French Auto-Entrepreneur Invoice Requirements (2026)

The auto-entrepreneur regime and invoicing obligations

The auto-entrepreneur (officially renamed micro-entrepreneur in 2016) is the most popular business status for freelancers and solo operators in France. As of 2026, over 2.5 million micro-entrepreneurs are registered with URSSAF. Despite the simplified tax and social contribution regime, auto-entrepreneurs are subject to strict invoicing rules under the Code de Commerce (Articles L441-3 to L441-5). Every invoice you issue must comply with these requirements — regardless of the invoice amount or whether your client is a business or an individual consumer.

Mandatory fields on every invoice

French law requires all of the following on every auto-entrepreneur invoice:

- Your full business name (or your first and last name if trading under your own name) - Your SIREN number (9 digits) or SIRET number (14 digits, which includes the establishment identifier) - Your business address (the registered address declared to URSSAF) - The invoice number — a unique, sequential number with no gaps (e.g., 2026-001, 2026-002) - The invoice date (date of issue) - The client's full name or company name and billing address - A clear description of each product or service supplied - The quantity and unit price excluding tax for each line item - The total amount excluding tax (HT) and the total amount due - The date of supply or completion of the service, if different from the invoice date - Your RCS or RM registration number if you are registered with the trade registry or craft registry

The TVA exemption mention — Article 293 B du CGI

When you exceed the VAT threshold

If your turnover crosses the tolerance ceiling during a calendar year, you become liable for VAT from the first day of the month in which you exceeded the threshold. At that point, you must apply for a TVA intracommunautaire number from the SIE (Service des Impots des Entreprises), begin charging VAT on your invoices, and file periodic VAT returns. You can no longer use the Article 293 B exemption mention. This transition can happen mid-year, so it is essential to monitor your cumulative revenue throughout the year.

EU B2B invoicing and the reverse charge mechanism

When you provide services to a VAT-registered business in another EU member state, the reverse charge mechanism applies under Article 196 of the EU VAT Directive. In practice, this means:

- You do not charge French VAT on the invoice - You include the mention: "Autoliquidation — TVA due par le preneur, article 283-2 du CGI" - You must have an EU VAT number (numéro de TVA intracommunautaire). Even auto-entrepreneurs exempt from TVA under Article 293 B must request this number from their SIE when selling B2B services to other EU countries - Your client self-assesses (autoliquide) the VAT in their own country

You must verify the client's VAT number using the EU VIES database before applying the reverse charge. If the number is invalid, you charge French VAT at the standard rate (20%).

Sequential invoice numbering rules

French law requires invoice numbers to follow a sequential, unbroken chronological order. You cannot skip a number, reuse a number, or issue invoices out of order. Common formats include:

- Annual reset: 2026-001, 2026-002, 2026-003 - Continuous numbering: FA-0001, FA-0002 (never resets) - Prefixed by month: 202604-001, 202604-002

Any format is acceptable as long as the sequence is continuous and auditable. If a tax inspector reviews your invoicing records and finds a gap in the sequence, you may be asked to justify it. Cancellations should be handled with a credit note (avoir), not by deleting the original invoice.

Payment terms and late payment penalties

Under French commercial law, payment terms must be stated on the invoice. The default term is 30 days from the date of receipt of goods or completion of services. The maximum permitted term is 60 days from the invoice date (or 45 days end of month, if contractually agreed). Your invoice must also state:

- The late payment penalty rate. If not specified, the legal minimum is three times the legal interest rate (taux d'interet legal). Many businesses use the BCE refinancing rate plus 10 percentage points. - The fixed recovery indemnity of 40 EUR for professional clients (indemnite forfaitaire de recouvrement), which is mandatory to mention on B2B invoices.

Even if you rarely enforce late payment penalties, the law requires these mentions on every B2B invoice.

Penalties for non-compliant invoices

How Invoicey handles French auto-entrepreneur invoicing

Invoicey is built with French compliance at its core. When you set your business country to France and select the auto-entrepreneur regime, Invoicey automatically:

- Adds the "TVA non applicable, article 293 B du CGI" mention to every invoice - Validates your SIREN/SIRET number format - Generates sequential invoice numbers with no gaps - Includes the 40 EUR recovery indemnity mention and late payment penalty rate on B2B invoices - Detects EU B2B clients and applies the reverse charge (autoliquidation) with the correct legal mention - Warns you if your cumulative revenue approaches the TVA threshold - Exports invoices as legally compliant PDFs ready for your accountant or a tax audit

You focus on your work. Invoicey handles the compliance.