France is introducing one of the most demanding e-invoicing mandates in the EU. From 2026 onward, nearly all businesses will need to send structured e-invoices and report transactions in real time.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know: who must comply and when, how the system works, which formats are accepted, and how to make sure your business, or your software, stays ahead of the curve.

France Einvoicing Deadlines: Who Must Comply?

France’s E-Invoicing Framework

What Needs to Be Reported?

What Data in Which Formats Must Be Transmitted?

Penalties for E-invoicing Non-Compliance

How To Prepare Your Platform or Clients For French E-invoicing Mandate

How Space Invoices Helps You Stay Compliant

 

 

Key Deadlines: Who Must Comply and When?

France was going to start e-invoicing rules in July 2024. But in October 2023, they delayed it. The new plan came in the Finance Law 2024.

Here’s the new timeline (as of January 2025):

1 September 2026: All businesses must be able to receive e-invoices.

1 September 2027: Large and medium companies must send e-invoices and do e-reporting.

1 September 2028: Small and micro companies must also start e-invoicing and e-reporting.

 

France uses EU rules to decide company size:

Large = 250+ workers

Medium = under 250 workers and over €43M in sales

Small = under 50 workers and under €10M in sales

Micro = under 10 workers and under €2M in sales

 

 

France’s E-Invoicing Framework

France will use a Y-shaped system for e-invoicing. It works like this:

E-invoicing means sending and getting invoices in a digital format, not PDFs, through special platforms.

E-reporting means sharing data about international sales, sales to customers (B2C), and cross-border deals with the French tax office.

To send e-invoices, companies must use either the PPF (Public Billing Portal), which is the official government tool (also called Chorus Pro), or a PDP (Partner Platform), which is a private, certified platform connected to the government system, like Space Invoices.

 

 

What Needs to Be Reported?

France’s new invoicing rules have three types of reports that companies must send. Which one you need depends on:

Who you’re invoicing

Where your customer is

What kind of sale it is.

Here’s a quick guide:

What You Must Do	When It Applies
E-invoicing	When sending invoices to other businesses ,in France , (B2B)
E-reporting	For ,sales to customers (B2C) ,, ,international B2B ,, or French B2B that’s ,not taxed in France
Status reporting	For ,all e-invoices ,, you must report what’s happening — like sent, received, rejected, or paid
B2G e-invoicing	Already required since 2020 when invoicing the ,public sector , (B2G = Business to Government)

 

 

What Data in Which Formats Must Be Transmitted?

Every invoice or report sent to the French tax office must include specific data in a set format. This helps the system check, match, and process everything automatically.

Here’s what that data usually includes:

Who sent and got the invoice (company ID numbers, dates, and payment terms)

Money info (total cost, VAT rates, VAT amounts, and any tax exemptions)

Type of sale (B2B in France, international sale, credit note, etc.)

What was sold (products or services, unit prices, amounts, VAT line by line)

Where and when it was delivered

Payment status (paid, unpaid, late, partly paid)

Invoice status (sent, received, rejected, confirmed, canceled)

All this must follow a special EU standard called EN 16931.

The files must be in a format computers can read, like Factur-X, UBL 2.1, or CII, written in XML.

 

 

Penalties for E-invoicing Non-Compliance

If a company doesn’t follow the e-invoicing rules, they can get fined.

Here’s what that looks like:

€15 fine for each bad invoice, up to €15,000 per year

€250 fine for each missing report, also up to €15,000 per year

If you send the wrong info or use the wrong format (like a PDF), it won’t count and will be seen as breaking the rules.

 

 

How To Prepare Your Platform or Clients For French E-invoicing Mandate

If you’re a software company, SaaS platform, or fintech working in France or with French clients, here’s what you need to do:

Make sure your invoices use the right format (like UBL or Factur-X)

Connect to a certified platform (PDP) or work with Chorus Pro

Track and share invoice status updates in real time

Keep all documents safe for at least 6 years, as France requires

Have a backup plan if an invoice gets rejected or needs changes

Set up custom rules and templates for each client to stay compliant

 

 

How Space Invoices Helps You Stay Compliant

Space Invoices is compliant in 70+ countries, including France. We act as your certified Peppol Access Point and support the entire e-invoicing and e-reporting process in France.

With our API, your platform can:

Support and upsell your clients globally,

Become the one-stop shop for current and future clients,

Utilize a single API for current and future worldwide compliance;

Streamline processes to save time and reduce costs, while also minimizing manual errors,

Ensure that all documents are properly archived and reported to relevant authorities,

Achieve rapid integration, typically completed in less than a week.

 

For more information, consider connecting with us and speak to one of our experts.

We are here to assist.

 

 

The information in this guide is strictly informative, as regulations and timelines change frequently. While we make every effort to monitor updates and maintain the accuracy of our content, we recommend consulting with a tax professional or e-invoicing specialist for the most reliable and personalized advice. This guide was last updated on June 10, 2025.

Additional reading:

• 2030 Intra Community E-invoicing Mandatory EU ViDA
• 3 Best White-Label Invoicing APIs for B2B SaaS, Fintech, and Neobank Platforms
• Can I issue an invoice without GST New Zealand