Factur-X EN

Factur-X is a Franco-German standard for hybrid e-invoice (PDF for users and XML data for process automation), the first implementation of the European Semantic Standard EN 16931 published by the European Commission on October 16th 2017. Factur-X is the same standard than ZUGFeRD 2.3.

Factur-X is at the same time a full readable invoice in a PDF A/3 format, containing all information useful for its treatment, especially in case of discrepancy or absence of automatic matching with orders and / or receptions, and a set of invoice data presented in an XML structured file conformant to EN16931 (syntax CII D16B), complete or not, allowing invoice process automation.

The first objective of Factur-X is to enable suppliers, invoice issuers, to create added-value e-invoices, containing a maximum of information in structured form, according to their ability to produce them in this form, and to let customers recipients free to use the invoice data and / or the readable presentation, depending on their needs and their invoice process maturity on automation.

In order to allow the broadest adoption by any size of companies, and in order to guide them, this standard includes several data profiles:

	MINIMUM : corresponding to the minimum invoice information required on CHORUSPRO and equivalent to a classic header OCR and manual validation data capture.
	BASIC WL : corresponding to the document level invoice information that are mostly required or useful for buyers for their process automation
	BASIC : corresponding to the BASIC WL profile with the core line information required or useful for buyers for their process automation
	EN16931 : corresponding to all the invoice information present in the European Norm EN16931
	EXTENDED : corresponding to the EN16931 profile, with some additional invoice data. This profile is under construction, and will be published later.

Factur-X is one of the 3 formats of the “minimum base” of the Electronic Invoicing Reform made mandatory in reception by all companies and all PPFs.

Deployed since 2018 on the CHORUSPRO Portal, and therefore on the upcoming PPF (Portail Public de Facturation), Factur-x is implemented by a large number of e-invoicing service providers, and in particular by the more than 60  registered PDPs (Plateformes de Dématérialisation Partenaires), but also by a large number of invoice management software packages.

September 2024, 18th, FNFE-MPE and FERD published a common version strictly identical of Factur-X 1.0 and ZUGFeRD 2.3 

Following our cooperation with FeRD (German Electronic Invoice Forum) on the alignment of Factur-x and ZUGFeRD, in order to meet the needs identified in the context of the Electronic Invoice and e-reporting reform in France, but also the needs of the German public sector and the Electronic Invoice reform in Germany, this version integrates evolutions of the EXTENDED profile as well as a so-called “Reference” profile XRECHNUNG maintained by KOSIT.

For France, the Documentation identifies the EXTENDED-CTC-FR profile as described in the external specifications, which is a subset of the EXTENDED profile.

This version is based on UN/CEFACT CII D22B, which is required for full compliance with the EN16931 Semantic Standard, and is also fully compatible with version D16B. So any invoice created under version 1.01.06 remains compliant under version 1.01.07.

This version also includes control components for each of the 5 profiles (xsd AND schematron).
Documentation is provided in English, French and German, and is unique for Factur-X and ZUGFeRD 2.3, since in practice they constitute one and the same format.

The english version is available here: