Peppol Country Guide · France
Mandatory B2B E-Invoicing AND E-Reporting from 1 September 2026
France is the most complex and most urgent e-invoicing mandate in Europe right now. The pilot is live, Approved Platforms are registered, and the September deadline is five months away. If you serve French businesses, the time to act is now.
Overview
France's Two-Part E-Invoicing Obligation
France's B2B e-invoicing reform is established under the Finance Law 2024 and implemented by the DGFiP (Direction Générale des Finances Publiques). It introduces two distinct obligations for all VAT-registered French businesses:
E-invoicing: Structured electronic invoices must be issued and received for all domestic B2B transactions via a registered Approved Platform (Plateforme Agréée, or PA). PDFs sent by email are no longer valid.
E-reporting: Businesses must also report transaction data to the DGFiP for B2C sales, international transactions, and certain other flows where e-invoicing does not apply. This is a separate data stream, not just a copy of the invoice.
Key distinction from Peppol markets: France does not use a pure decentralised Peppol model like Belgium or Slovakia. Invoices flow through registered Approved Platforms (PAs) which act as intermediaries between businesses and the DGFiP's Chorus Pro system. Peppol connectivity is supported but routes through a PA, not directly to the network.
The DGFiP launched the official pilot on 24 February 2026. Approved Platforms are now formally registered and operating. The mandatory phase starts 1 September 2026 for large companies and ETIs.
The Approved Platform Model
How Invoice Exchange Works in France
France's architecture centres on registered Approved Platforms (Plateformes Agréées). Every business must connect to at least one PA to send and receive e-invoices. The PA routes the invoice to the recipient's PA, and simultaneously transmits reporting data to the DGFiP via a standardised data flow.
The DGFiP's own platform Chorus Pro remains available but is no longer the primary route for B2B exchanges. For software vendors, the integration point is the PA's API, not Chorus Pro directly.
Invoices can be transmitted in three accepted formats: Factur-X (a hybrid PDF with embedded XML), UBL 2.1, and CII. All three are valid and PAs are required to support format conversion between them.
For Arratech customers: Arratech connects to the French PA ecosystem, handling format conversion, routing to the correct PA, and e-reporting data generation — so your platform sends one structured invoice and we handle the French-specific compliance flow.
Implementation Timeline
France E-Invoicing Rollout, 2025 to 2030
Interoperability testing begins between PA platforms
Interoperability testing closes. PA certification finalised
DGFiP official pilot launched. Voluntary testing open
MANDATORY — Large companies and ETIs. Issue and receive e-invoices
Mid-size companies (SMEs) — mandatory phase 2
All VAT-registered businesses — full mandate
EU ViDA cross-border DRR builds on existing infrastructure
E-Reporting: The Second Obligation
What E-Reporting Means for Software Vendors
E-reporting is often overlooked by software vendors focusing on invoice format compliance — but it is a separate, legally distinct obligation that requires its own data pipeline.
What triggers e-reporting: B2C transactions, international B2B transactions, and transactions with non-established businesses. These do not go through the PA invoice flow — instead, a structured data extract is sent directly to the DGFiP.
Reporting frequencies: Monthly or quarterly depending on the VAT filing regime. This means your platform needs to generate and submit periodic reporting files, not just handle real-time invoice exchange.
Data fields required: Transaction amounts, VAT amounts, customer country, payment status (for some types), and invoice references. Your PA handles transmission, but your platform must provide the source data.
Characteristics
E-Invoicing in France at a Glance
Key facts every software vendor and compliance team needs to know before building for the French market.
Large companies and ETIs must issue and receive structured e-invoices via a registered PA. Five months away as of May 2026.
All invoice exchange must flow through a DGFiP-registered Approved Platform. There is no direct Peppol peer-to-peer exchange without a PA intermediary.
Factur-X (hybrid PDF with XML), UBL 2.1, and CII. PAs are required to support format conversion between all three.
France requires both structured invoice exchange AND separate transaction data reporting to the DGFiP. E-reporting covers B2C and international transactions.
DGFiP's own Chorus Pro platform remains as a fallback and central data repository. B2G invoicing already flows through Chorus Pro.
Up to €15 per invoice not issued in the correct format, capped at €15,000 per year. Separate penalties apply for e-reporting failures.
All domestic B2B transactions between VAT-registered French businesses. B2C is excluded from e-invoicing but subject to e-reporting.
September 2026 (large + ETI), September 2027 (SMEs), September 2028 (all businesses). Receive obligations apply from September 2026 regardless of size.
The DGFiP official pilot launched February 24, 2026. PAs are live and accepting test connections. Start testing now to be production-ready before September.
Frequently Asked Questions
France E-Invoicing — Key Questions
Partially, but not fully. France's architecture is different from pure Peppol markets like Belgium or Germany. In France, invoice exchange must route through a registered Approved Platform (PA) — there is no direct peer-to-peer Peppol exchange without a PA intermediary.
Your existing Peppol connectivity and EN 16931 XML generation are still relevant — UBL 2.1 and CII are both accepted formats in France. But you will also need to support Factur-X (a French-specific hybrid format combining PDF and embedded XML), and you will need to connect to a PA that is formally registered by the DGFiP.
The more significant addition is e-reporting: France requires separate data submissions to the DGFiP for B2C and cross-border transactions. This is not part of standard Peppol implementations and requires its own data pipeline from your platform.
Working with Arratech means we connect to the French PA ecosystem on your behalf, handle format conversion and e-reporting data generation, and ensure your existing Peppol integration extends cleanly to the French market.
In earlier versions of the French reform, the intermediary was called a PDP (Partenaire de Dématérialisation). The terminology was updated and the formal registration regime is now called Plateforme Agréée (PA) — Approved Platform.
The substance is the same: a PA is a formally DGFiP-registered intermediary platform authorised to route e-invoices between businesses and report transaction data to the tax authority. Registration requires meeting strict technical and security criteria, including interoperability testing with other PAs.
If you encounter older documentation referring to PDPs, this is the same concept under the new naming convention. All formally registered platforms operating from September 2026 will carry the PA designation.
It depends on the definition of mid-size. France uses the ETI classification (Entreprises de Taille Intermédiaire) for the September 2026 phase, covering companies with 250 to 4,999 employees and revenue above €50 million. Large companies are also in scope from September 2026.
SMEs (fewer than 250 employees, revenue below €50 million) have until September 2027. Micro-enterprises have until September 2028.
However — and this is critical — all businesses, regardless of size, must be able to RECEIVE e-invoices from September 1, 2026. Even if your customers have until 2027 to issue e-invoices, they need to be connected to a PA to receive them from large company suppliers from day one. Build receive capability first.
More than a typical Peppol market extension, because France requires formal DGFiP registration as an Approved Platform — which is a separate accreditation process from Peppol certification. However, your existing infrastructure gives you a significant head start.
The work specific to France includes: PA registration with DGFiP (including interoperability testing), Factur-X format support alongside your existing UBL 2.1 and CII, e-reporting pipeline development, and integration with Chorus Pro as the DGFiP central repository.
The practical question is whether to pursue PA registration yourself or connect via an already-registered PA. For most Access Points, the fastest route is to partner with a PA that is already registered and operational. Arratech operates as a PA-connected Access Point for France — your customers get French mandate compliance through the same Arratech API they already use for Peppol markets.
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