Accepted formats: XRechnung (pure XML) or ZUGFeRD (PDF with embedded XML)

Germany accepts two EN 16931-compliant formats: XRechnung, the national XML standard, and ZUGFeRD (2.1+), a hybrid PDF you can read normally with machine-readable XML inside. For small businesses, ZUGFeRD is usually the smoother start because it still looks like a familiar PDF. Unlike Belgium or France, no special network or platform is required — email delivery is fine. UPDATE (19 Aug 2026): FeRD and FNFE-MPE jointly published ZUGFeRD 2.5.2 (identical to Factur-X 1.09.2) on 4 August 2026. It is a technical refresh rather than a new obligation: better handling of complex invoices (kits, bundles, sub-lines, subtotal lines, VAT breakdowns and rounding) plus updated validation files. Standard accounting software will pick this up through a normal vendor update. UPDATE (24 Aug 2026): German guidance this month stressed that properly checking a ZUGFeRD invoice means checking three things, not one — that the XML is technically well-formed, that the business rules pass (totals add up, required fields present, VAT logic correct), and that the PDF wrapper is a genuine PDF/A-3 with the XML correctly embedded inside it. An invoice can clear the first check and still be rejected by your customer or challenged at audit because it fails the second or third. If you use standard accounting software this is your vendor's job and nothing changes for you. It matters if you or a developer built your own invoice output. Germany's issuing deadlines are unchanged: 1 January 2027 above 800,000 euro turnover, 1 January 2028 for everyone else.

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