Understanding the French Model
While countries like Italy went with a single centralised clearance platform (SDI) and Saudi Arabia built ZATCA around one government API, France chose a fundamentally different path. The French model introduces a hybrid architecture — the Y-model — that combines a government-operated public portal with a network of certified private platforms.
This decision wasn't accidental. France has over 4 million VAT-registered businesses, one of the most complex tax systems in Europe, and a long history of running Chorus Pro for B2G (business-to-government) invoicing. Rather than force every business onto a single government platform — which would create capacity and innovation bottlenecks — France decided to let the private sector compete while maintaining a central government hub for tax data extraction and routing.
The result is the most complex e-invoicing architecture in Europe. But complexity doesn't mean chaos — it means more moving parts to understand and more decisions to make. Every French business must decide: use the free PPF, use a certified PDP, or use an OD (Opérateur de Dématérialisation) that routes through one of the first two. That choice has significant implications for compliance, automation, and operational efficiency.
Sep 2026
Mandate start date
4M+
French businesses affected
PPF
Public portal (government)
PDP
Partner platforms (private)
The diagram above illustrates the Y-model architecture. Invoices flow from the supplier (left) through their PDP, converge at the PPF for tax data extraction and routing, then diverge to the buyer's PDP for delivery. The DGFiP (France's tax authority) receives structured tax data automatically via the PPF — enabling pre-filled VAT returns and real-time compliance monitoring.
PPF vs PDP Explained
The two pillars of the French e-invoicing system are the PPF and the PDPs. Understanding the difference — and choosing the right one — is the most important decision French businesses face in the run-up to the mandate.
The government's free public portal
The PPF is the central government platform operated by the AIFE (Agence pour l'Informatique Financière de l'État). Built on the existing Chorus Pro infrastructure, it serves three primary functions:
Maintains a registry of all French businesses, their chosen platform (PPF or which PDP), and routing information. Every invoice passes through this directory to determine where to deliver it.
Extracts structured tax data from every B2B invoice — whether sent via PPF or PDP — and transmits it to the DGFiP for VAT pre-filling and compliance monitoring.
Provides basic e-invoicing capabilities for SMEs that can't afford or don't need a PDP. Supports manual entry, basic CSV import, and standard format conversion.
Handles e-reporting for B2C transactions and international B2B transactions that don't flow through the domestic e-invoicing system.
Certified private partner platforms
PDPs are privately operated platforms certified by the French tax authority to participate in the e-invoicing ecosystem. Unlike the basic PPF, PDPs offer advanced capabilities that enterprises need:
Convert between Factur-X, UBL, CII, and proprietary ERP formats automatically. The PPF supports only the three standard formats — PDPs bridge the gap for complex ERP environments.
Deep integration with SAP, Dynamics 365, Oracle, Odoo, and other ERPs via APIs, plugins, and middleware connectors. The PPF offers only basic web upload and CSV import.
Pre-validate invoices against French tax rules, Factur-X schema requirements, and business-specific rules before submission — catching errors before they reach the PPF.
Handle compliance across multiple EU jurisdictions, not just France. Businesses operating in Germany, Spain, Italy, and France can use a single PDP like InvoStaq for all of them.
Full invoice lifecycle tracking — from issuance through acknowledgement, acceptance/rejection, and payment — with status updates (statut de traitement) flowing back to both parties.
PPF — Best For
PDP — Best For
There's a third category: the OD (Opérateur de Dématérialisation). ODs are service providers that help businesses prepare and format invoices, but they cannot send invoices directly to the PPF or other PDPs. ODs must route through either the PPF or a certified PDP. Think of ODs as preparation-only tools — they handle formatting but not transmission. For most businesses, choosing a PDP like InvoStaq eliminates the need for a separate OD entirely.
The Y-Model Architecture
The name "Y-model" comes from the shape of the invoice flow when you diagram it. Two paths converge at the PPF (the bottom of the Y) and then fan out again. Here's exactly how an invoice travels through the French system:
The supplier generates an e-invoice in their ERP system (SAP, Dynamics 365, Odoo, etc.). The invoice must be in one of the three accepted formats: Factur-X (hybrid PDF/XML), UBL (Universal Business Language), or CII (Cross-Industry Invoice). The supplier's PDP — or the PPF if they're using the free portal — validates the invoice against French tax rules.
The supplier's PDP sends the invoice data to the PPF. Even if both parties use PDPs, the PPF always sits in the middle. The PPF extracts structured tax data (e-reporting data) from the invoice and queries the Annuaire (central directory) to determine where the buyer receives invoices — which PDP they've registered with, or whether they use the PPF directly.
Based on the Annuaire lookup, the PPF routes the invoice to the buyer's chosen platform. If the buyer uses a PDP, the PPF forwards it there. If the buyer uses the PPF itself, the invoice is deposited in their PPF inbox. The tax data is simultaneously transmitted to the DGFiP for VAT pre-filling.
The buyer receives the invoice through their PDP or PPF. They review and respond with a lifecycle status — accepted, rejected, or disputed. This status flows back through the system to the supplier's PDP, creating a complete audit trail. France mandates these lifecycle statuses (statut de traitement), making them legally required.
