Compliance dates · 1 September 2026 · EU (France)
Every business established in France must be able to receive e-invoices from 1 September 2026
From 1 September 2026 every business established in France must be able to receive structured electronic invoices. The receiving duty carries no size threshold, so it reaches the smallest French-established firm on the same day as the largest.
Issuing splits by size. Large and mid-sized enterprises must issue e-invoices and file e-reporting from the same date, while SMEs and micro-enterprises issue from September 2027. The split matters for planning. The receiving half is a 2026 job for every French-established business, and the issuing half is a 2026 job for some and a 2027 job for the rest.
French-established businesses, split by size
All French-established businesses regardless of size on receipt; large and ETI on issuing. SMEs and micro-enterprises issue from September 2027, so a small French firm meets the receiving half now and the issuing half a year later.
Getting ready to receive and to issue
- Confirm whether your business is established in France, which is what triggers the receiving duty.
- Put a route in place that can take in structured electronic invoices from 1 September 2026.
- Work out whether you sit in the large or ETI band, which brings issuing and e-reporting forward to the same date.
- If you are an SME or micro-enterprise, diarise September 2027 for the issuing duty.
- Keep the September 2027 issuing date in the same plan as the 2026 receiving date.
No single instrument in the register covers French e-invoicing
The French mandate sits outside the register's 87 instruments. Your route in is the assessment, which maps every instrument that does apply to your business.
The free assessment tells you which of the 87 instruments apply to you. Start the free assessment.
Verified 19 August 2026.