Factur-X (France) and ZUGFeRD (Germany) are the same hybrid PDF/A-3 + EN 16931 XML standard, published in a ladder of profiles from MINIMUM to EXTENDED. The one thing that trips people up: the two lowest rungs are not compliant invoices. Here is the whole ladder in plain terms.
| Profile | What it carries | Compliant EN 16931 invoice? |
|---|---|---|
| MINIMUM | Header + document totals only; no lines. A booking aid. | No — not a legal invoice |
| BASIC WL | Header + tax breakdown, but no line items ("without lines"). | No — below the norm |
| BASIC | The full core invoice with line items, restricted to common cases. | Yes |
| EN 16931 (COMFORT) | The complete EN 16931 semantic model. | Yes |
| EXTENDED | EN 16931 plus extra business-detail fields (a superset). | Yes |
| XRECHNUNG | The German national CIUS of EN 16931 (usually XML-only). | Yes |
Send at least BASIC. BASIC covers most invoices; step up to EN 16931 (COMFORT) or EXTENDED when you need richer line, allowance or charge detail. Do not issue MINIMUM or BASIC WL as your legal invoice — the standard itself declares them below the EN 16931 norm (MINIMUM is a booking aid; BASIC WL has no lines), so a receiver's system can reject them.
🇫🇷🇩🇪 Mandate context: France's receive obligation lands 1 September 2026 and Germany's issuance wave from 1 January 2027 — both require a structured EN 16931 invoice, i.e. BASIC or above. A MINIMUM/BASIC WL file will not satisfy the obligation on its own.
The consistency check reads the profile identifier (BT-24) and
flags a below-norm MINIMUM / BASIC WL file (code PROFILE_BELOW_EN16931) alongside the
arithmetic checks; the validator confirms EN 16931 conformance against the official engines.
FacturProof — e-invoice validation, consistency and VAT verification with signed, offline-verifiable attestations. Guidance on the standards, not tax or legal advice. A verdict from our engine is honest: an engine that did not run is reported as such, never as a pass.