Factur-X invoice: what it is and how to create one for free

A Factur-X invoice looks like any PDF invoice. The difference is inside: the file carries its own data, so software can read it without anyone retyping it. You can create one for free, with no account, in the Clairsmith invoice generator.

A hybrid file: one PDF, two layers

The two layers of a Factur-X invoice

Layer	Who it is for	What it holds
The visible PDF	The person reading the invoice	The invoice as you see it
The embedded XML	Accounting software	The same data, structured

Both layers must say exactly the same thing. That is the whole point: the PDF stays readable with no software at all, and the XML saves the retyping.

Factur-X is a Franco-German standard. In Germany the same format is called ZUGFeRD; according to FNFE-MPE, which publishes it in France, the two are technically identical in their recent versions.

You received a Factur-X invoice

Nothing changes for you: open the PDF, read it, pay it. If your accounting software supports Factur-X or ZUGFeRD, it can import the invoice from the same file.

To see what the XML says, drop the file into the Factur-X reader. It shows the seller, the buyer, the lines, VAT and totals as written in the XML. The file is read in your browser.

Create a Factur-X invoice for free, in 4 steps

1. Open the invoice generator and choose the “France” jurisdiction. The UK and US versions give an invoice to print or save as PDF, without Factur-X.
2. Fill in your details and your client’s, with their SIREN number if they are a French business: the client’s SIREN is one of the mandatory data items of a French e-invoice.
3. Click “Download my invoice (PDF + Factur-X)”. The factur-x.xml file is embedded in the PDF, in the EN 16931 profile.
4. Check the file with the Factur-X reader and compare the XML data with the PDF.

No account. Clairsmith keeps nothing you type.

What we test, and what we do not. The generator’s engine is tested with Mustang, an open-source validator, at every update: XML structure, EN 16931 rules and the PDF/A-3 format. Your own file is not validated individually. The reader shows what a file declares; it does not certify compliance.

France 2027, in three lines

• Since 1 September 2026, every business in France must be able to receive e-invoices; large and mid-sized companies must issue them.
• From 1 September 2027, mid-sized, small and very small businesses, micro-entrepreneurs included, must issue them too, for invoices to businesses established in France.
• A Factur-X sent by email has the right format; for those invoices, the reform also requires transmission through an approved platform.

More in E-invoicing: what a micro-entrepreneur must do, on the e-invoicing page and in the e-invoicing checklist.

Factur-X profiles, in plain words

A profile sets how much data the XML holds. FNFE-MPE describes five:

The five Factur-X profiles, according to FNFE-MPE

Profile	What the XML holds
MINIMUM	The minimum header and footer data
BASIC WL	The most requested header and footer data, without lines
BASIC	BASIC WL, plus the essential data of each line
EN 16931	All the data of the European standard. This is the profile of the Clairsmith generator.
EXTENDED	EN 16931, plus additional data

For France, FNFE-MPE also mentions a reference profile, EXTENDED-CTC-FR, a subset of EXTENDED. We did not find, in the documents impots.gouv.fr publishes for businesses, a list of the profiles accepted for issuing: your approved platform is best placed to tell you which one it expects.

Three mistakes to avoid

1. A PDF and an XML that differ. If you fix an amount by hand in the PDF after export, the XML keeps the old one. Fix it in the generator and download again.
2. Re-saving the file. Factur-X relies on the PDF/A-3 format. “Print to PDF”, or a round trip through another program, can drop the XML. Send the file as downloaded, and check it with the reader if in doubt.
3. An outdated French VAT wording. The legal reference of the VAT exemption changes for invoices issued from 1 January 2027: see French invoice requirements.

A Factur-X file still has to travel through an approved platform from September 2027: see which approved platform to choose as a micro-entrepreneur.

Common questions