French Invoice Template (Facture): Free Format

France has one of the longest lists of mandatory invoice details in Europe, and missing items can lead to fines. A French invoice template, or modèle de facture, gives you a layout with every required mention in place: SIREN, VAT details, payment terms, the late penalty rate, the €40 recovery indemnity and, for VAT-exempt micro-entrepreneurs, the article 293 B wording. Fill in the parties, lines and dates, and the legal wording is already there.

Below you will find the full list of mandatory mentions, a bilingual sample invoice, the new fields arriving with the 2026 e-invoicing reform, and the mistakes that most often make a facture non-compliant. This is general information, not tax or legal advice; check your own situation with an expert-comptable.

Mandatory mentions on a French invoice (mentions obligatoires)

The French administration's page on mandatory invoice mentions lists what a B2B facture must include. In summary:

French label	English	Notes
Date de la facture	Invoice date	Date of issue
Numéro de facture	Invoice number	Unique, continuous chronological sequence
Date de la vente / prestation	Date of sale or service	Or the date of a deposit payment
Identité du vendeur	Seller identity	Name or company name, address, SIREN; companies add legal form and share capital
Identité de l'acheteur	Buyer identity	Company name or full name, address
Numéro de bon de commande	PO number	If the buyer issued one
N° de TVA intracommunautaire	EU VAT number	Seller, and buyer if VAT-registered
Désignation, quantité, prix unitaire HT	Description, quantity, unit price excl. VAT	Plus any surcharges such as delivery
Taux et montant de TVA	VAT rate and amount	Or the legal reason for exemption
Total HT / Total TTC	Total excl. / incl. VAT	Discounts tied to the sale shown separately
Date d'échéance	Payment due date	An actual date
Escompte	Early payment discount	If none: "Escompte pour paiement anticipé : néant"
Pénalités de retard	Late payment penalties	Rate applied automatically if unpaid
Indemnité forfaitaire de 40 €	€40 recovery indemnity	Professional clients only

For a deeper explanation of each item, including thresholds and penalties for omissions, see our guide to French invoice requirements.

French invoice sample (bilingual)

A Lyon-based SARL bills a French client for consulting. Seller: Atelier Conseil SARL, capital 10 000 €, SIREN 000 000 000 (placeholder), TVA FR00 000000000. Facture n° 2026-0142, date 12/11/2026, prestation réalisée du 01/10/2026 au 31/10/2026, bon de commande n° BC-5520.

Désignation / Description	Qté	PU HT	Total HT
Mission de conseil, octobre 2026 / Consulting, October 2026 (jours)	6	650,00 €	3 900,00 €
Atelier de formation / Training workshop	1	800,00 €	800,00 €
Total HT			4 700,00 €
TVA 20 %			940,00 €
Total TTC			5 640,00 €

The math: 6 days x 650 € = 3 900 €. Add 800 € for a total HT of 4 700 €. VAT at 20 percent: 4 700 € x 0.20 = 940 €. Total TTC: 4 700 € + 940 € = 5 640 €. French amounts conventionally use a comma for decimals and a space for thousands, as shown.

The footer then carries the payment wording, for example:

• Date d'échéance : 12/12/2026. Paiement par virement : IBAN FR76 ...
• Escompte pour paiement anticipé : néant.
• En cas de retard de paiement, pénalités au taux de [your agreed rate] exigibles sans rappel.
• Indemnité forfaitaire pour frais de recouvrement : 40 €.

The penalty rate must be stated; French commercial law sets a minimum, and businesses often refer to the ECB refinancing rate plus 10 points. Confirm the rate you use with your accountant.

Variations you may need

Micro-entrepreneur under VAT franchise

If you are under the franchise en base de TVA, show amounts without VAT and add the mention "TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI". Do not show a VAT line at 0 percent instead; the mention is what makes the invoice correct.

