E-invoicing mandates · DE · FR · BE
E-invoicing, without the guesswork.
Germany, France and Belgium now require structured e-invoices between businesses. Find out what applies to you and when, and check your invoice files against the official rules for free.
Runs the official rules from
- CEN · EN 16931
- KoSIT · XRechnung
- OpenPEPPOL · BIS 3.0
- FNFE · Factur-X
Next deadline
01 Jan 2025 Every German business must be able to receive e-invoices
01 Jan 2026 Structured Peppol e-invoices for B2B in Belgium
01 Sept 2026 France: all businesses receive; large firms and mid-caps issue and e-report
01 Jan 2027 Germany: issuing for businesses with 2026 turnover over €800,000
01 Sept 2027 France: SMEs and micro-businesses issue and e-report
01 Jan 2028 Germany: issuing for every business, EDI transition ends
01 Jul 2030 EU (ViDA): e-invoicing and digital reporting for intra-EU B2B
About OkInvoice
The e-invoicing rules, read for you and explained in plain words
OkInvoice is an independent guide to the e-invoicing mandates in Germany, France and Belgium. We read the laws, the tax authorities’ guidance and the technical standards, and turn them into dates, examples and checklists.
Every rule on the site links to its official source, and the tools run the same rule sets the authorities publish.
How we work1,797official validation rules, explained in three languages
Facts checked on14 November 2026
What you can do here
Everything you need before your deadline
- E-invoice validatorValidate any e-invoice in seconds, with each error explained and a fix for it.
- Deadline checkerAnswer four questions and get your receive, issue and e-reporting dates.
- Mandates by countryEvery mandate date for Germany, France, Belgium and the EU on one timeline.
- Software for GermanyHonest comparisons of invoicing tools and Peppol access points.
- Free optionsWhat is genuinely free for sending, receiving and reading e-invoices.
How it works
From “does this apply to me?” to a valid file
Find your dates
The checker asks where you are established, your size and who you sell to, and shows when you must receive and issue.
Pick a format and a tool
XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X or Peppol: the guides tell you which one your customers expect and which tools send it.
Check before you send
Drop the file into the validator. If the official rules find a problem, you see it in plain words with a fix.
Three countries, three models
Where each country stands today
Germany
- Receive
- since 1 Jan 2025
- Issue
- 2027 or 2028
- Model
- Any channel, EN 16931 formats
France
- Receive
- since 1 Sep 2026
- Issue
- Sep 2026 or Sep 2027
- Model
- Approved platforms + e-reporting
Belgium (Peppol)
- Receive
- since 1 Jan 2026
- Issue
- since 1 Jan 2026
- Model
- Peppol network
Timeline
Every deadline, in order
- 01Every German business must be able to receive e-invoices
- 02Structured Peppol e-invoices for B2B in Belgium
- 03France: all businesses receive; large firms and mid-caps issue and e-report
- 04Germany: issuing for businesses with 2026 turnover over €800,000
- 05France: SMEs and micro-businesses issue and e-report
- 06Germany: issuing for every business, EDI transition ends
- 07EU (ViDA): e-invoicing and digital reporting for intra-EU B2B
One data model
EN 16931, about 160 business terms
The formats
XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, Factur-X and Peppol, explained
They all carry the same EN 16931 invoice data. What differs is the syntax, the container and the country that expects them.
Choosing software
Tools that actually send the right format
We compare invoicing tools and Peppol access points by what they document, not by what they pay us.
Tested with our validator
Run any tool’s output through it before you commit.
Guides
Start with your country
FAQ
Got questions? Straight answers.
The questions businesses ask us most, answered from the official sources.
What is e-invoicing?Do I have to send e-invoices?
It depends on where you are established and your size. Germany: receive since 2025, issue from 2027 (over €800,000 turnover) or 2028. France: receive since September 2026, issue in 2026 or 2027 by size. Belgium: Peppol for B2B since January 2026. The checker gives your exact dates.
Is a PDF by e-mail an e-invoice?
No. An e-invoice carries structured data that software can read, following the European standard EN 16931. ZUGFeRD and Factur-X look like PDFs but carry the XML data inside.
Which format should I use?
Germany: XRechnung or ZUGFeRD in an EN 16931 profile. France: UBL, CII or Factur-X, sent through an approved platform. Belgium: Peppol BIS Billing 3.0.
Is the validator private?
Yes. The rules are loaded into your browser and run there. Your invoice file is never uploaded.
Who pays for OkInvoice?
It is free. We earn from clearly marked affiliate links to invoicing software, which never decide what we write.
Your next deadline is coming. Be ready for it.
Check your dates in a minute, then make sure your invoices pass the official rules.
