🇫🇷 Factur-X Viewer (French E-Invoice)
France's e-invoicing mandate starts 1 September 2026, and Factur-X is its flagship format: a normal-looking PDF with the legal invoice data embedded as XML inside. This viewer extracts and shows that data — including which Factur-X profile the invoice uses — without your invoice leaving the browser.
Invoices are parsed with your browser's XML engine — financial data never leaves your device.
How the factur-x viewer (french e-invoice) works
A Factur-X invoice (the French-German standard, identical to ZUGFeRD 2.x) is a PDF/A-3 file with a machine-readable XML invoice — UN/CEFACT Cross-Industry Invoice syntax — embedded as an attachment. The viewer extracts that XML from the PDF (or reads a bare XML directly), detects the Factur-X profile from its guideline URN, and displays the structured content: seller and buyer, SIREN/VAT identifiers, dates, line items, VAT breakdown by rate, totals and payment details. Profiles matter under the French reform: MINIMUM and BASIC WL carry only header data — the viewer flags this — while BASIC, EN 16931 and EXTENDED contain the full line-level detail.
The timeline driving this: from 1 September 2026, every French company regardless of size must be able to receive electronic invoices, and large and mid-size companies (grandes entreprises, ETI) must issue them; SMEs and micro-enterprises follow on 1 September 2027. Invoices flow through certified platforms (plateformes agréées, formerly PDP), with Factur-X, UBL and CII as the core formats. If a supplier's invoice now arrives as a "PDF that my accounting software wants as XML", it is almost certainly Factur-X — and the XML inside, not the visual layer, is the authoritative document.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Factur-X invoice?
A hybrid e-invoice standard developed jointly by France (FNFE-MPE) and Germany (where it is called ZUGFeRD): a human-readable PDF/A-3 with the structured invoice data embedded inside as UN/CEFACT CII XML. Humans read the PDF; software reads the XML; legally, the structured data is the invoice.
When does e-invoicing become mandatory in France?
From 1 September 2026 all French companies must be able to receive e-invoices, and large and mid-size companies must issue them. Small and micro-enterprises must issue from 1 September 2027. The obligation covers domestic B2B transactions, with invoices exchanged via certified platforms.
What are the Factur-X profiles?
Five levels of structured detail: MINIMUM and BASIC WL (header data only — flagged by this viewer, since they omit line items), BASIC (full invoice with lines), EN 16931 / Comfort (the full European semantic standard), and EXTENDED (additional French-German business fields). The profile is declared in the XML's guideline URN, which this viewer reads and displays.
How is Factur-X different from a normal PDF invoice?
Visually, not at all — that is the design. The difference is the embedded XML attachment carrying every amount, date and party as structured data. A scanned or ordinary PDF has no such attachment; this viewer will tell you if the PDF you load is not actually a Factur-X hybrid.
Is my invoice uploaded to be read?
No — the PDF attachment extraction and XML parsing run entirely in your browser and work offline. A Factur-X invoice names your suppliers, amounts and bank details (IBAN); that is exactly the data not to feed into a random online viewer that logs uploads.
Does this validate compliance with the French mandate?
No — it faithfully displays what the invoice contains, including the declared profile, but does not run EN 16931 or Factur-X schematron validation. For formal conformance testing, use an official validator; for "what does this invoice actually say", use this.