ZUGFeRD: check the version and profile of your invoice
Pick a version and a profile: the check shows whether this ZUGFeRD invoice is enough as a business e-invoice and what the XML inside the PDF must be called.
As an e-invoice between businesses
Accepted
Version and profile meet the Finance Ministry’s requirements.
| To federal bodies | Use XRechnung instead |
| Name of the XML inside the PDF | factur-x.xml |
| Current version | 2.5.2 (4 August 2026) |
Basis: Finance Ministry FAQ (ZUGFeRD from 2.0.1 except MINIMUM and BASIC WL), E-Rechnung Bund FAQ (XRECHNUNG profile as XML only).
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · VAT Act, ministry letters and XRechnung 3.0.2 checked on 25 October 2026
ZUGFeRD is a hybrid invoice format from the German Forum for Electronic Invoicing (FeRD): a PDF/A-3 shows the invoice to people, and inside that PDF an XML file in the UN/CEFACT CII syntax carries the same details for software. The current release is ZUGFeRD 2.5.2, published on 4 August 2026; in content it is identical to the French Factur-X. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, ZUGFeRD counts as an e-invoice under the German VAT Act from version 2.0.1, in the BASIC, EN 16931 (formerly COMFORT), EXTENDED and XRECHNUNG profiles. The MINIMUM and BASIC WL profiles hold no invoice lines and are therefore not enough. With a ZUGFeRD invoice the XML data is what counts; if the visible PDF differs from it, the XML prevails. For invoices to federal bodies ZUGFeRD is an option only in the XRECHNUNG profile, and then as plain XML without the PDF.
How a ZUGFeRD file is built
From the outside a ZUGFeRD invoice is an ordinary PDF. It follows the PDF/A-3 archiving standard, however, which embeds fonts and a colour profile in the file and allows attachments. One of those attachments is the invoice as data: an XML file in the UN/CEFACT Cross Industry Invoice (CII) syntax. The PDF metadata states which profile the XML uses, and the attachment is linked with the relationship “Alternative”. In plain terms, image and data show the same invoice in two forms.
This has a practical benefit for the recipient. Someone without e-invoicing software opens the PDF as before and can read, print and pay it. Someone whose accounting imports invoices gets the data without retyping. Legally, the data decides: the Finance Ministry letter of 15 October 2025 makes clear that the XML prevails where the two differ.
Versions and file names
| Version | XML file name | E-invoice under the VAT Act |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | ZUGFeRD-invoice.xml | No, predates EN 16931 |
| 2.0 | zugferd-invoice.xml | No |
| 2.0.1 | zugferd-invoice.xml | Yes, in profiles from BASIC |
| 2.1.1 to 2.4 | factur-x.xml | Yes, in profiles from BASIC |
| 2.5.2 | factur-x.xml | Yes, current release |
Older invoices under ZUGFeRD 1.0 still turn up in archives. They remain readable, but for domestic business supplies they are no longer e-invoices, because that version was created before the European standard. If you generate invoices today, take the current release from the FeRD website; software that writes an older version from 2.0.1 onwards remains acceptable.
The six profiles
A profile defines how much information the XML holds. The higher the profile, the more fields are available:
- MINIMUM: header data only, such as invoice number, date, parties and totals. Not an e-invoice.
- BASIC WL (“without lines”): header data and VAT breakdown without line items. Not an e-invoice.
- BASIC: the core of EN 16931 with line items. An e-invoice.
- EN 16931, formerly COMFORT: the full standard. The right profile for most businesses.
- EXTENDED: extra fields for sectors with complex invoices, such as several delivery locations.
- XRECHNUNG: the German KoSIT rules, available since ZUGFeRD 2.2. The XML is then called xrechnung.xml.
The invoice creator on this site writes the EN 16931 profile. The invoice is then a complete e-invoice for any recipient in Germany, and the PDF stays readable for people. You can try it on create a ZUGFeRD invoice.
Is the file you received an e-invoice?
Many suppliers print “ZUGFeRD” on their invoices even when only MINIMUM is embedded, or no XML at all. The check below classifies any kind of file, from a paper invoice to an EDI message:
E-invoice under section 14 UStG?
E-invoice under section 14 UStG?
No
| Usable for domestic B2B from 2027/2028 | No |
| Receipt since 2025 | Only with your consent |
| To read it | Ordinary software |
ZUGFeRD and public bodies
According to the E-Rechnung Bund FAQ, the federal invoice platforms process ZUGFeRD only in the XRECHNUNG profile, and only as plain XML without the PDF part. A hybrid PDF with the EN 16931 profile is not accepted there. States and municipalities have their own rules, and many also ask for XRechnung. If you deliver to public bodies regularly, XRechnung is usually simpler; if you deliver to businesses, ZUGFeRD is.