Extract the XML from a Factur-X invoice

How to extract the XML from a Factur-X

1. Drop the PDF in the area above, or choose it on your computer.
2. The tool looks for the XML hidden in the PDF. It shows its start, the format recognized and a summary of the invoice, with its number, seller and total.
3. Click “Download the XML”. You get an .xml file named after the PDF, and the PDF stays as it is.

To read the invoice in plain view rather than its code, use the invoice reader, which does the same extraction before showing the fields.

Where the XML hides in a Factur-X PDF

A Factur-X is a PDF/A-3, a variant of PDF designed for archiving that accepts attached files. The invoice’s XML is attached to it, most often under the name factur-x.xml, like an attachment slipped inside the document. Your PDF reader shows the page and doesn’t show this file, which is why it seems not to exist.

The XML is also compressed, so opening the PDF in a text editor gives nothing readable. The tool goes through the PDF’s content, decompresses each block and keeps the first one that looks like an XML invoice, in CII or UBL format. Everything happens in your browser. Our glossary entry on Factur-X explains why the invoice is built this way.

What the embedded XML contains

The XML of a Factur-X follows the CII syntax. It holds everything the PDF shows, stored in tags that accounting software reads without typing errors.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice
  xmlns:rsm="urn:un:unece:uncefact:data:standard:CrossIndustryInvoice:100"
  xmlns:ram="urn:un:unece:uncefact:data:standard:ReusableAggregateBusinessInformationEntity:100"
  xmlns:udt="urn:un:unece:uncefact:data:standard:UnqualifiedDataType:100">
  <rsm:ExchangedDocumentContext>
    <ram:GuidelineSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter>
      <ram:ID>urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017</ram:ID>
    </ram:GuidelineSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter>
  </rsm:ExchangedDocumentContext>
  <rsm:ExchangedDocument>
    <ram:ID>FA-88231</ram:ID>
    <ram:TypeCode>380</ram:TypeCode>
    <ram:IssueDateTime>
      <udt:DateTimeString format="102">20261001</udt:DateTimeString>
    </ram:IssueDateTime>
  </rsm:ExchangedDocument>
  <rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction>
    <ram:IncludedSupplyChainTradeLineItem>…</ram:IncludedSupplyChainTradeLineItem>
    <ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement>
      <ram:SellerTradeParty>
        <ram:Name>Lumen Hébergement</ram:Name>
        <ram:SpecifiedLegalOrganization>
          <ram:ID schemeID="0002">222222222</ram:ID>
        </ram:SpecifiedLegalOrganization>
      </ram:SellerTradeParty>
      <ram:BuyerTradeParty>
        <ram:Name>Camille Martin EI</ram:Name>
      </ram:BuyerTradeParty>
    </ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement>
    <ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeDelivery/>
    <ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement>
      <ram:InvoiceCurrencyCode>EUR</ram:InvoiceCurrencyCode>
      <ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementPaymentMeans>
        <ram:TypeCode>58</ram:TypeCode>
        <ram:PayeePartyCreditorFinancialAccount>
          <ram:IBANID>FR76…8823</ram:IBANID>
        </ram:PayeePartyCreditorFinancialAccount>
      </ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementPaymentMeans>
      …
      <ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementHeaderMonetarySummation>
        <ram:LineTotalAmount>24.00</ram:LineTotalAmount>
        <ram:TaxBasisTotalAmount>24.00</ram:TaxBasisTotalAmount>
        <ram:TaxTotalAmount currencyID="EUR">4.80</ram:TaxTotalAmount>
        <ram:GrandTotalAmount>28.80</ram:GrandTotalAmount>
        <ram:DuePayableAmount>28.80</ram:DuePayableAmount>
      </ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementHeaderMonetarySummation>
    </ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement>
  </rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction></rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice>

The five Factur-X profiles

Not every Factur-X holds as much data. The profile, given at the top of the XML, says how far the file goes.

With a MINIMUM or BASIC WL profile, the reader shows “No invoice line found in this file”. That’s normal, since these profiles don’t contain any.

Extracting the XML without this tool

The XML is an attachment of the PDF, so any software that can list a PDF’s attachments can save it. Most PDF readers built into browsers don’t show them, Firefox aside.

When no XML is found

The tool then says “No XML in this PDF”. Most often, one of these situations explains it.

• The PDF isn’t a Factur-X. It’s an ordinary PDF, or the scan of a paper invoice.
• The PDF was saved again. An invoice that went through “Print to PDF” loses its attached XML, and a compression or editing tool can lose it too.
• It’s a ZUGFeRD 1.0 invoice, the old German version of the format, which the tool doesn’t recognize.
• The XML is stored in the PDF in an unusual way that the tool can’t decode.

Then ask the supplier for the original file, or download it from your accredited platform. If they send you the XML on its own, our page on opening an XML invoice file explains what to do with it.

What to do with the extracted XML

It’s useful when software asks for it, such as an accounting tool that imports invoices in XML format. It’s also useful to check what the invoice really states, since the PDF and the XML of a Factur-X must say the same thing. If an amount differs between the two, tell the supplier. The invoice check also tells you whether seven basic mentions are present.

For your records, keep the original PDF. It is the invoice, XML included, and the extracted file is only a copy. Our guide to archiving e-invoices covers the retention rules.

Frequently asked questions

Sources, checked on October 13, 2026: Factur-X specification, FNFE-MPE · impots.gouv.fr, je découvre la facturation électronique (in French) · economie.gouv.fr (in French) · EN 16931-1 standard, published by CEN · ISO 19005-3 standard (PDF/A-3).