French E-Invoicing in 2026: The Official Numbers, Checked at the Source
Since 1 September 2026, every VAT-registered business in France must be able to receive electronic invoices, and large companies and mid-sized companies (ETI) must also issue them; small and micro businesses must issue them by 1 September 2027 at the latest. As of 10 September 2026, the French tax authority (DGFiP) lists 149 approved platforms that passed interoperability testing, with 16 more pending. Every figure below was read on 13 September 2026 on the official page that publishes it, and is linked.
Key numbers
- 1 September 2026: receiving obligation for all businesses, issuing obligation for large companies and ETIs (DGFiP FAQ, version of 01/09/2026).
- 1 September 2027: issuing obligation for small and micro businesses (same source).
- Over 4 million businesses have designated their receiving address (French Ministry of the Economy, press release no. 980, 01/09/2026).
- 66% of the reform’s core target businesses have already chosen their platform (same release).
- 149 operators on the list meeting every condition, interoperability tests included, and 16 pending (impots.gouv.fr, page updated 10/09/2026; count of the published files).
- €50 fine per invoice not issued electronically, capped at €15,000 a year (French Tax Code, art. 1737).
- €500 per missing e-reporting transmission today, €250 from 1 January 2027 (French Tax Code, art. 1788 D).
- No penalties for any business in 2026, per the ministry’s commitment (release no. 980).
- 26 data fields sent to the tax authority in 2026, 34 from 2027 (DGFiP FAQ).
- Over €4 billion a year in expected savings for businesses (release no. 980).
- €2 to 3 billion a year in public revenue gains from 2028, according to the tax authority (French Senate, report no. 139, 24/11/2025).
- €12.1 billion VAT gap in France in 2023, or 5.6% of theoretical VAT (European Commission, VAT Gap 2025, 11/12/2025).
- 84 million invoices received by Chorus Pro in 2025 (AIFE).
When does e-invoicing become mandatory in France?
Receiving e-invoices has been mandatory for every business since 1 September 2026, whatever its size. Issuing them follows two steps: large companies and ETIs on 1 September 2026, small and micro businesses by 1 September 2027 at the latest (DGFiP FAQ).
The dates are set by article 91 of the 2024 Finance Act (law no. 2023-1322). The same article allows a decree to push them back, but no later than 1 December 2026 for the first step and 1 December 2027 for the second. Without a new law, the timeline cannot slip by a full year again.
How is a company classified as large, ETI, SME or micro?
The category is assessed for each legal entity, as of 1 January 2025, using the criteria of decree no. 2008-1354:
| Category | Headcount | Revenue | or balance sheet total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro business | fewer than 10 people | up to €2M | up to €2M |
| SME | fewer than 250 people | up to €50M | up to €43M |
| Mid-sized (ETI) | fewer than 5,000 people | up to €1,500M | up to €2,000M |
| Large company | any company outside the three categories |
For a group, assessment per legal entity changes everything: each SIREN has its own issuing date. An SME subsidiary of a group headed by an ETI does not necessarily start issuing at the same time as its parent. That is the first of the decisions we cover in what a multi-entity group must have settled for French e-invoicing.
How many businesses are ready?
Over 4 million businesses had designated their receiving address by 1 September 2026, and 66% of the core target businesses had chosen their platform, according to release no. 980 from the Ministry of the Economy.
For scale: on 16 January 2026, the DGFiP counted 500,000 businesses that had declared a receiving address, and stated that receiving applies to nearly 10 million VAT-registered economic actors (release of 16/01/2026). By 1 September, there were over 4 million.
How many approved platforms are there?
As of 10 September 2026, 149 operators are on the DGFiP list of those meeting every condition “including interoperability tests”, and 16 are on the list of those awaiting final registration (impots.gouv.fr).
The page publishes no total. Both numbers come from counting the rows of the two official files, each matched to its heading in the page source. The growth is clear: 101 registered platforms on 16 January 2026, nearly 120 in the minister’s answer to the Senate of 12 February 2026, 149 in September.
Approved platforms (plateformes agréées, formerly “PDP”) now carry invoices from platform to platform, and the choice of one or several platforms is made entity by entity.
Is the public invoicing portal free?
No: there is no free public platform to exchange invoices. On 15 October 2024, the State decided not to build the public invoicing portal (PPF) as an exchange platform, the government confirmed in its answer to the Senate of 12 February 2026.
The State keeps the central directory and the role of data hub for what is sent to the tax authority. Every business must therefore go through a private approved platform, as article 289 bis of the Tax Code states: issuing, sending and receiving e-invoices is done “using an approved platform”.
What are the penalties for non-compliance?
Failing to issue an invoice electronically costs €50 per invoice, up to €15,000 per calendar year (Tax Code, art. 1737, III). The amount was €15 before the 2026 Finance Act.
For receiving, the tax authority first gives formal notice to comply within three months. If nothing changes, the fine is €500, then a further €1,000 fine applies after each additional three-month period of continued non-compliance (same article, IV bis).
