French e-invoicing 2026-2027: PDP, e-reporting and mandate guide#
French e-invoicing is not a PDF reform. From 2026-2027, French VAT-taxable businesses must receive, issue and transmit invoice and transaction data through structured channels. The former PDP vocabulary is still widely used, while official communication increasingly refers to approved platforms. Dematerialisation operators, or OD, do not necessarily have the same legal role.
This guide is for SMEs, startups, e-commerce businesses, restaurants, construction companies and foreign founders operating in France. It supports our e-invoicing service and finance digital transformation service.
Executive summary#
All businesses must be able to receive e-invoices from 1 September 2026. Large and mid-sized companies must issue e-invoices from 1 September 2026. SMEs and micro-businesses must issue from 1 September 2027.
What changes in practice#
A compliant e-invoice is not a simple PDF by email. It must use an accepted electronic structure, include mandatory data fields and be transmitted through the required circuit. This affects sales, purchases, accounting, VAT and internal approval workflows.
Timetable#
| Date | Obligation |
|---|---|
| 1 September 2026 | All businesses must be able to receive e-invoices |
| 1 September 2026 | Large and mid-sized companies start issuing |
| 1 September 2027 | SMEs and micro-businesses start issuing |
Approved platform, PDP and OD#
An approved platform is registered by the French tax authorities and performs the regulatory functions: issuing, transmitting, receiving, extracting and sending required data. An OD may prepare, convert or interface data, but it does not necessarily replace an approved platform. Ask every provider: are you an approved platform or connected to one, which flows do you cover, and how does the accountant access data?
E-reporting#
E-reporting covers certain transaction and payment data outside the domestic B2B e-invoicing flow. B2C sales, international operations and some payment data may be relevant depending on the business.
The underestimated risk#
The underestimated risk is not only choosing a platform too late. It is believing that the reform is limited to issuing customer invoices. Supplier invoice reception, lifecycle statuses, rejections, directories, mandatory data, mandates and e-reporting change the finance operating model.
Data quality is the second risk. A compliant tool will not repair a customer or supplier database full of duplicates. The reform will expose weaknesses that were previously absorbed manually.
Official sources#
- impots.gouv.fr: e-invoicing transition.
- impots.gouv.fr: approved platforms.
- impots.gouv.fr: official platform list.
- economie.gouv.fr: e-invoicing timetable and scope.
Article written by Samuel HAYOT
Chartered Accountant, registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Regulated French accounting and audit firm based in Paris 8, built to support companies across France with a digital and decision-oriented approach.
Sources
Official and operational sources cited for this page.
A guide written by a regulated French firm
The educational content is meant to qualify the issue, answer the first practical need and then point toward the right accounting, tax or structuring service.
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Samuel Hayot is a French chartered accountant and statutory auditor registered with the Paris professional bodies.
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