France VAT invoice requirements
A French facture carries more commercial details than most: the seller's SIREN, legal form and share capital, payment terms and late-payment penalties. Since 1 September 2026 every French company must be able to receive e-invoices through an approved platform.
Last checked Sources
What an invoice in France must show
Every EU VAT invoice carries the details of Article 226 of the VAT Directive: number, dates, both parties, VAT numbers, goods or services, taxable amount per rate, rate and VAT. The overview lists them. France adds:
- Seller SIREN
- The seller's SIREN number must appear on the invoice. [3]
- Legal form and share capital
- Companies show their legal form and share capital; sole traders show "Entrepreneur individuel" or "EI". [3]
- Purchase order number
- Required when the buyer issued a purchase order. [3]
- Payment due date and early-payment discount
- Show the due date and the early-payment discount terms, or "Escompte pour paiement anticipé : néant". [3]
- Late-payment penalties
- Show the late-payment penalty rate. For business customers, also show the fixed €40 recovery fee (it cannot be charged to consumers). [3]
- Legal conformity guarantee
- For consumer sales of certain product categories, mention the legal conformity guarantee of at least 2 years. [3]
- Special mentions
- Where they apply: "TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du code général des impôts" (VAT franchise), "Autoliquidation" (reverse charge), "Éco-participation DEEE", "Autofacturation" (self-billing). [3]
- New mentions under the e-invoicing reform
- Customer's SIREN (business customers), delivery address if different from the billing address, nature of the operation (goods, services or both) and "Option pour le paiement de la taxe d'après les débits" where chosen. Required from 1 Sep 2026 for large companies and mid-caps (ETI), from 1 Sep 2027 for SMEs and micro-enterprises. [3]
VAT rates in France
The tax authority warns that rates change regularly; check the current rate for each product. An invoice shows the taxable amount and the VAT for each rate it uses [2].
| Rate | Applies to (examples) |
|---|---|
| 20% | Standard rate: everything without a lower rate |
| 10% | Restaurants, passenger transport, home improvement work, hotels |
| 5.5% | Basic foodstuffs, books, energy, energy-renovation work |
| 2.1% | Press publications, reimbursable medicines |
Issuing and keeping invoices
- Language
- Invoices may be written in a foreign language. During an audit the administration may ask for a translation certified by a sworn translator; this is not systematic. [4]
- Currency
- Amounts may be shown in any currency, but the VAT must be stated in euros, converted at the latest ECB rate published on the day VAT becomes chargeable. [4]
- When to issue
- Issue the invoice as soon as the goods are delivered or the service is performed (Code de commerce L441-9). Failure can be fined up to €75,000 for an individual and €375,000 for a company. [5]
- Simplified invoice
- For invoices of 150 € or less excluding VAT, the seller's and buyer's VAT identification numbers and the exemption reference may be left out, unless another provision requires them. [6]
- Keeping invoices
- Keep invoices for 10 years from the close of the financial year (Code de commerce L123-22). For tax purposes the period is 6 years (LPF L102 B), or 10 years for undeclared activity. [7]
E-invoicing in France
France's reform runs through approved platforms (plateformes agréées): domestic B2B invoices become e-invoices, and sales to consumers and abroad are reported as data (e-reporting). Large companies and mid-caps started on 1 September 2026, SMEs follow on 1 September 2027.
- 1 September 2026
B2B receiving (all companies)
Every company established in France must be able to receive electronic invoices through an approved platform. [8]
In force
- 1 September 2026
B2B issuing + e-reporting (large companies and mid-caps)
Large companies and ETIs must issue e-invoices and report transaction and payment data. [8]
In force
- 1 September 2027
B2B issuing + e-reporting (SMEs and micro-enterprises)
SMEs and micro-enterprises must issue e-invoices and report transaction and payment data. [8]
Planned
- With the reform
E-reporting of B2C and international sales
Sales to consumers (reported as daily totals) and international sales are covered by e-reporting, whether or not the seller is established in France. [9]
In force
Good to know for Shopify sellers
Selling into France from another EU country? An invoice follows the rules of the country where the supply takes place. If you report your sales to consumers through the One Stop Shop (OSS), the rules of your OSS country apply instead, and when a business customer pays the VAT under the reverse charge, your own country's rules apply [10].
- Small businesses under the VAT franchise (franchise en base) charge no VAT and must print "TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du code général des impôts". [3]
Make an invoice for France
For a one-off sale, the free invoice generator lays out seller, buyer, VAT per line and the reverse charge note in your browser and saves a PDF. Add the national details listed above yourself.
For every Shopify order, Paperly: Invoice Order Printer builds the invoice from the order with the totals Shopify recorded, numbers invoices without gaps in your own series, issues a credit note for each refund that refers to the invoice, and keeps issued invoices unchanged for 10 years. When you enter your VAT number, the PDF carries Factur-X / ZUGFeRD XML (EN 16931).
Paperly does not send e-invoices or e-reporting data through a French approved platform. A company in scope issues its B2B e-invoices through one.
Sources
Every fact on this page links to one of these pages, published by the national tax authority, the official law gazette or the European Commission. Last checked November 2026.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and your case may differ: check the tax authority’s current guidance or ask an accountant before you rely on it.
- impots.gouv.fr — identification numbers
- impots.gouv.fr — business taxation (rates)
- Service-public — mandatory invoice mentions
- BOFiP BOI-TVA-DECLA-30-20-20-10 (language, currency)
- Légifrance — Code de commerce L441-9
- BOFiP BOI-TVA-DECLA-30-20-20-20 (150 € invoices)
- Service-public — document retention
- impots.gouv.fr — e-invoicing timeline
- BOFiP BOI-TVA-DECLA-20-30-50-20 (e-reporting)
- EUR-Lex: Council Directive (EU) 2017/2455, Article 219a on which member state's invoicing rules apply