Ordinance no. 2014-697 of 26 June 2014 requires holders of contracts concluded by the State, local authorities and public institutions, as well as their subcontractors paid directly, to transmit their invoices electronically. The obligation was extended in stages: large companies and public bodies on 1 January 2017, mid-sized companies in 2018, SMEs in 2019 and micro-businesses on 1 January 2020.
In practice, if your business sells to a town hall, a department, a public institution or a ministry, the invoice is not sent by email: it goes through Chorus Pro, which routes it to the receiving public entity.
The portal offers three submission methods:
Structured file submissions accept formats including UBL, CII and Factur-X. The portal is made available free of charge to businesses.
Chorus Pro and the reform of e-invoicing between businesses are two separate schemes, which have come together since 1 September 2026.
| Criterion | Chorus Pro (B2G) | 2026 reform (B2B) |
|---|---|---|
| Recipient | Public entities | VAT-registered businesses established in France |
| Obligation | All businesses since 1 January 2020 | Receiving since 1 Sept 2026; SMEs issue by 1 Sept 2027 at the latest |
| Circuit | Chorus Pro public platform | Approved platforms, directory run by the State |
| Formats | UBL, CII, Factur-X among others | UBL, CII and Factur-X core (EN 16931 standard) |
| Cost | Free | Depends on the approved platform chosen |
Since 1 September 2026, a business invoicing the public sector has two options: keep submitting its invoices directly on Chorus Pro (portal, API, EDI), or send them through its approved platform, which connects to Chorus Pro. Either way, every invoice addressed to a public entity arrives in Chorus Pro. In the other direction, VAT-registered public entities also issue their electronic invoices to businesses through Chorus Pro.
In other words: an SME can be subject to Chorus Pro for its public customers and, in addition, to the reform between businesses, whose receiving obligation has applied to all businesses since 1 September 2026.
To be routed, the invoice must carry the routing data expected by the public entity:
The AIFE recommends that public entities do not reject an invoice for an error in this data, but give it the status "À recycler" (to be recycled): the supplier corrects the SIRET, service code or commitment number and resends the invoice without changing its number. A missing supporting document leads to the status "Suspendue" (suspended); rejection is reserved for substantive errors, such as a wrong amount.
These back-and-forths delay payment, whose maximum period is 30 days for the State and for local authorities. In Orizen, invoices for a public sector customer are sent to Chorus Pro through a partner approved platform, with the Chorus Pro service code entered for that customer; Orizen is not itself an approved platform.
Discover the Orizen answer: Orizen e-invoicing, modular and built for French SMEs.
Essai gratuit 14 jours What the Orizen e-invoicing module costsYes. Since 1 January 2020, the obligation to send invoices electronically to the public sector has applied to micro-businesses, the last category covered. A self-employed professional invoicing a service to a town hall therefore sends the invoice through Chorus Pro, directly or through an approved platform connected to Chorus Pro, and not by email.
No. Chorus Pro covers invoices exchanged with the public sector (B2G). The reform in force since 1 September 2026 concerns invoices between VAT-registered businesses (B2B), which go through approved platforms, routed thanks to the directory run by the State. Chorus Pro remains the reference platform for the public sector, and the approved platforms that send it invoices connect to it. A business may be affected by both.
Nothing. The Chorus Pro portal is made available to businesses free of charge by the AIFE. The only possible costs come from the tools chosen to automate sending, such as an approved platform or management software.