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Compliance for Germany

Germany’s e-invoicing requirements combine a portal-based approach for public procurement (B2G) with a direct exchange approach for domestic business transactions (B2B). For B2G exchange, suppliers typically submit e-invoices through federal or state submission portals, using transmission channels such as Peppol, email, or manual upload.

Businesses established in Germany must be able to receive electronic invoices for domestic B2B transactions. Issuance requirements apply in phases from 1 January 2027 and 1 January 2028.

Document requirements

Germany requires structured electronic invoices aligned to the European standard EN 16931.

Germany compliance summary

Learn more about compliance transaction terms and concepts.

AspectDescriptionRequirement
B2BInvoices exchanged between businesses.Mandatory to receive e-invoices. Issuance mandatory from 1 January 2027 for businesses with an annual revenue over €800,000. Mandatory for all businesses from 1 January 2028.
B2CInvoices issued by businesses to consumers.Optional
B2GInvoices issued by businesses to public administrations for public procurement.Mandatory
Electronic signatureSignature or seal rules for authenticity and integrity of e‑invoices.Optional
Legal archivingMinimum retention period for e‑invoices.8 years
ModelThe e-invoicing flow model used by the country.Interoperability
PlatformThe government-managed platform for e-invoicing.Federal and state portals for B2G exchange. Peppol 4-corner model or email for B2B exchange.
Supported formatThe e-invoicing format legally required by the country.Compliant with the EN 16931 standard
Automatic updatesWhether invoice status updates synchronise automatically in Monitor.Yes

Format

Germany’s e-invoice requirements are aligned to EN 16931. Invoices are commonly exchanged as UBL 2.1 or CII. For public procurement, the format follows Germany’s national CIUS known as XRechnung.

For domestic B2B exchange, Peppol BIS includes XRechnung validations and is becoming a common implementation choice. ZUGFeRD is also used for domestic B2B exchange. It combines a human-readable PDF with structured CII data.

Tip

You can use ecosio’s validators to check that your German documents match their intended format before sending them.

Invoice types

The Invoice Type Code element within the invoice must contain one of the codes from the UNTDID 1001 code list.

DocumentCodeDescription
Corrected invoice384Used to correct or cancel a previously issued invoice.
Credit note381Used to reduce or cancel an invoice.
Prepayment invoice386An invoice claiming advance payment for goods or services.
Final construction invoice877Used to invoice the final amount for construction work.
Invoice380Standard sales invoice.
Partial construction invoice875Used to invoice a partial amount for construction work.
Partial final construction invoice876Used to invoice a partial final amount for construction work.
Partial invoice326An invoice for a part of the total order or project value.
Self-billed invoice389An invoice process based on an agreement between a supplier and a buyer, where the buyer prepares the invoice and sends it to the supplier with the payment.

Automated e-invoicing flow

ecosio enables you to automate the transmission of compliant e-invoices for both accounts receivable and accounts payable processes in Germany. For B2B exchange, you can send and receive e-invoices using Peppol or email.

Automated e-invoicing flow via ecosio for Germany using Peppol or email.

Accounts receivable

The following flows show how you can send e-invoices using Peppol or email.

Peppol flow

The following diagram and steps illustrate the AR process for e-invoices in Germany using the Peppol 4-corner model.

Flow of an accounts receivable electronic document from a supplier to a buyer using the Peppol 4-corner model in Germany.
  1. You, Corner 1, send invoice data from your ERP or business software to ecosio in a structured format, such as VRBL.
  2. ecosio, as your Access Point and Corner 2, converts the data into UBL 2.1 format, validates it against applicable business rules, and prepares it for transmission.
  3. ecosio transmits the invoice via the agreed channel to the recipient.
  4. The buyer’s Access Point, Corner 3, retrieves the invoice and converts it into the format required by their ERP or business software.
  5. The buyer’s Access Point delivers the invoice to their ERP or business software, which is Corner 4.

Email flow

The following diagram and steps illustrate the accounts receivable process for e-invoices in Germany using email exchange.

Flow of an accounts receivable electronic document from a supplier to a buyer using email exchange in Germany.
  1. You send the invoice by email to one of the following recipients:
    • The buyer’s e-invoicing email address.
    • Your dedicated ecosio e-invoicing email address for validation and conversion.
  2. If you send the invoice to ecosio, ecosio validates the attachment and converts it to the format required by the buyer’s ERP or business software.
  3. The buyer receives the email and retrieves the invoice attachment, or ecosio delivers the invoice to the buyer’s ERP or business software.

Accounts payable

The following flows show how you can receive e-invoices using Peppol or email.

Peppol flow

The following diagram and steps illustrate the AP process for e-invoices in Germany using the Peppol 4-corner model.

Flow of an accounts payable electronic document from a buyer to a supplier using the Peppol 4-corner model in Germany.
  1. The supplier, Corner 1, sends the invoice to their Access Point in a structured format, such as VRBL.
  2. The supplier’s Access Point, Corner 2, validates the invoice and maps it into the Peppol BIS standard format.
  3. The supplier’s Access Point queries the SML and SMP to locate ecosio as your Access Point and retrieve delivery details.
  4. ecosio, as your Access Point and Corner 3, retrieves the invoice and converts it into the format required by your ERP or business software.
  5. ecosio sends the invoice to your ERP or business software, which is Corner 4.

Email flow

The following diagram and steps illustrate the accounts payable process for e-invoices in Germany using email exchange.

Flow of an accounts payable electronic document from a buyer to a supplier using email exchange in Germany.
  1. The supplier sends the invoice to your email in a structured format, such as VRBL, CSV, or IDoc.
  2. If the email is sent to your ecosio email, the invoice attachment is validated and converted to the format required by your ERP or business software.
  3. You receive the invoice in your mailbox or ERP or business software.

Legal resources

The following official documents define the legal and technical framework for e-invoicing in Germany.

Updated 9 days ago

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