Since September 2026, electronic invoices flow between French businesses through certified platforms — mandatory reception for all, issuance already in force for large companies and mid-caps, September 2027 deadline for SMEs and micro-businesses. In this new circuit, one configuration detail gets otherwise “compliant” invoices rejected: the Factur-X profile. Your software may have chosen it for you — here is what to understand before fixing it.
Profile vs standard: don’t confuse them
EN 16931 names two things, and the confusion is the source of many rejections:
- The European standard: the semantic model of the electronic invoice — about 300 normalized fields (the “BT”: invoice number, seller, totals, VAT…).
- The Factur-X profile bearing the same name: the one carrying all the mandatory fields of that standard.
Between the two live three lighter profiles and a richer one. An invoice’s profile is read in its embedded XML, via the guideline URN — and the URNs are telling: BASIC WL and BASIC declare under urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#… (a subset compliant with the standard), EXTENDED under #conformant# (it goes beyond), MINIMUM under urn:factur-x.eu:1p0:minimum (outside the full standard’s scope).
What each profile contains
| Data | MINIMUM | BASIC WL | BASIC | EN 16931 | EXTENDED |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seller/buyer identities, number and date | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Invoice totals | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| VAT breakdown per rate | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full addresses and contact details | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Payment terms and means | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Invoice lines | — | — | essential | complete | complete + |
| Sector-specific fields and extensions | — | — | — | — | ✓ |
- MINIMUM: the bare necessity for data transmission — identities, number, date, totals. Designed for information flows, not for carrying a complete invoice.
- BASIC WL (without lines): all the business header, including VAT broken down per rate — but no invoice lines.
- BASIC: adds the lines with their essential information (description, amount).
- EN 16931: all the standard’s mandatory fields — postal addresses, complete lines (quantities, unit prices, VAT categories), payment references. The “complete standard” profile.
- EXTENDED: EN 16931 plus optional fields for sector needs (late payment, site data, additional information…).
Why MINIMUM and BASIC pass some validators… and get rejected by your PA
This is the heart of the misunderstanding. A MINIMUM Factur-X is a real Factur-X: respectful of its profile’s specification, it will pass without error a validator checking “is this file a valid Factur-X”.
But a certified platform doesn’t stop at format checking: it must process and route the invoice. The French minimal core (AFNOR XP Z12-012 specifications) provides for PA-based exchanges the EN 16931 profiles — in its French CIUS declension — and EXTENDED-CTC-FR, an extension of about 500 fields for the national system’s needs. A MINIMUM or BASIC WL, even impeccably formed, simply does not contain the data the platform expects: no lines, insufficient VAT breakdown, reduced mentions.
Hence this baffling scenario: your software produces a correct “Factur-X” file, an online validator validates it, and the PA rejects it. The file is valid for its profile — it is the profile that is insufficient for the channel.
Knowing your invoice’s profile
The profile does not appear in the PDF rendering: it is declared in the embedded XML, in ExchangedDocumentContext/GuidelineSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter/ID. The Factur-X Diagnosis tool reads that URN and displays the detected profile — as well as the file’s flavor (Factur-X, ZUGFeRD or XRechnung: same mechanisms, German ecosystem) and the XML’s syntax version (D16B or D22B). Everything runs in your browser: nothing leaves your device.
If the report says “unrecognized profile”, the declared URN is not in the expected nomenclature — to be checked in your issuing software’s settings.
Which one to choose in 2026
- By default: EN 16931. It is the complete profile, the one certified platforms expect in the French minimal core, and the one serious invoicing software produces. When in doubt, that’s the one.
- EXTENDED if your platform or your industry requires it — the French EXTENDED-CTC-FR profile covers advanced needs of the national system. Don’t pick it “to do well”: it requires additional data to fill in.
- MINIMUM and BASIC WL have their use — data transmission, information flows — but not as a client invoice issued through a PA. If your tool offers them, that is not the invoicing setting.
- BASIC remains a subset: it may suffice in some bilateral exchanges, but brings nothing EN 16931 doesn’t cover — and it exposes you to a rejection if the recipient or the platform expects the complete profile.
The setting lives in your invoicing software or platform: look for “profile”, “conformance level” or “Factur-X” in the export settings. After fixing, re-diagnose the produced file — and if a rejection persists with a correct profile, the causes are elsewhere: diagnosing a rejected invoice.
In short
MINIMUM and BASIC WL are valid Factur-X files but incomplete for the certified-platform channel: the validator says “compliant”, the PA says “insufficient” — and both are right within their scope. For French B2B invoicing in 2026-2027, aim for EN 16931, or EXTENDED-CTC-FR when your platform asks for it. To check a file’s profile without sending it anywhere: Factur-X Diagnosis.
