Mandate

France is implementing a nationwide Decentralized Continuous Transaction Control and Exchange (DCTCE) framework for electronic invoicing and reporting.

Defined by Ordinance No. 2021-1190 and successive Finance Laws, this reform requires that all domestic B2B invoices be exchanged electronically in structured form and that selected information for B2C and cross-border B2B transactions and related payments be submitted to the tax authority as part of e-reporting.

Mandate timeline

September 1, 2026

• Mandatory reception of e-invoices for all companies
• Mandatory issuance of e-invoices and e-reporting for large and midsized enterprises

September 1, 2027

• Mandatory issuance of e-invoices and e-reporting for SMEs and microenterprises

Any company established and/or VAT registered in France must participate in this ecosystem.

How the French e-invoicing architecture works

France's system is based on a decentralized exchange framework known as the Y Model, which separates invoice exchange from regulatory reporting.

Accredited Platforms (PA)

A Plateforme Agréée (PA) is an accredited private platform authorized by the French tax authority to:

• Validate and transport structured e-invoices between suppliers and buyers.
• Transmit regulatory invoice and transaction information to the State.
• Exchange lifecycle statuses such as acceptance, refusal, and payment.
• Route e-invoices based on the central directory.

Businesses send and receive their structured invoices through a PA, and every PA must interoperate with every other PA.

Public Invoicing Portal (PPF)

The Portail Public de Facturation (PPF) is the government portal responsible for:

• Receiving the Flux 1 regulatory extract for e-invoices
• Maintaining the national central directory (annuaire)
• Exchanging lifecycle events (Flux 6) with the PA regarding e-invoicing and e-reporting flows
  The PPF does not handle invoice delivery. It functions exclusively as a regulatory and directory hub.

Central directory and how routing works

Before an e-invoice can be exchanged, the PA must determine where it should be delivered.
This is done through the central directory, which contains routing information for every French VAT registered entity.

The directory includes:

• Receivers' addresses based on SIREN/SIRET/Routing code/Suffix
• The receiving PA
• Validity periods when an invoice is issued:
  1. The seller's PA queries the directory.
  2. The buyer's designated PA is identified.
  3. The invoice is routed to that PA via Flux 2.

Correct directory configuration is essential - incorrect routing details prevent invoice exchange.

France's core e-invoicing data flows: Flux 2 and Flux 1

Flux 2 - Structured Electronic Invoice (Seller → PA-E → PA-R → Buyer)

Flux 2 is the actual structured invoice transmitted from the seller to the buyer via their respective PAs.

For France e-invoice outbound flows, Vertex will be creating the format:
UBL 2.1 EXT_CTC_FR, as defined in XP_Z12012_Annexe_A_2026_V1.3.

Flux 1 - Regulatory Data (PA → PPF)

Flux 1 contains the simplified semantic invoice data the French tax authority needs for VAT control and prefilling.
This is a regulatory only transmission and does not involve the buyer.
The PA will extract the data needed for Flux 1 from Flux 2 generated based on the VRBL file submitted to Vertex e-Invoicing.

What you are building: the France VRBL format

To simplify development, you submit invoices using the VRBL (Vertex Universal Standard) format.

Purpose of the France VRBL

• The France VRBL format is used exclusively to create B2B and B2G electronic invoices.
• Each VRBL field maps to the required French UBL invoice with mandatory extensions (EXT_CTC_FR).
• After a VRBL invoice is submitted, it is transformed into the Flux 2 UBL EXT_CTC_FR format for delivery.
• For the reception of inbound e-invoices which can be in one of three core formats (Factur-X, CII, UBL) Vertex e-Invoicing converts all three formats into a single VRBL invoice format allowing easier integration with ERPs and AP solutions.

What this VRBL invoice format does not cover

The France VRBL invoice does not include the structures needed for:

• CDAR lifecycle messages (Flux 6)
• E-reporting messages:
  • 10.1 (cross-border B2B invoices)
  • 10.2 (cross-border B2B payments)
  • 10.3 (B2C daily summaries)
  • 10.4 (B2C payments)

These messages require distinct data structures separate from the VRBL invoice in this section. Additional doctypes are used for these additional flows.

Permitted e-invoice document types in France

Invoice lifecycles and CDAR

Every e-invoice issued in France must be accompanied by a lifecycle (cycle de vie) that indicates how the invoice is processed by the buyer and the seller and their respective PAs.

Lifecycle events include the following mandatory statuses:

• Submitted
• Rejected
• Refused
• Payment Received (Encaissée)

They also include additional optional statuses as approved, partially approved, in dispute, suspended, paid, and so on.
These events are exchanged as Flux 6 messages.

What is CDAR?

CDAR (Cross Domain Acknowledgement and Response) is the official French lifecycle message format defined under the XP Z12-012 standard. You can find the lifecycle VRBL data structure in France (CII(CDAR)): Overview.

Description

In terms of compliance and interoperability, PAs are required to support at least three invoice core formats: Factur-X, a hybrid of PDF and XML; UBL 2.1; and CII. The lifecycle messages use the CII CDAR format (D.22B). VRBL uses the UBL 2.4 ApplicationResponse to represent the French Lifecycle messages.

Details

In this section