THE ESSENTIALS IN 5 POINTS
- A Factur-X is a PDF/A-3 that contains an XML file, named factur-x.xml and written in the CII syntax.
- It’s one of the three formats of the French reform, with UBL and CII, all three compliant with the European standard EN 16931.
- The format comes in five profiles, from MINIMUM to EXTENDED. Only BASIC, EN 16931 and EXTENDED contain the invoice lines.
- The German ZUGFeRD has been its technical equivalent since version 2.
- A Factur-X is kept as it arrived, PDF and XML together, for 10 years in France.
A PDF that carries its own data
An ordinary PDF invoice is only a picture of an invoice. To get the amount or the due date out of it, software has to read it the way you would, and it can get it wrong. Factur-X solves this by slipping a second file into the PDF, in XML, holding the same information in named fields.
<rsm:ExchangedDocument>
<ram:ID>F-2026-0412</ram:ID></rsm:ExchangedDocument><ram:SellerTradeParty>
<ram:Name>Imprimerie du Canal</ram:Name></ram:SellerTradeParty><ram:GrandTotalAmount>1248.00</ram:GrandTotalAmount>Shortened XML.
The PDF follows PDF/A-3, a version of PDF designed for archiving that accepts attached files. The XML is attached under the name factur-x.xml, and the PDF’s metadata say that it’s a Factur-X and which profile it uses.
Both parts must say the same thing. Under the French reform, the structured data is what counts, and it’s what your accredited platform, your accounting software or Clivio reads. The format is published by FNFE-MPE, the French e-invoicing forum, together with its German counterpart, FeRD. Its specification can be downloaded from the FNFE-MPE website.
ZUGFeRD, the same format on the German side
ZUGFeRD is the German name of the format. Since ZUGFeRD 2, the two specifications have been written together, and a Factur-X and a recent ZUGFeRD with the same profile are technically equivalent. A German supplier who sends you a ZUGFeRD 2 invoice is, in practice, sending you a Factur-X.
The first version, ZUGFeRD 1, uses a different XML schema. It isn’t compatible with Factur-X, and our free reader can’t read it. Clivio itself reads the data of recent ZUGFeRD invoices from their XML, as it does for a Factur-X.
The five Factur-X profiles
A profile sets how much information the XML contains. The PDF can show the same complete invoice whatever the profile, but software only sees what’s in the XML.
| Profile | What the XML contains | Lines | EN 16931 standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| MINIMUM | The bare header: number, date, seller, buyer and totals. | No | Not compliant |
| BASIC WL | The full header, with VAT by rate and payment terms. WL stands for “without lines”. | No | Not compliant |
| BASIC | Everything in BASIC WL, plus the invoice lines in a simplified form. | Yes | Compliant |
| EN 16931 | All the data of the European standard’s model. ZUGFeRD calls this profile COMFORT. | Yes | Compliant |
| EXTENDED | The standard, plus data useful for complex invoices or for some industries. | Yes | Compliant, with extensions |
MINIMUM and BASIC WL were designed to help book an invoice whose PDF was the legal document. They don’t contain the lines and don’t meet the EN 16931 standard. For invoices exchanged under the French reform, the list of accepted profiles is in the external specifications published by the French tax authority (DGFiP), and your platform will tell you which ones it handles.
Where the XML states its profile
The profile is written at the very start of the XML, in the GuidelineSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter element, as an identifier.
| Profile | Identifier written in the XML |
|---|---|
| MINIMUM | urn:factur-x.eu:1p0:minimum |
| BASIC WL | urn:factur-x.eu:1p0:basicwl |
| BASIC | urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:factur-x.eu:1p0:basic |
| EN 16931 | urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017 |
| EXTENDED | urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#conformant#urn:factur-x.eu:1p0:extended |
Whatever the profile, our reader shows “Factur-X (embedded CII XML)” for a PDF that contains this XML, and “CII” for the XML on its own, extracted from the PDF. The data read is the same.
Factur-X, UBL and CII: the differences
The three formats describe the same invoice, following the same European model. They differ in what you receive and in how the XML is written.
| Criterion | Factur-X | UBL | CII |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you receive | A PDF that contains an XML file | An .xml file | An .xml file |
| Readable without a tool | Yes, the PDF part | No | No |
| Data syntax | CII, in the attached factur-x.xml file | UBL 2.1, published by OASIS | CII, published by UN/CEFACT |
| Origin | France and Germany (FNFE-MPE and FeRD) | OASIS, an international standards consortium | UN/CEFACT, a United Nations body |
| Main XML element | CrossIndustryInvoice | Invoice, or CreditNote for a credit note | CrossIndustryInvoice |
| EN 16931 standard | Compliant from the BASIC profile up | Compliant | Compliant |
| What to keep for 10 years | The complete PDF, with its XML | The .xml file | The .xml file |
| Our free reader | Read, if the XML can be extracted from the PDF | Read for invoices, not yet for credit notes | Read, invoices and credit notes |
So UBL and CII are two ways of writing the same information. A Factur-X contains CII, with a PDF around it for human eyes, which makes it the easiest of the three for a small business.
How to tell whether a PDF is a Factur-X
On screen, nothing sets a Factur-X apart from an ordinary PDF. Three checks settle it, from the quickest to the surest.
- Look at the PDF’s attachments. In Adobe Acrobat Reader, the “Attachments” panel, marked with a paper clip, lists the attached files. A Factur-X shows a factur-x.xml file there. Some readers, including those built into web browsers, don’t show this panel.
