E-invoice archiving in the EU: how long to keep them, and in what format
Each EU country sets its own retention period for invoices: 8 years in Germany, 10 in France, 7 in Belgium, 5 in Romania. In Poland, the KSeF system stores structured invoices for 10 years. Germany and France expect the original electronic file to be kept, not only a PDF. The table below links each country to its official source.
RO e-Factura lets you download an invoice's XML for 60 days. Your own archive keeps it for as long as you decide.
Five countries and the EU, six calendars
Each state chooses its own system, format and start dates. A company that sells in three countries follows three calendars, each with its own technical rules. The table below sets them side by side, with the official document behind each one.
- In Poland, invoices go through KSeF; in Belgium, over the Peppol network; in Romania, through RO e-Factura; and in France, through platforms accredited by the tax authority. Germany has required businesses to be able to receive e-invoices since 2025, in XRechnung or ZUGFeRD. Directive (EU) 2025/516 adds common rules for supplies between Member States from July 1, 2030.
- Whatever the channel, you can keep the invoices in one place: your company's archive. In 3S, an XML downloaded from RO e-Factura sits next to a scanned PDF invoice, in a folder with its retention period, and one question finds both, with the source of each answer.
Who requires e-invoicing, and from when?
The rows cover invoices between businesses. Next to each is the official document we took it from, and below the table, the day we read it.
Germany
France
Poland
Belgium
EU (ViDA)
Recent changes
- September 1, 2026, FR: large and mid-size companies issue through accredited platforms.
- April 1, 2026, PL: the sales threshold ends, and KSeF covers all businesses.
- April 1, 2026, BE: the general tolerance period of the first three months ended.
Checked at the official source on
This guide is not legal advice, and the table leaves out invoices to consumers. Company records in Moldova have their own guide: Records retention in Moldova
Verified changes
2026, country by country
We checked each change below against the document published by the relevant authority. Each entry links to it, and its country tag leads to the row in the table.
Large and mid-size companies began issuing e-invoices, and every business concerned had to be able to receive them. SMEs and micro-enterprises follow in 2027.
Official documentThe general tolerance period of the first three months ended. A narrower tolerance for self-billing ran until June 30, 2026.
Official documentKSeF became mandatory for all remaining taxpayers. The PLN 200 million sales threshold no longer applies.
Official documentKSeF became mandatory for taxpayers with 2024 sales above PLN 200 million, VAT included, and KSeF 2.0 went into production.
Official documentStructured e-invoices became mandatory between Belgian VAT-registered businesses, sent over the Peppol network.
Official document
Three points from the Romanian rule
What ANAF's 2023 guide says about RO e-Factura, in three cards.
Two stages in 2024
From January 1, 2024, invoices between businesses established in Romania are reported in RO e-Factura. From July 1, 2024, only invoices sent through the system count as invoices between these businesses.
One format
The invoice is an XML file that meets the European standard EN 16931 and the national RO_CIUS rules. The original is the XML with the Ministry of Finance's electronic seal. A PDF is not an e-invoice under these rules.
60 days in the system
How long the file can be downloaded directly from RO e-Factura, according to ANAF's 2023 guide. After that, ANAF archives it and releases it on request. A company that needs the file later keeps its own copy.
The years after sending: where the invoice is when your accountant, an auditor or a partner asks
The retention period depends on the country and the document, and it runs for years. All that time, the invoice must stay legible and intact, and in Germany and France in its original electronic form.
A tax audit, a dispute with a supplier or a question from the bank can bring back an invoice from years ago. Then it matters whether you find it quickly, with the original XML and the date it arrived. A printout or a renamed PDF no longer shows where it came from or whether it was changed.
RO e-Factura does not replace your own archive: according to ANAF's 2023 guide, files can be downloaded directly for 60 days, then requested from ANAF. Copies often end up on several computers, in forwarded attachments and in folders with different names. Some get lost, others get duplicated, and at an audit nobody knows which copy is the original. When the person who downloaded them leaves the company, the folder can leave too, on a laptop nobody opens again.
In 3S, each invoice sits in your company's archive, in the folder you choose. Files are stored in the EU, with Frankfurt as the primary region. You set the retention period on the folder.
Where 3S stores your filesOne invoice, kept as long as you decide
Example: an invoice received in 2026, in a folder kept for 8 years.
after 8 years: end of the retention period
Year scale: 2026 to 2037; the example is kept until 2034.
In 3S, you can set a retention period for each folder, and it applies to the documents in it.
How can 3S help?
Three things you do with invoices in 3S, whatever software issues them.
Ask in your own words
Type "energy invoices from March" and get the list, each result with the document it comes from. Questions in Romanian are supported; English questions are in beta.
Export when asked
When your accountant or an auditor asks, export the documents they need.
Set retention per folder
You set a retention period on each folder, and it covers the documents in it.
Formats named in this guide
In 3S, you upload an XML invoice like any other file.
- EN 16931
- RO_CIUS
- XRechnung
- ZUGFeRD
- FA(3)
- XML
Common questions
How long must e-invoices be kept in each country?
Germany requires 8 years, France 10 years for accounting documents, Belgium 7 years and Romania 5 years. In Poland, KSeF holds structured invoices for 10 years, and you keep them longer, outside KSeF, only while the tax liability is still open.
In what format must e-invoices be kept?
Keep the original XML as you sent or received it: Germany and France say so. Belgium and Romania allow other formats if authenticity and integrity are ensured.
What is Peppol?
An e-invoice exchange network. Since January 1, 2026, Belgian VAT-registered businesses have sent structured e-invoices to each other over it. The table above shows the channel of each country.
Can I upload the XML files from RO e-Factura?
Yes. You can download invoices as XML files from RO e-Factura and upload them to the archive, like any other file, next to your other documents.
Who else stores your invoices?
In Poland, KSeF stores each structured invoice for 10 years from the end of its year of issue. In Romania, RO e-Factura keeps the XML for download for 60 days, then archives it and releases it on request.
Need this for your own archive?
Tell us which countries your invoices come from and roughly how many you keep.
A person replies, in English or Romanian.