, version in force from 1 January 2027 (LEGIARTI000054566874; ten-year retention; read via WebFetch because Légifrance blocks scripted access)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
25. Loi n° 2026-534 du 25 juin 2026 relative à la lutte contre les fraudes sociales et fiscales, article 36 (six → ten years in article L102 B LPF, for documents whose retention period expires after 1 January 2027; read via WebFetch because Légifrance blocks scripted access)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
26. Livre des procédures fiscales, article L102 B bis (authenticity of origin, integrity and legibility of invoices until the end of the retention period; created by Ordonnance n° 2026-671, art. 2; in force from 1 January 2027; read via WebFetch because Légifrance blocks scripted access)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
27. Code des impositions sur les biens et services, article L216-38 (customer keeps the original invoice, supplier a copy, under articles L102 B, L102 B bis and L102 C LPF; in force from 1 January 2027; read via WebFetch because Légifrance blocks scripted access)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
28. Code des impositions sur les biens et services, article L215-39 (obligations of intermediaries issuing, transmitting and receiving invoices and e-reporting data; created by Ordonnance n° 2026-671; in force from 1 January 2027; read via WebFetch because Légifrance blocks scripted access)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026
29. Code des impositions sur les biens et services, article L216-36 (invoice formats set by decree; created by Ordonnance n° 2026-671; in force from 1 January 2027; read via WebFetch because Légifrance blocks scripted access)Légifrance (DILA)Official source, checked 3 October 2026

What changed

• 3 October 2026Source note: the six-year version of Article L102 B of the Tax Procedures Code applies until 31 December 2026; the ten-year version is listed separately.
• 3 October 2026Source note: Article 289 bis of the General Tax Code (e-invoicing obligation) is repealed from 1 January 2027 when the VAT rules move to the CIBS; it remains the legal basis until then.
• 3 October 2026Source note: Article 289 of the General Tax Code (invoice integrity rule) is repealed from 1 January 2027; its archiving rules continue in Article L102 B bis of the Tax Procedures Code and Article L. 216-38 CIBS.
• 3 October 2026New milestone: from 1 January 2027 French businesses must keep books, records and invoices for ten years instead of six for tax purposes.
• 3 October 2026Corrected the article numbers that take over the General Tax Code e-invoicing rules from 1 January 2027 (CIBS numbering as re-enacted by Ordinance No. 2026-671 of 27 July 2026); no change in substance.
• 3 October 2026Archiving requirements updated for the ten-year retention period from 1 January 2027 and for the new legal basis of the invoice integrity rule (Article L102 B bis of the Tax Procedures Code replaces Article 289 V of the General Tax Code from that date).
• 3 October 2026France extends the tax retention period for books, records and invoices from six to ten years from 1 January 2027, for all documents whose retention period expires after that date (Law No. 2026-534 of 25 June 2026, Article 36).
• 3 October 2026Legal basis added for the rule that invoices must stay authentic, intact and legible until the end of the retention period (Article 289 V of the General Tax Code); no change in substance.