The 2026 French e-invoicing reform, explained
From 2026, France makes electronic invoicing mandatory for domestic business-to-business transactions, and e-reporting mandatory for business-to-consumer and cross-border sales. If you sell online to French customers, it affects you.
Two obligations
- E-invoicing — for domestic B2B sales, the invoice must be a structured electronic document, transmitted to your buyer through an approved platform (not a PDF by email).
- E-reporting — for B2C sales and cross-border transactions, you must report the transaction and payment data to the tax authority. Most Shopify orders are B2C, so this is the common case for e-merchants.
The moving parts
- Structured format — France's target is Factur-X, a hybrid PDF that embeds a machine-readable XML (what is Factur-X?).
- Plateforme agréée (PA) — since the public portal no longer exchanges invoices, every invoice and report transits through a government-approved platform (the plateforme agréée, formerly PDP).
- Central directory (annuaire) — buyers are routed by their SIREN/SIRET so the invoice reaches the right recipient platform.
- Lifecycle statuses — issued invoices carry statuses (deposited, rejected, cashed…) that flow back to the seller.
The calendar
- 1 September 2026 — every business must be able to receive e-invoices; large and mid-size firms must issue them.
- 1 September 2027 — SMEs and micro-enterprises must issue e-invoices.
Dates have shifted before — confirm against impots.gouv.fr.
How FACTECOM helps
FACTECOM already generates compliant, CI-validated Factur-X invoices and credit notes for every order — the structured-file foundation the reform is built on. Transmission through a plateforme agréée and e-reporting are on the roadmap.