Guides › Fundamentals · Last reviewed: 15 October 2026

PDF vs e-invoice: is a PDF invoice still allowed?

Short answer: where an e-invoicing mandate applies, a PDF is no longer a valid invoice. Only a structured, machine-readable file (XML following the European norm EN 16931) counts. A PDF is a picture of an invoice; an e-invoice is the same data as labelled fields that accounting software imports, checks and pays automatically.

Belgium: PDFs no longer meet the rules for most domestic B2B invoices since 1 January 2026.
France: everyone must accept e-invoices since 1 September 2026; SMEs must issue them from 1 September 2027.
Germany: PDFs are allowed until 2027 (over €800,000 turnover) or 2028 (everyone else), with the customer's consent.
Netherlands: PDFs are fine for now; B2B e-invoicing becomes mandatory on 1 July 2030.

Already have PDF invoices and need the e-invoice version? See how to turn a PDF invoice into an e-invoice, or create one directly in the free generator. Details and sources per country are below.

Side by side

	PDF invoice	Structured e-invoice (UBL/CII)
What it is	A fixed visual document	Semantic data: every amount, date, VAT code is a labelled field
Machine processing	OCR guesswork, error-prone	Direct import, automatic arithmetic and VAT checks
Validation	None — anything can be in it	Checked against official rule sets (EN 16931 Schematron, Peppol, KoSIT)
Satisfies EU mandates	No (where a mandate applies)	Yes — XRechnung, Peppol BIS 3.0, Factur-X are all EN 16931 profiles
Human-readable	Yes	Not directly — pair it with a printable copy, or use a hybrid format

Where a plain PDF still works — and where it doesn't

Belgium: since 1 January 2026, structured e-invoices (Peppol BIS by default) are mandatory for most domestic B2B transactions. A PDF no longer satisfies the law there. See the Belgium guide.
Germany: all businesses must be able to receive structured e-invoices since 1 January 2025. From 1 January 2027 businesses with more than €800,000 turnover must issue them; for everyone else, sending PDFs (with recipient consent) remains allowed until 1 January 2028. Kleinunternehmer are permanently exempt from issuing. See the XRechnung guide.
France: since 1 September 2026 all businesses must receive e-invoices and large and mid-size companies must issue them via accredited platforms; SMEs and micro-enterprises issue from 1 September 2027. See the France deadlines guide.
Netherlands: PDFs are still fine for B2B today, but the cabinet decided on 11 September 2026 to make domestic B2B e-invoicing mandatory from 1 July 2030 (businesses in the KOR small-business scheme exempt).
B2C and many cross-border cases: PDFs generally remain acceptable today — but ViDA makes structured e-invoicing the default for intra-EU B2B reporting from 1 July 2030.

What the structured file actually looks like

Here is the heart of a real EN 16931 UBL invoice — the same information a PDF shows, but as labelled data any system can process:

<cbc:ID>2026-042</cbc:ID>                              ← invoice number (BT-1)
<cbc:IssueDate>2026-06-10</cbc:IssueDate>              ← issue date (BT-2)
<cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>380</cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>         ← "commercial invoice" (BT-3)

<cac:TaxTotal>
  <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="EUR">257.78</cbc:TaxAmount>   ← total VAT (BT-110)
</cac:TaxTotal>
<cac:LegalMonetaryTotal>
  <cbc:PayableAmount currencyID="EUR">1485.28</cbc:PayableAmount>  ← amount due (BT-115)
</cac:LegalMonetaryTotal>

Download a complete example: a real Peppol BIS 3.0 invoice generated with Fakturate that passes the official EN 16931 (1.3.17) and OpenPeppol BIS Billing 3.0.20 validation rules with zero errors (verified 12 October 2026). Open it in any text editor.

peppol-belgium-example.xml

What about Factur-X / ZUGFeRD — the "best of both"?

Hybrid formats embed the EN 16931 XML inside a PDF/A file: humans see the PDF, software reads the XML. They are legally e-invoices because of the embedded data, not the picture. Germany accepts ZUGFeRD alongside XRechnung; France includes Factur-X in its accepted formats. The practical alternative: send the pure XML and keep a printable copy for your records — which is exactly what the Fakturate generator gives you (compliant UBL file + printable invoice view).

Switching is smaller than it looks

You already have all the data — name, VAT numbers, lines, rates. A structured invoice is the same data in a standard shape.
Generating one takes a minute in the free generator; no new software needed. Moving existing PDF invoices over? See how to turn a PDF invoice into an e-invoice.
Validation is automatic: the validator tells you before sending what a recipient's system would reject.

Official sources

See the difference yourself: fill in one invoice in the free generator and compare the XML tab with the printable view — same invoice, two representations. No account, nothing uploaded.

Last reviewed: 15 October 2026. This guide summarizes official sources and is not legal or tax advice. Spotted an inaccuracy? Tell us.