Two dates to remember
The French reform comes in two stages, and they do not cover the same thing. The first date has passed: since 1 September 2026, all businesses subject to VAT in France must be able to receive electronic invoices, whatever their size. The second is coming: by 1 September 2027 at the latest, small and medium-sized businesses (PME), very small businesses (TPE) and micro-businesses must issue their invoices electronically.
Large companies and intermediate-sized companies (ETI, the French category between SMEs and large groups) have been issuing electronic invoices since 1 September 2026. That is why energy, telecoms and equipment suppliers have started sending e-invoices: they are required to.
| Date | What becomes mandatory | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| 1 September 2026 | Receiving e-invoices through an approved platform | All businesses subject to VAT, including micro-businesses |
| 1 September 2026 | Issuing e-invoices and e-reporting | Large companies and ETI |
| 1 September 2027 at the latest | Issuing e-invoices and e-reporting | SMEs, TPE and micro-businesses |
Size is assessed per SIREN number (the 9-digit French company identifier), as at 1 January 2025, on the basis of the last financial year closed before that date. Under the reform, a micro-business has fewer than 10 staff and turnover or a balance-sheet total of no more than €2 million. Tax status does not change anything: a micro-entrepreneur (French sole-trader scheme) under the *franchise en base* (the VAT exemption threshold scheme) is still a VAT taxable person, so the reform applies.
Receiving: already mandatory
Receiving an e-invoice does not mean opening a PDF in your inbox. It means having chosen a plateforme agréée (PA), an approved platform registered by the French tax authority (DGFiP), which receives your suppliers' invoices for you. The platform lists you in the national directory, which tells your supplier's platform where to send its invoices.
You have nothing to file with the authorities. You sign with the platform and it handles the registration. You can use several platforms and switch at any time. To choose one, read how to choose an approved platform in France.
Example. A self-employed hairdresser receives monthly invoices from her electricity supplier, her broadband provider and her product wholesaler. If they are large companies or ETI, they must already send them through their approved platform. Without a receiving platform of her own, she risks a €500 fine after a formal notice left unanswered for three months, then €1,000 for each further three-month period.
Issuing: what changes on 1 September 2027
From your deadline, every invoice to a business customer established in France (and subject to VAT) must go through an approved platform in a structured format: Factur-X, UBL or CII. A PDF made in a word processor and emailed will no longer be enough for these customers. For a small business, Factur-X is often the simplest: a readable PDF that carries the invoice data. See Factur-X explained.
The underlying invoicing rules do not change: you still invoice when the sale or service is completed, with a unique number and the usual details. Four new details are added: the customer's SIREN, the category of transaction (goods, services or both), the option to pay VAT on invoicing (*TVA sur les débits*) if you chose it, and the delivery address if different. Details in mandatory invoice details in France.
Until 1 September 2027 you can keep invoicing as you do today. According to the DGFiP practical guide, a customer cannot force e-invoicing on you under the reform before that date, nor refuse to pay an invoice solely because it is not electronic. You may also start earlier on a voluntary basis, and temporarily go back to your usual method if electronic issuing fails.
E-reporting: what does not go through an e-invoice
Not all sales are covered by e-invoicing. For the others, the reform requires a data transmission to the tax authority, called e-reporting. It also goes through your approved platform and follows the same timeline as issuing: 1 September 2027 at the latest for a small business.
- Sales to consumers: the total amount of your sales per day over the period. You still give the customer an invoice or receipt as you wish.
- Sales and purchases with foreign businesses: certain data, invoice by invoice.
- Payments received for services: date and amount received, where VAT is due on receipt of payment. Nothing to send if you opted to pay VAT on invoicing.
The rhythm depends on your VAT regime. Under the *franchise en base*, data is sent every two months. Under the standard monthly regime (*réel normal mensuel*), transaction data goes three times a month and payment data once a month.