- Open the document properties. A Factur-X declares itself PDF/A-3 and states its profile in its metadata. That’s a clue; only the attached XML really settles it.
- Drop it into our free reader. If it finds the XML, it shows the invoice and its format. If not, it tells you so and suggests asking the supplier for the XML or getting it from your platform.
Beware of false clues. A “Factur-X” logo printed on the page proves nothing. A PDF obtained by scanning an invoice, or with the “Print to PDF” command, never has the XML, even if the original did.
Open, read and convert a Factur-X
Our free tools work in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, nothing is kept, and you don’t need an account.
To try them without your own invoices, download our Factur-X, CII and UBL example files, including an incomplete one to see the checklist at work.
Creating or generating a Factur-X
A Factur-X has to be produced: renaming a PDF isn’t enough. It takes a program that writes the invoice’s XML, attaches it to a PDF/A-3 and states the profile in the metadata. A small business has three ways to do it.
- Your accredited platform or your invoicing software. This is the normal route from your issuing date in France: the invoice is created there, then sent through the official network. The dates are in our e-invoicing timeline.
- Our free tool. You fill in a form: it works out the totals and the VAT, asks for the new mandatory details and creates a PDF/A-3 with its factur-x.xml, EN 16931 profile, in your browser. Create a Factur-X invoice
- Clivio, with Pro. Clivio issues your invoices as Factur-X, EN 16931 profile, and can email them to your clients. That email is a copy, not a legal transmission.
In all three cases, between VAT-registered businesses established in France, the invoice will have to go through an accredited platform from your issuing date: September 1, 2027 for small and medium-sized businesses and micro-businesses.
What about Excel?
Excel can save an invoice as a PDF, but it can’t attach the structured XML file that makes a Factur-X. An Excel template can help you prepare your lines. To get the file, enter them in a tool that produces the Factur-X, such as those above.
Common mistakes
- Printing, then scanningThe scan reproduces the page without the XML. It isn’t worth the original for archiving.
- Archiving the converted versionA PDF “saved” from a converter or a browser loses the attachment. Keep the file you received.
- Editing the original fileAnnotating, signing or merging a Factur-X in a PDF editor can remove the XML or break PDF/A-3 compliance. Work on a copy.
- Taking a MINIMUM for a complete invoiceThe PDF shows all the lines, but the XML doesn’t contain them, and software that reads the XML will never see them.
- Letting a gap between PDF and XML slipIf the total shown differs from the one in the XML, the latter is what software reads. Flag the gap to the supplier before paying.
- Filing the PDF and the XML separatelyA Factur-X is kept as one file, as it arrived. The extracted XML is a working copy.
Frequently asked questions
Is Factur-X mandatory in France?
No. It’s one of the three formats the French reform accepts, with UBL and CII. Your supplier, or its platform, chooses the format, and your platform shows you the invoice whatever it is.
What’s the difference between Factur-X and ZUGFeRD?
Mostly the name. Since ZUGFeRD 2, the two specifications are written together by FNFE-MPE and FeRD and are technically equivalent. ZUGFeRD 1, the older version, isn’t compatible.
Can I make a Factur-X invoice in Excel?
Not with Excel alone. It can save an invoice as a PDF, but it can’t attach the structured XML file that makes a Factur-X. Prepare your lines in Excel if you like, then create the file with invoicing software, your accredited platform or our free tool. Create a Factur-X invoice
How do I create or generate a Factur-X invoice for free?
With our free tool, no account needed: you fill in a form, and it creates a PDF/A-3 with its factur-x.xml file, EN 16931 profile, in your browser. Several French accredited platforms also have a free plan that creates and sends your invoices. Between businesses established in France, from your issuing date, the invoice has to go through an accredited platform. Create a Factur-X invoice
How do I turn a PDF into a Factur-X?
You need a tool that writes the invoice’s XML from its data and attaches it to a PDF/A-3: invoicing software, an accredited platform or our free tool, which starts from a form and doesn’t read an existing PDF. Renaming a PDF or saving it again doesn’t make it a Factur-X.
How do I extract the XML from a Factur-X?
With our free extraction tool, or from the attachments panel of a PDF reader that shows it, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. The file is called factur-x.xml. Keep the original Factur-X anyway: it remains the invoice. Extract the XML from a Factur-X
The reader shows “CII” for my invoice. Is that a mistake?
No. You probably dropped the XML on its own, extracted from the PDF: the reader then names its syntax, CII. Drop the Factur-X PDF and it shows “Factur-X (embedded CII XML)”. The data read is the same.
Which profiles include the invoice lines?
BASIC, EN 16931 and EXTENDED. MINIMUM and BASIC WL hold only the header and the totals, even when the PDF shows the lines. The reader then says that no invoice line was found.
Does the free reader read credit notes?
Yes for a credit note in CII or Factur-X, which has the same structure as an invoice. A UBL credit note, whose main element is called CreditNote, isn’t recognized yet.
Should I keep the PDF and the XML separately?
No. Keep the Factur-X as it arrived: it holds both. An extracted XML is useful to feed software, but the original remains the complete file, to be kept for 10 years in France.
Sources, checked on October 13, 2026: FNFE-MPE, Factur-X specification · FeRD, ZUGFeRD specification · impots.gouv.fr, je découvre la facturation électronique · impots.gouv.fr FAQ, j’approfondis la facturation électronique · checked on October 24, 2026: Service Public Entreprendre, tout savoir sur la facturation (verified on August 7, 2026)
Updated on October 24, 2026 by the Clivio team. Spotted an error or a new text? contact@clivio.app