In Italy's SDI system, the government portal does everything — validation, routing, delivery. In France, the PPF is primarily a routing hub and tax data extractor. The heavy lifting — format conversion, ERP integration, business rule validation, lifecycle management — happens in the PDPs. This means the quality of your compliance experience depends heavily on which PDP you choose. A basic PDP gives you bare-minimum compliance. A platform like InvoStaq gives you compliance plus automation, multi-country support, and deep ERP integration.
France isn't starting from zero. Since 2020, all invoices to French government entities must go through Chorus Pro, the existing B2G e-invoicing portal. The PPF is being built on Chorus Pro's infrastructure and experience. If your business already submits invoices through Chorus Pro, you're familiar with the basic workflow. The B2B mandate extends this concept to every business-to-business transaction in France.
Compliance Requirements
The French mandate introduces several layers of technical and operational requirements. Missing any one of them means non-compliance — and unlike some EU countries, France has signalled it will enforce actively from day one.
France accepts three structured e-invoice formats. All must conform to the European EN 16931 standard:
France's hybrid format — a human-readable PDF with embedded XML data. Based on ZUGFeRD and ideal for businesses that need both visual and machine-readable invoices. France's preferred format.
Universal Business Language — the global standard used across Peppol and many EU countries. Pure XML format widely supported by ERPs and accounting software worldwide.
Cross-Industry Invoice — the UN standard for electronic business documents. Used primarily in B2B supply chains and cross-border trade. The XML core behind Factur-X.
France's mandate goes beyond just sending invoices. It requires mandatory lifecycle status tracking — a feature unique to the French model and one of its most complex aspects:
Invoice deposited into the system by the supplier
Invoice received by the buyer's platform
Buyer has accepted the invoice for payment
Buyer has rejected the invoice (with reason)
Invoice has been scheduled for payment
Payment has been received by the supplier
The French mandate doesn't stop at B2B e-invoicing. It also introduces e-reporting for transactions that fall outside the domestic B2B e-invoicing scope:
All business-to-consumer sales must be reported to the PPF through e-reporting. The invoice itself isn't routed through the system — but the tax data is.
Cross-border B2B transactions with non-French businesses must be reported. The foreign partner won't receive the invoice via PPF, but France needs the tax data.
For certain B2B transactions, payment data must be reported separately — enabling France to cross-reference invoiced amounts with actual payments received.
E-reporting data must be transmitted within specific timeframes. Transaction data: within 7 days. Payment data: by the 10th of the following month.
After multiple delays, the French government has confirmed the following two-phase rollout:
All taxpayers must be able to receive e-invoices. Large enterprises (GE) must send e-invoices and transmit e-reporting data to the DGFiP.
All remaining companies — mid-size enterprises (ETI), small and medium enterprises (PME), and micro-enterprises (TPE) — must send e-invoices and perform e-reporting. Full mandate coverage across all French businesses.
Getting Ready
With the September 2026 deadline approaching, French businesses need a clear action plan. Whether you're a large enterprise facing the first wave or an SME preparing for 2027, the steps are the same — only the urgency differs.
This is the foundational decision. If you process more than a handful of invoices per month, have an ERP, or operate in multiple countries, a PDP is almost certainly the right choice. InvoStaq operates as a certified PDP, handling the full invoice lifecycle while integrating directly with your existing systems.
Take stock of how your invoices are currently created and formatted. Are they PDFs? Proprietary XML? CSV exports? You'll need to move to Factur-X, UBL, or CII. A PDP like InvoStaq handles all format conversions automatically — but you need to understand your starting point.
Identify where invoice data originates in your ERP, how it currently flows to customers, and what API or export capabilities your ERP supports. InvoStaq provides native plugins for SAP, Dynamics 365, and Odoo, plus REST APIs for custom integrations.
Every French business must register in the PPF's central directory (Annuaire), specifying their chosen platform for receiving invoices. This registration determines how trading partners find and route invoices to you.
Build workflows for receiving and sending lifecycle statuses. When invoices arrive, your system must respond with acceptance, rejection, or payment statuses within the mandated timeframes. InvoStaq automates this entire workflow.
If you have B2C sales or international B2B transactions, configure e-reporting workflows. This data must be transmitted to the PPF on a defined schedule. InvoStaq handles e-reporting alongside e-invoicing from a single platform.
France provides a test environment (bac à sable) for validating your e-invoicing setup before the mandate goes live. Test format conversion, invoice routing, lifecycle statuses, and e-reporting flows. InvoStaq runs automated test suites against the PPF sandbox to certify your readiness.
InvoStaq is built for exactly this kind of complexity. As a certified PDP, we handle every aspect of the French model:
Every EU country is approaching e-invoicing differently. Understanding where France fits helps clarify why its complexity demands a sophisticated platform:
Centralised clearance — all invoices pass through one government platform. Simple but creates a single point of failure.
Peppol-based delivery with no central clearance. Businesses send directly via Peppol Access Points. Simpler for senders, harder for tax authority visibility.
Real-time reporting with near-live validation. Invoices are reported to the AEAT within seconds. High-speed but high technical burden.
Hybrid Y-model with government hub + private platforms. Most architectural flexibility but most complexity. Requires platform choice, lifecycle management, and e-reporting.
Navigate the French Model
France's PPF/PDP architecture is the most complex in Europe — but you don't need to navigate it alone. InvoStaq handles PPF integration, format conversion, lifecycle management, and e-reporting from a single platform.