Foreign businesses selling in France
According to the DGFiP FAQ, businesses not established in France for VAT purposes are not covered by e-invoicing. They may, however, have to e-report transactions deemed to take place in France for which they are liable for French VAT, for example certain sales to French consumers when they do not use the EU One-Stop Shop (OSS or IOSS). For these businesses, size is assessed on the foreign legal entity as a whole.
A company headquartered abroad but with a VAT fixed establishment in France is treated like a business established in France: it has the same e-invoicing obligations.
Example: a joiner with three kinds of customers
Take a joiner with three employees. Each month he invoices around 20 jobs for private individuals, 8 for French companies and 1 for a Belgian customer.
- The 8 invoices to French companies must be issued electronically through an approved platform from 1 September 2027.
- The 20 jobs for individuals need no e-invoice, but his daily sales totals will be e-reported, and so will his payments received, since part of the work is services.
- The Belgian customer's invoice can take any form; its data goes into e-reporting.
If he kept emailing his 8 business invoices as PDFs after the deadline, the fine would be €50 per invoice, or €400 a month, capped at €15,000 per calendar year. A first offence is not penalised if it is corrected spontaneously or within 30 days of the authority's first request. For e-reporting, Service-public states a fine of €500 per missing transmission, with the same €15,000 annual cap.
During the start-up phase, the DGFiP has said it will not penalise businesses that run into difficulties but are on a serious path to compliance. This is not a postponement: keep dated evidence of your steps (platform chosen, tests, exchanges with your software provider).
What to do now
- Choose a receiving approved platform if you have not already: it has been mandatory since 1 September 2026. Check it appears on the official list.
- Ask your software provider whether it is an approved platform or a "compatible solution", and which platform it is connected to.
- Complete your customer records: the SIREN of every business customer, and the delivery address when it differs.
- Sort your sales: business customers in France, consumers, foreign customers, public bodies. Each follows a different route.
- Test issuing with a few willing customers well before September 2027, and keep a record of your steps.
The e-invoicing guide covers these steps one by one. And if you are wondering what you can still do with PDFs in the meantime, read are PDF invoices still allowed in France?.
Frequently asked questions
My micro-business is VAT-exempt under the franchise en base: am I affected?
Yes. A business under the franchise en base charges no VAT but remains a taxable person. It has had to receive e-invoices since 1 September 2026 and must issue them by 1 September 2027. Its e-reporting is every two months.
I only sell to private individuals: do I need to do anything?
You will not issue e-invoices to them, but you must already be able to receive your suppliers' invoices through an approved platform. From 1 September 2027 you will also e-report your daily sales totals and payments received for services.
Can I start issuing e-invoices before 2027?
Yes. A small business can join voluntarily before its deadline, customer by customer, and temporarily return to its usual method if electronic issuing fails. Starting early does not oblige it to start e-reporting earlier.
I am a foreign company without a French establishment: does e-invoicing apply?
According to the DGFiP FAQ, no: businesses not established in France are outside e-invoicing. They may still have to e-report transactions located in France for which they owe French VAT.
How much does an approved platform cost?
Prices are not regulated. According to the DGFiP, more than a hundred platforms have been approved and some offer low-cost or even free services that meet the obligations. The price depends on the features you choose.
Sources
- impots.gouv.fr — "Je découvre la facturation électronique" (Discovering e-invoicing, modified 26/05/2026) (impots.gouv.fr)
- DGFiP — FAQ "Je découvre la facturation électronique" (version 01/09/2026) (impots.gouv.fr)
- DGFiP — FAQ "J'approfondis la facturation électronique" (in-depth FAQ, version 01/09/2026) (impots.gouv.fr)
- DGFiP — Practical start-up guide to e-invoicing at 1 September 2026 (impots.gouv.fr)
- DGFiP — Fiche 9: what equipment does my business need, and what will it cost? (October 2026) (impots.gouv.fr)
- impots.gouv.fr — List of approved platforms (impots.gouv.fr)
- Entreprendre.Service-Public.fr — E-invoicing: penalties are changing (20/02/2026) (entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr)
This article summarises the official texts to help you get organised. It is not a substitute for personalised advice from your accountant.