Guide to e-invoicing and e-reporting in France: How to prepare your software
As France falls into line with other countries across Europe and around the world by making e-invoicing mandatory, software companies need to know how to achieve compliance for their clients. But while France is pursuing similar goals to its EU neighbours, this is a far as things go when it comes to “falling in line”.
The whole set up for e-invoicing in France is very different to countries such as Belgium and Germany. While standards such as the EN 16931 format and use of Peppol within the model are recognisable elements, France has unique requirements for routing, governance and reporting requirements.
In this article, we take you through various elements that come into play for achieving e-invoicing compliance in France.
France e-invoicing timeline and compliance deadlines
E-invoicing has already been mandatory for all B2G transactions involving the French public sector since 1 January 2020.
From 1 September 2026
All French businesses which are subject to VAT must be able to receive e-invoices.
Large and mid-sized businesses must issue e-invoices for domestic B2B transactions. To fall into this cohort, a business simply needs to meet any one of the following conditions:
- Number of employees 250 or more
- Annual turnover €1.5bn or more
- Balance sheet €2bn or more
From 1 September 2027
All French businesses which are subject to VAT must issue e-invoices for domestic B2B transactions.
In addition to the invoice data itself, this e-invoicing mandate includes life-cycle status (e.g. of mandatory statuses: Submitted, Rejected, Refused, Payment received ). Life-cycle status is communicated using CDAR messages.
E-reporting requirements for French businesses
Unlike most other EU countries, France’s e-invoicing mandate encompasses an additional requirement for e-reporting, through which invoice data is reported to the Tax Administration (DGFiP). Notably, France’s e-reporting requirement brings B2C and international transactions into the loop.
However, businesses who are only performing domestic B2B transactions don’t need to do anything extra because e-reporting is already embedded within France’s e-invoicing system.
For cross-border B2B transactions and domestic B2C transactions, action needs to be taken. Although these are outside the scope of France’s e-invoicing mandate, they are within scope for e-reporting for every French business that’s subject to VAT.
E-reporting content
The reported content depends on the transaction type:
- International B2B:mandatory invoice data fields, similar to e‑invoicing under EU ViDA DRR.
- Domestic B2C:daily aggregated turnover per category (Goods, Services, Margin scheme, international sales) + VAT + collections (payments)
Reporting frequency
The frequency of e-reporting is determined by which VAT regime a business is following:
- Normal monthly regime: every 10 days
- Normal quarterly regime: monthly (within 10 days)
- Simplified regime: monthly (25th–30th of next month)
- VAT franchise: every 2 months (25th–30th)
How e-invoicing and e-reporting is routed in France
One of the most noticeable ways e-invoicing is different in France is how data is routed using a 5-corner, “Y-shape hybrid-model”.
While many other countries’ systems are based on businesses connecting directly with each other via Peppol or other approved e-delivery networks, France requires each business to connect directly with a government certified platform (of which there are many to choose from).
Terminology
These France-specific platforms were previously referred to as PDPs, which stands for Plateforme de Dématérialisation Partenaire. However, they are now known as PAs, which stands for Plateforme Agréée. In English, the term becomes AP (Accredited Platform), which is not to be confused with the use of AP when referring to an Access Point! For the purpose of avoiding such confusion, we will use the term PA throughout the remainder of this article.
Decentralised network with central governance
France’s PAs are set up as a decentralised network. Businesses choose a PA to connect with, and the various PAs communicate with each other and with central state-managed services via Peppol.
The state-managed services in this loop are
- The national portal for data concentration, known in France as the PPF (Portail Public de Facturation).
- The Annuaire, which is a directory of taxpayer e‑invoicing addresses
- The French tax authority, which receives the information from the PPF and the Annuaire.
Peppol, therefore, used for transmission between businesses and PAs. However, because Peppol is still part of the mix and plays a crucial role in ensuring interoperability and portability, this influences the requirements for document formatting and determines use of standard e-invoicing addresses.
Legal formats for e-invoicing in France
France’s e-invoicing mandate allows the following formats:
- UBL 2.1 (Structured digital format that meets both French and EU standards.)
- UN/CEFACT CII (Structured digital format that meets both French and EU standards.)
- Factur‑X (This is France’s most-used format – a hybrid method which combines a standard PDF with a structured CII)
They must comply with two profiles:
- EN16931 French CIUS
- EXTENDED-CTC-FR
How does e-invoicing and e-reporting integration work in France?
E-invoicing
Businesses who are required to send and receive e-invoices under the French mandate do so by connecting with a PA of their choice via that platform’s API. Their e-reporting obligation is embedded within the e-invoicing process.
E-reporting only
French businesses who are only required to submit e-reporting can do this via two options.
- Utilise a PA
Integration is achieved via the PA’s own API - Connect directly to the state portal – the Portail Public de Facturation (PPF). This second option is more complex as it requires creating a PISTE application, obtaining OAuth2 credentials, and then calling the PPF’s published API endpoints.
Handle France’s e‑invoicing mandate, without extra complexity
France requires e‑invoicing and regulatory data to be exchanged through an officially approved platform. Flowin handles this compliance layer for you, so you can keep one clean integration in your software by integrating with iOpole, an approved platform partner.
What this means for you:
- Full compliance with French regulatory requirements
- Regulatory exchanges handled via a certified platform
- Transparent, automated handling of regulatory data flows
- No additional complexity or custom work for integrators
Book a call with us to discuss your integration options.