French e-invoicing requirements: what businesses must do
France's reform brings mandatory structured e-invoicing and e-reporting, routed through accredited platforms. Here's the full requirements checklist — formats, identifiers, platform, timeline.
French e-invoicing requirements: what businesses must do
France's réforme de la facturation électronique turns invoicing into structured data routed through accredited platforms, plus e-reporting of data that isn't e-invoiced. Here's what a French business must have in place.
1. Structured format (not a PDF)
Domestic B2B invoices must be structured in one of the accepted EN 16931 formats:
- Factur-X — a hybrid PDF/A-3 with embedded XML. See
- UBL (France CIUS/Extended) or UN/CEFACT CII. See
A flat PDF emailed to the client no longer satisfies the obligation.
2. Routing through an accredited platform (PA/PDP)
Regulated domestic B2B invoices flow platform-to-platform through a Plateforme Agréée (accredited platform, formerly "PDP"). You can't just email the buyer. See Plateforme agréée explained.
3. French identifiers
- Sellers are identified by their 9-digit SIREN under Peppol scheme
0225. - The invoice must carry the SIREN (scheme
0002inside the document); a SIRET
or a missing scheme causes rejection.
- Establishment-level routing uses the SIRET where needed.
4. Mandatory French content
Beyond EN 16931, French invoices carry extra mentions:
□ Billing mode (AFNOR XP Z12-012: goods / services / mixed)
□ Recovery-costs statement (indemnité forfaitaire de 40 €)
□ Late-payment penalties statement
□ Early-payment discount statement
□ Franchise en base note where VAT is not charged
□ Currency: EUR5. E-reporting
Transactions outside the domestic B2B perimeter — B2C sales and international B2B/B2C — aren't e-invoiced but their data must be reported (e-reporting). See France e-reporting explained.
6. Lifecycle statuses
Inside the perimeter, receivers report invoice lifecycle statuses back (received, approved, refused, payment collected…). Your platform handles the transport; you act on the statuses.
7. The timeline
The obligations phase in by company size: receiving first (all companies), then issuing + e-reporting for large/mid-size, then smaller businesses. Dates have shifted before — confirm your phase with your accountant.
The checklist
□ Structured format (Factur-X / UBL / CII, France CIUS)
□ Connected to an accredited platform (PA/PDP)
□ SIREN under scheme 0225 / 0002
□ Mandatory French statements + billing mode
□ EUR
□ E-reporting for B2C / international
□ Handle inbound + lifecycle statusesWhere Eurobillr fits
Eurobillr issues French Factur-X / CIUS invoices with the mandatory countrySpecific statements, routes them through an accredited platform on the Peppol network (SIREN scheme 0225), handles e-reporting and lifecycle statuses, and keeps Chorus Pro for public-sector clients — one tool for the whole reform. See France e-invoicing for SMEs or, for solos, France e-invoicing for freelancers.