Germany & France: ZUGFeRD 2.5.2 / Factur-X 1.09.2 Technical Update Published – Effective 1 September 2026

Summary

On 4 August 2026, FeRD (Germany) and FNFE-MPE (France) published ZUGFeRD 2.5.2 / Factur-X 1.09.2, a corrigendum release to the joint hybrid (PDF/A-3 + XML) e-invoicing standard. This is not a new legal requirement, but an update to the technical specification that ERP systems and e-invoicing providers use to generate and validate ZUGFeRD/Factur-X invoices, applicable from 1 September 2026. [ferd-net.de]
The release resolves consistency issues introduced with Release 2.5 and its EXTENDED-profile enhancements, corrects rounding, invoice-line and item-attribute rules, and now allows multiple VAT breakdowns (BG-23) per VAT category or exemption reason. Validation artefacts (XSD and Schematron) across all five profiles are refreshed in line with EN 16931. [ferd-net.de], [github.com]
The version is based on UN/CEFACT CII D22B and remains fully backwards-compatible with D16B, so existing flows should continue to work. Organisations exchanging these formats in Germany or France should confirm with their ERP or e-invoicing provider whether the new specification is on the roadmap and whether customer testing or configuration changes are needed before go-live. The next ZUGFeRD release (expected autumn 2026) is set to add gross-invoice support. [ferd-net.de]

Extended article

On 4 August 2026, the Forum elektronische Rechnung Deutschland (FeRD) and the Forum National de la Facture Électronique et des Marchés Publics Électroniques (FNFE-MPE) published ZUGFeRD 2.5.2 / Factur-X 1.09.2, a corrigendum to the Franco-German hybrid e-invoicing standard. Factur-X and ZUGFeRD are technically identical formats that combine a human-readable PDF/A-3 document with structured XML data, built on the European semantic standard EN 16931 and jointly maintained by the two forums. The new version is effective as of 1 September 2026. [ferd-net.de]

This is a technical, not a legal, change. It does not create a new obligation; rather, it updates the specification, code lists and validation files that software vendors implement to produce and check compliant invoices. The 2.5.2 release primarily fixes consistency issues in the EXTENDED-profile functionality first introduced with Release 2.5 — enhancements that were added to anticipate the upcoming EN 16931-1:2026 revision and the requirements of the French B2B e-invoicing reform. [ferd-net.de]

What changed

Updated invoice validation rules. In the BASIC WL, BASIC and EN16931 profiles, rule BR-CO-27 has been renamed to CII-SR-470 (no functional change). Several EXTENDED-profile business rules (BR-S-1, BR-Z-1, BR-E-1, BR-AE-1, BR-IC-1, BR-G-1, BR-O-1, BR-AF-1, BR-AG-1) are deleted and replaced by new BR-FXEXT-* equivalents. [ferd-net.de], [github.com]
Multiple VAT breakdowns supported. The replacement rules allow more than one occurrence of a VAT Breakdown (BG-23) per VAT category / VAT exemption reason text and code — useful where the same VAT category or exemption reason appears more than once on an invoice. [ferd-net.de]
Improved validation accuracy. Corrections include a rounding fix in the sums of BT-131 (BR-FXEXT-08), and revised item-attribute rules (BR-54 replaced by BR-FXEXT-BR-54-1 and BR-FXEXT-BR-54-2, governing name/code and value/unit-of-measure combinations). The cardinality of the invoiced-item VAT category code (BT-151) and tax type code (BT-151-0) moved from 1..1 to 0..1 to support line-level scenarios. [ferd-net.de], [github.com]
Updated EN 16931 code lists. The version is based on UN/CEFACT CII D22B and is fully backwards-compatible with D16B. All five profiles (Minimum, Basic WL, Basic, EN 16931, Extended) provide their own XSD and Schematron validation artefacts, updated in line with the latest EN 16931 requirements and France’s upcoming B2B framework. [ferd-net.de]

Why it matters

For tax and finance teams, the update affects how VAT categories, exemption reasons, VAT breakdowns and invoice calculations are validated. Adopting the corrected specification helps reduce the risk of incorrect VAT data, validation errors or invoice rejections once software providers implement the new artefacts. Because the release is backwards-compatible, most organisations will see continuity rather than disruption — but only if their provider ships the update in time. FeRD has also signalled that the next ZUGFeRD release (autumn 2026) will add support for gross invoices and further EN 16931 revision functionality. [ferd-net.de]

Recommended action — Before 1 September, ask your ERP or e-invoicing provider: