The timeline, precisely
| Date | Obligation | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2025 | Must be able to receive structured e-invoices (an email inbox suffices) | All domestic businesses |
| 2025–2026 | Issuing structured e-invoices voluntary; paper/PDF only with recipient consent | All |
| 1 Jan 2027 | Must issue structured e-invoices for domestic B2B | Businesses with prior-year turnover above €800,000 |
| 1 Jan 2028 | Must issue; transition rules (incl. EDI grace) expire | All domestic businesses |
“Structured” means conforming to EN 16931 — in practice XRechnung (pure XML, UBL or CII) or ZUGFeRD 2.x / Factur-X (PDF/A-3 with embedded CII XML) at a full-invoice profile. Under § 14 UStG the ZUGFeRD MINIMUM and BASIC WL profiles do not count as e-invoices — they carry no invoice lines. Nor does legacy ZUGFeRD 1.0. If your tooling produces those, you have a 2027 problem wearing a 2026 disguise — check what your PDFs actually contain.
Why invoices that “pass EN 16931” still get rejected in Germany
XRechnung is a national tightening (CIUS) of EN 16931. The German layer adds the BR-DE-*
rules: a mandatory buyer reference (BR-DE-15, the
Leitweg-ID in the public sector), seller contact details
(BR-DE-2 and friends), payment instructions
(BR-DE-1), and address fields that are optional elsewhere in
Europe. An invoice that validates cleanly against core EN 16931 can therefore still bounce from a German
receiver with a BR-DE rule ID.
The official BR-DE wording is published in German only. We maintain the
whole KoSIT ruleset explained in English — meaning, cause and fix for each rule —
because the moment you are staring at a rejection is a bad moment to start translating standards documents.
What to do before your deadline
| Situation | Free check |
|---|---|
| Your software claims it exports XRechnung or ZUGFeRD | Run a real invoice through the validator (XML) or the inspector (PDF) and read the rule report |
| You only have spreadsheet/CSV exports | The converter builds validated XRechnung 3.0 (UBL or CII) from a CSV — three invoices per upload free |
| A customer rejected your invoice with a rule ID | Look it up in the error-code library |
Test with a real invoice, today
Every rule that fires is listed with a plain-English explanation — including the German-only
BR-DE layer. Free, no signup, nothing stored.
Neighbouring deadlines
Belgium's Peppol mandate is already enforced with penalties. France's receive-obligation starts 1 September 2026.