Missing e-reporting costs €500 per transmission, capped at €15,000 a year (Tax Code, art. 1788 D). In the version applicable from 1 January 2027, it drops to €250.
These amounts are law, but on 1 September 2026 the ministry announced a start “without any penalty for any business in 2026” (release no. 980). The DGFiP’s practical start-up guide (July 2026) had already said, about its start-up tolerance, that it is “neither a postponement nor a suspension”. The obligation applies; only the penalty waits.
A trap for anyone citing these texts: article 289 bis of the Tax Code, the legal basis of the obligation, is repealed from 1 January 2027 (Légifrance, version as of 02/01/2027). Any reference to it goes stale within four months.
Which formats and invoice mentions become mandatory?
Three formats form the baseline: UN/CEFACT CII, UBL, and a mixed format combining a CII XML file with a PDF/A-3, which the market calls Factur-X (order of 27 July 2026, standard XP Z12-012).
Four mentions are added to invoices (service-public.fr, checked 11/08/2026):
- the customer’s SIREN number, when the customer is a business;
- the delivery address of goods, if different from the customer’s address;
- the nature of the operations invoiced;
- the option to pay VAT on debits, where applicable.
The data sent to the tax authority ramps up: 26 mandatory fields in 2026, 34 from 2027 (DGFiP FAQ). In an ERP, that data has to exist in every company before anything can be sent. We explain what each AFNOR invoice status means when it comes back.
How much is the reform expected to save?
The ministry expects “over €4 billion a year” in gains for businesses over time (release no. 980). The historical figure was €4.5 billion: the impact assessment of the 2022 amending finance bill presented it as a minimum, based on 1.5 million SMEs still on paper.
The same assessment puts a unit cost on it: an incoming paper invoice costs €14 to €20 to process, an electronic one €1 to €2.
For the State, the tax authority estimates public revenue gains “around €2 to 3 billion a year from 2028”, for a cost of €267.7 million between March 2021 and the end of 2028 (Senate, report no. 139).
The fiscal stake shows in the VAT gap: €12.1 billion in France in 2023, or 5.6% of theoretical VAT, against 9.5% for the EU as a whole (European Commission, VAT Gap 2025 report).
What does Chorus Pro, already live for the public sector, show?
E-invoicing to public bodies has been mandatory for years, and its volume gives a sense of scale: over 84 million invoices received by Chorus Pro in 2025, issued by nearly one million businesses, for 131,000 active public bodies (AIFE).
Why are payment delays part of the story?
The ministry presents the reform as a way to improve invoice traceability and the monitoring of payment delays (release no. 980). The stake is measured: in 2024 the average payment delay reached 13.6 days in the fourth quarter, and without those delays SMEs would have had €15 billion more cash (French Payment Delays Observatory, 2024 annual report).
What about the EU level?
The ViDA package (“VAT in the Digital Age”) was adopted on 11 March 2025. From 1 July 2030, digital reporting requirements apply to cross-border B2B transactions, and by 1 January 2035 existing national systems must align with the EU model (European Commission).
Which circulating figures do not hold up?
“2 billion B2B invoices a year”: we found this figure on no official page. The only volume published by the administration is 3 billion invoices a year, in the DGFiP report “La TVA à l’ère du digital en France” from October 2020.
“€4.5 billion in savings”: the figure is real, but it dates from 2022 and targeted SMEs still on paper. The launch release of 1 September 2026 says “over €4 billion”.
“About a hundred platforms”: that is still what the DGFiP platform fact sheet dated September 2025 says, and it is still online. The current list has 149, plus 16 pending.
4 million out of 10 million: it is tempting to conclude that 40% of businesses are ready. The two releases do not count the same thing: businesses that designated a receiving address on one side, “economic actors subject to VAT” on the other. Neither publishes a rate, and we do not compute one.
The Asio Services approach
National numbers tell you where the country stands, not where your ERP stands. What blocks in practice is the data of each company in Business Central: customer SIRENs, nature of operations, receiving workflow, platform choice per entity. Our FacturaLink connector links Business Central to several approved platforms, and our free audit shows your exposure in a few minutes. For a full review of your entities, describe your situation.
FAQ
Is e-invoicing mandatory for a micro business in 2026?
Yes for receiving, since 1 September 2026. No for issuing, which becomes mandatory by 1 September 2027 at the latest for small and micro businesses.
How many approved platforms are there in September 2026?
The DGFiP list updated on 10 September 2026 has 149 operators meeting every condition, interoperability tests included, and 16 awaiting final registration. The DGFiP publishes no total: these are the rows of its two files.
Will there be penalties in 2026?
On 1 September 2026 the ministry announced that no business would be penalized in 2026. The fines remain in the law: €50 per non-electronic invoice, capped at €15,000 a year.
Can invoices be exchanged for free through the public portal?
No. On 15 October 2024 the State dropped plans for a public exchange platform. It keeps the central directory and the data hub, but invoices go through a private approved platform.
Which new mentions must appear on invoices?
The customer’s SIREN, the delivery address if different, the nature of the operations and, where applicable, the option to pay VAT on debits.