From 1 September 2026 every VAT-registered business in France must receive e-invoices through an approved platform, and large companies and ETIs must issue and e-report. What changes, and what to check now.
France's e-invoicing reform starts on 1 September 2026. After two postponements the date is confirmed, the DGFiP has published its register of approved platforms, and there is no further transition period on the receiving side.
The detail most companies still get wrong: the receiving obligation is not staged by company size. It applies to everyone from day one.
Every business subject to French VAT must be able to receive electronic invoices. No turnover threshold, no exemption for small companies, no phase-in.
Grande entreprise and entreprise de taille intermédiaire categories must issue structured e-invoices and transmit e-reporting data from 1 September 2026.
PME, TPE and independent professionals get one more year. The issuing obligation extends to them on 1 September 2027.
The terminology moved. What was a Plateforme de Dématérialisation Partenaire (PDP) is now a plateforme agréée (PA) — an approved platform registered by the DGFiP for a renewable three-year term.
This matters more than it sounds, because the DGFiP draws a hard line between two categories:
May transmit invoices to your customers' platforms, receive invoices on your behalf, and transmit invoice, transaction and payment data to the administration.
May not transmit, receive or report on your behalf. It can be part of your setup, but without registration it cannot perform the regulated functions.
If your provider describes itself as "compatible", that is not a substitute for a PA. Ask which one applies. Also check which DGFiP list your provider appears on — operators that have passed live interoperability tests are cleared to operate on 1 September, while others are still pending.
France runs a five-corner model. Your platform sends the invoice to the buyer's platform, and in parallel forwards the mandated data extract to the Portail Public de Facturation (PPF), which now acts as the state's data concentrator and directory rather than as a free invoicing portal.
Routing is resolved through the Annuaire, the national directory of invoicing endpoints. France has also opened a route to join via the Peppol network.
The accepted structured formats are Factur-X, UBL and UN/CEFACT CII. Factur-X is the hybrid PDF/A-3 plus XML format, which makes it the easiest migration path for companies coming from PDF-by-email.
The PPF receives the mandated data extract and acts as the state's directory and concentrator, not as a free portal for every invoice.
Three situations catch companies out:
Then you are in scope of the receiving obligation from 1 September 2026, regardless of where your head office is.
These flows are outside e-invoicing but inside e-reporting — the data still has to reach the administration, via your counterparty's obligations or your own, depending on the setup.
The syntax overlaps, the profile does not. A German XRechnung is not a compliant French invoice; the French flow needs the French data extract, French routing and a registered platform.
Confirm whether your provider is a registered plateforme agréée, and which of the two DGFiP lists it is on.
That is the obligation that hits everyone on 1 September.
Establish which of your entities fall into the grande entreprise / ETI categories, and therefore also have an issuing and e-reporting obligation from day one.
Make sure SIREN/SIRET, VAT numbers and routing identifiers are complete and correct in the directory.
Run at least one end-to-end test invoice before the date, not after.
As a certified Peppol access point we connect your ERP once and handle the country-specific requirements behind it — format conversion to Factur-X, UBL or CII, validation before transmission, and routing into the French flow alongside your existing European traffic.
If your French entity is not ready to receive on 1 September, that is the gap to close first. Invoice Portal can help you receive, issue and report through a single connection.
Start your 14-day free trial and ensure compliance from day one.
Start free trialThe receiving obligation applies to every VAT-registered business from 1 September 2026, regardless of size. Small and micro businesses have until 1 September 2027 before they must issue e-invoices.
A plateforme agréée is registered with the DGFiP and may transmit invoices, receive invoices on your behalf and report data to the administration. A solution compatible cannot perform these regulated functions.
France accepts structured formats including Factur-X, UBL and UN/CEFACT CII. Factur-X is the hybrid PDF/A-3 plus XML format and is often the easiest migration path.
Cross-border B2B invoices are outside the e-invoicing obligation but inside e-reporting. The transaction and payment data still has to reach the administration, usually via your counterparty's obligations or your own setup.
