New in the information package

Starting with Release 2.5, the EXTENDED profile was enhanced with new functionality from the upcoming EN 16931-1:2026 to support the requirements of the French B2B e-invoicing reform and the revised EN 16931 at an early stage. This corrigendum ZUGFeRD 2.5.2 primarily resolves consistency issues in these enhancements.

The next ZUGFeRD release is expected to be published in autumn 2026. It is expected to include support for gross invoices as well as additional functionality from the new revision of EN 16931.

General change:

• In the BASIC WL, BASIC, and EN16931 profiles, rule BR-CO-27 has been renamed to CII-SR-470 (no functional changes; the rule itself remains unchanged).

In addition, the following change was made in the EXTENDED profile:

• Cardinality of Invoiced item VAT category code (BT-151) and Tax Type code (BT-151-0 = “VAT”) moved from 1..1 to 0..1 in xsd, in order to allow the presence of DueDateTypeCode alone on line-level (BT-X-589) in VAT information on line-level (BG-30) for lines with subtype (BT-X-8) equal to “GROUP” or “INFORMATION”. BR-FXEXT-CO-04 makes BT-151 / BT-151-0 mandatory for lines with no subtype (BT-X-8) or subtype = “DETAIL”.
• 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 BR-FXEXT-S-01, BR-FXEXT-Z-01, BR-FXEXT-E-01, BR-FXEXT-AE-01, BR-FXEXT-IC-01, BR-FXEXT-G-01, BR-FXEXT-O-01, BR-FXEXT-AF-01, BR-FXEXT-AG-01, in order to allow more than 1 occurrence of VAT Breakdown (BG-23) per VAT Category / VAT Exemption reason text and code.
• BR-54 replaced by BR-FXEXT-BR-54-1 (each Item Attribute shall contain a name or a code) and BR-FXEXT-BR-54-2 (each item attribute shall contain a Value or a Value with unit of measure, but not both).
• Correction of BR-FXEXT-08 for rounding issue in sums of BT-131.

The new version is based on UN/CEFACT CII D22B and is fully backwards compatible with D16B. All five profiles have their own XSD and Schematron validation artefacts, which are updated in accordance with EN 16931.

The version is based on UN/CEFACT CII D22B and is fully backward compatible with D16B.

All five profiles provide their own XSD and Schematron validation artifacts, which have been updated in accordance with the latest requirements of EN 16931.

ZUGFeRD 2.5.2 is effective as of 1 September 2026.

International Dimension of ZUGFeRD and Factur-X

Factur-X and ZUGFeRD are technically identical Franco-German standards for hybrid electronic invoices. They combine a human-readable PDF document with structured XML data and are based on the European standard EN 16931.

The formats are jointly developed and maintained by FeRD and FNFE-MPE. Alongside XRechnung, ZUGFeRD is one of the established e-invoicing formats in Germany. In France, Factur-X forms part of the minimum standard defined by the national B2B e-invoicing reform.

ZUGFeRD 2.5.2 and Factur-X 1.09.2 are fully backward compatible and suitable for invoice exchange between businesses, public administrations, and consumers. The EXTENDED profile has been enhanced with additional elements to support the French B2B e-invoicing reform and the revised EN 16931 data model.

Both formats are generally suitable for invoice exchange between businesses (B2B), between businesses and public administrations (B2G), and between businesses and consumers (B2C).

Contents of the Release Package

The ZUGFeRD 2.5.2 release package includes the following documents and files:

• Unified specification for ZUGFeRD 2.5.2 and Factur-X 1.09.2 (PDF)
• Technical annex in German, provided separately for each profile
• Excel file containing the code lists and codes used in EN 16931
• Schema and XSLT files, provided separately for each profile
• Sample invoices, provided separately for each profile
• Factur-X and ZUGFeRD logos

Further links

• The German-language information pack for ZUGFeRD Version 2.5.2 is available for free download here.
• The French-language Factur-X 1.09.2 information pack is available for free download on the FNFE-MPE website.
• All older versions of ZUGFeRD are no longer available for download. However, information about them can be found in the version archive.

Free Download of Version 2.5.2

To receive the latest ZUGFeRD release package in German and English, please provide the requested details. Your data will not be used for advertising purposes. It will be used solely to keep you informed about updates to the ZUGFeRD format

Note

The information package does not contain any executable software. It includes general information on the Factur-X/ZUGFeRD standard and all the necessary data for implementation into your own software.

By downloading ZUGFeRD version 2.5.2, you agree to the ZUGFeRD disclaimer and terms of use.