Billing a business in another EU country

For B2B services to a VAT-registered business elsewhere in the EU, the customer usually accounts for VAT under the reverse charge. Show both VAT numbers and a mention such as "Autoliquidation". Our guide to the reverse charge invoice explains the wording, and you should check the client's number with a VIES VAT number check first.

Billing a consumer

Invoices to private individuals are required only in certain cases (such as on request or for some services), and the €40 indemnity does not apply to consumers.

New mentions from the 2026 e-invoicing reform

France is moving B2B invoicing to structured e-invoices. The administration states that from 1 September 2026 large companies and mid-sized companies (ETI) must issue e-invoices and every business must be able to receive them, with SMEs and micro-enterprises issuing from 1 September 2027. Four new mentions are being added:

• The customer's SIREN number
• The delivery address, if different from the billing address
• The nature of the operation: goods, services, or both
• The mention "Option pour le paiement de la taxe d'après les débits", if you opted to pay VAT on debits

It makes sense to add these fields to your template now. Our explainer on the France e-invoicing reform covers platforms and e-reporting. If you also bill German clients, compare this layout with our German invoice template (Rechnung), which has its own required fields.

How to fill in a French invoice, step by step

1. Enter your legal details: name, legal form, share capital (companies), address, SIREN and VAT number.
2. Enter the client's name, address, SIREN (from the reform dates) and VAT number if applicable.
3. Assign the next number in your sequence. Never skip or reuse numbers.
4. Add the invoice date, the date of sale or service and any PO number.
5. List each item with quantity and unit price HT, then the VAT rate per line.
6. Calculate Total HT, VAT and Total TTC. Our guide to calculating an invoice total shows the order of operations.
7. Add the due date, escompte, penalty rate and €40 indemnity wording.

Useful French invoice vocabulary

If you are building a bilingual invoice, these are the terms you will use most:

French	English
Facture	Invoice
Facture d'acompte	Deposit invoice
Avoir	Credit note
Devis	Quote
HT (hors taxes)	Excluding tax
TTC (toutes taxes comprises)	Including tax
Remise / rabais	Discount / reduction
Échéance	Due date
Virement bancaire	Bank transfer
Autoliquidation	Reverse charge

Deposits and credit notes in France

When a client pays an advance, French practice is to issue a facture d'acompte for the amount received, with the normal mandatory mentions and VAT where it applies. The final invoice then shows the total for the work and deducts the deposit invoice, quoting its number. If you need to correct or cancel an invoice that has been sent, do not edit or delete it. Issue an avoir (credit note) that references the original invoice, then a new invoice if needed. This keeps the numbering sequence unbroken, which the tax authorities expect.

Numbering and record keeping

French invoice numbers must follow a continuous chronological sequence without gaps. You can use more than one series, for example one per year (2026-0001, 2026-0002) or one per activity, as long as each series is continuous. Invoices must be kept for years after issue for commercial and tax purposes, so store the PDFs, not just the data in a spreadsheet. If you issue invoices in English to foreign clients, keep the bilingual version so a French version is available on request.

Billing foreign clients from France

When you bill a client outside France, the VAT treatment depends on whether they are a business or a consumer and where they are based. For B2B services to businesses in other EU countries, the general rule is that the customer accounts for VAT, and your invoice shows "Autoliquidation" with both VAT numbers. For services to businesses outside the EU, French VAT is often not charged either, and the invoice should state the legal basis. Goods shipped out of the EU are usually zero-rated exports, supported by proof of export. Because these cases have exceptions, confirm the correct wording with your accountant before you set up a template for international clients.

Common mistakes on French invoices

• Leaving out the late penalty rate or the €40 indemnity, which are easy to forget on templates built for other countries.
• Omitting "Escompte : néant" when no discount is offered.
• Missing SIREN, legal form or share capital for companies.
• Gaps or restarts in the numbering sequence.
• Using English-only labels for invoices issued in France.

You can build a bilingual facture with all of these mentions in our free invoice generator: add the French labels and footer wording, set the currency to euros, and download the PDF. No sign-up is required.