France E-Invoicing Checker: Does the Reform Apply to You?
France's e-invoicing reform is live. Our free checker tells French and foreign firms whether they must receive, issue or e-report, and from which date.
France’s e-invoicing reform went live on 1 September 2026, and one question keeps coming up in our inbox: does this apply to me? For a French SME the answer is short. For a UK SaaS company with French customers, a US brand with stock in a French warehouse or a German seller on Amazon.fr, it takes a decision table and a fair amount of reading.
So we turned our decision tables into a tool. The France e-invoicing checker asks you a few questions, then tells you whether you must receive e-invoices, issue them, e-report data, or do nothing new, and from which date. It’s free and takes about a minute.
What the checker asks
The questions change with your answers, so most people see four to six of them:
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Where is your business established? | The reform splits businesses by establishment in France, not by French VAT number. This one answer decides most of the result |
| Are you subject to VAT? (French businesses) | The reform covers businesses subject to VAT, including micro-entrepreneurs under the franchise en base |
| Do you have a French VAT number? (foreign businesses) | Without one, there’s usually nothing for you to report |
| Who do you sell to? | Sales between French businesses mean e-invoices. Consumer and international sales mean e-reporting |
| How is the VAT on French consumer sales declared? | OSS and IOSS sales are excluded from e-reporting. Sales on a French VAT return are not |
| Do you keep stock in France? | Orders shipped from French stock are domestic sales, which OSS doesn’t cover |
| How big is your company? | Decides whether your date is 1 September 2026 or 1 September 2027 |
You get a verdict, a table of your obligations with their dates, a timeline, the reasons behind each answer and a short list of what to do next.
Five businesses, five answers
These are the situations we see most often. The rules behind each one are in our guides to e-invoicing in France and France for foreign companies.
A French micro-entrepreneur selling to other French businesses. Fully in scope. They must already be able to receive e-invoices through an approved platform, since 1 September 2026. They start issuing e-invoices on 1 September 2027. The VAT franchise doesn’t take them out of scope.
A UK SaaS company selling subscriptions to French businesses, with no French VAT number. Nothing new. Those sales fall under the reverse charge: the French customer owes the VAT and reports the purchase. The UK company keeps sending a normal invoice marked Autoliquidation. It doesn’t need a platform or a directory entry.
A US Shopify brand with stock in a French 3PL, selling to French consumers. E-reporting only. Orders shipped from stock in France are domestic French sales, declared on a French VAT return, so the brand e-reports them as daily totals by VAT rate through an approved platform. As an SME, measured on the whole company, its date is 1 September 2027. It never sends or receives French e-invoices.
A German seller shipping from Germany to French consumers through OSS. Nothing new. Sales declared through OSS are excluded from French e-reporting. That changes if it moves stock into a French warehouse: those orders leave OSS, and moving its own stock into France becomes a purchase it reports from 1 September 2027.
A US seller using Amazon FBA in France. Probably nothing, but the checker flags it. When the marketplace is the deemed supplier, it owes the VAT, so the seller most likely has nothing to report on those sales. The DGFiP hasn’t published an answer for this exact case, so it’s one to confirm with the marketplace before September 2027.
Three things most people get wrong
- A French VAT number doesn’t put you in scope. France asks whether you’re established there: a French company, or a French branch with its own staff. A VAT number or stock in a third-party warehouse isn’t an establishment. Foreign businesses without one never issue or receive French e-invoices.
- Size is your whole company, not your French sales. For foreign businesses the DGFiP measures size on the whole legal entity worldwide, using the last financial year closed before 1 January 2025. Most small UK and US sellers are SMEs, so their date is 1 September 2027.
- OSS sales are out of e-reporting. If you declare French consumer sales through OSS or IOSS, there’s nothing to report on them. What counts is whether you owe French VAT on a sale outside those schemes.
What to do with your result
- Fully in scope: choose a Plateforme Agréée, check your directory entry, and plan the switch to Factur-X, UBL or CII before your issuing date.
- E-reporting only: pick a platform that handles e-reporting for non-established companies. You don’t need a directory entry.
- Running late: the DGFiP isn’t fining businesses that are making a serious effort during the start-up phase, but it isn’t a postponement either. See what “no fines if you’re trying” really means.
- Unsure or flagged: use the Get in touch form under your result. It sends us your answers, so a tax expert can reply with something specific within one business day.
The checker applies the DGFiP’s published rules as of October 2026. It’s a guide, not legal advice, and we’ll update it as the DGFiP answers the open questions.
Try the France e-invoicing checker →
FAQ
Is the France e-invoicing checker free?
Yes. It’s free, needs no account and runs in your browser. Your answers are only sent to us if you choose to use the Get in touch form.
Does French e-invoicing apply to UK and US companies?
Not the e-invoicing part. Without an establishment in France you don’t issue or receive French e-invoices, even with a French VAT number. You may have to e-report French sales on which you owe the VAT outside OSS and IOSS, usually from 1 September 2027.
What’s the difference between e-invoicing and e-reporting?
E-invoicing covers sales between two businesses established in France: the invoice itself travels as structured data between approved platforms. E-reporting covers everything else the tax authority wants to see, such as consumer sales and international sales, sent as data by your platform.
Which date applies to my business?
Every VAT-registered business established in France must be able to receive e-invoices since 1 September 2026. Large and mid-sized companies issue and e-report since 1 September 2026, and SMEs and micro-businesses from 1 September 2027. Foreign businesses follow the same size calendar for e-reporting, measured on their whole company.