What counts as an e-invoice
Since 1 January 2025, German law distinguishes sharply:
- An electronic invoice is a structured data file that follows the European standard EN 16931 – in Germany usually XRechnung (XML) or ZUGFeRD (a PDF with XML embedded).
- Everything else – paper, a plain PDF, a scan – is now an „other invoice“ (sonstige Rechnung).
The deadlines
| Who | Obligation | From |
|---|---|---|
| Every business in Germany | receive | 1 January 2025 |
| Turnover above 800,000 € in the previous year | issue | 1 January 2027 |
| All remaining businesses | issue | 1 January 2028 |
| Kleinunternehmer (§ 19 UStG) | exempt from issuing – still have to receive | |
„Receive“ is the obligation people underestimate. It applies to you already, whatever your size, and it applies whether or not you feel ready.
What you actually need to receive one
Less than the sales pitches suggest:
- An email address your business partners can send to. That is legally sufficient – no portal, no platform, no subscription.
- A way to read the file. XML is not meant for humans. You can open a German e-invoice for free at view-xrechnung-online – it runs in your browser and the file never leaves your computer.
- Storage for eight years, in the original format. The XML is the original. A printout or a re-generated PDF is not.
Public authorities are a separate story
If you invoice a German public body, e-invoicing has been mandatory far longer – since 2020
for federal contracts – and there is an extra requirement: the Leitweg-ID, a
routing identifier that goes in the BuyerReference field (BT-10). Without it the
invoice is rejected automatically.
Your contracting authority tells you the Leitweg-ID. There is no public directory of them.
XRechnung or ZUGFeRD?
| XRechnung | ZUGFeRD | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | pure XML | PDF with XML embedded |
| Human-readable | no | yes – the PDF layer |
| Required by authorities | yes | sometimes accepted |
| Good for business customers | works | usually the friendlier choice |
Both satisfy the law. If you have the choice, ZUGFeRD annoys fewer people, because the recipient can simply look at it.
Need an invoice right now?
ZackFertig checks every mandatory field required by German law while you type and turns it into a finished PDF. Unlimited, no account, no subscription.
Write an invoice – freeCommon questions
I only have a few invoices a year. Do I really have to do this?
Receiving: yes, no threshold. Issuing: only from the date that matches your turnover, and Kleinunternehmer are exempt from issuing altogether.
Can my customer insist on a PDF?
Between German businesses, from the date the issuing obligation applies to you, no. During the transition period, sending an „other invoice“ requires the recipient's agreement.
Is a scanned paper invoice an e-invoice?
No. A scan is an image. What matters is machine-readable structured data, not the fact that a file is digital.
Do I need special software?
To receive: no. To issue: something that produces XRechnung or ZUGFeRD. ZackFertig does this in the one-off paid licence.
Legal basis
This page refers to the following German provisions so you can look them up yourself. It is information, not legal advice for your individual case.
- § 14 UStG – issuing invoices and mandatory content (German VAT Act)
- § 19 UStG – small business rule
- Directive 2014/55/EU – European standard EN 16931 for electronic invoicing