🇫🇷 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.