Lifecycle and use cases
France's e-invoicing reform mandates lifecycle statuses that must be exchanged between trading partners and, for some statuses, reported to the tax authority.
This obligation goes well beyond what is required in other e-invoicing markets. Understanding it is central to a compliant implementation.
The two phases
France's invoice lifecycle is divided into a transmission phase and a treatment phase:
- Transmission phase
- PA-initiated events that report the transmission of an invoice or credit note from seller to seller PA to buyer PA to buyer.
- Treatment phase
- The optional statuses that are initiated by the buyer after they receive the invoice, and sometimes require a seller response.
Transmission phase
The transmission phase covers the act of sending an invoice from the seller's platform to the buyer's platform. All statuses in this phase are set automatically by the PAs.
| SCICloudStatusCode | French Code | Who Sets It | Mandatory to PPF | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 211 | 200 — Déposée (Submitted) | Seller's PA (Sovos) | Yes | Invoice validated and transmitted. Primary submission confirmation. PPF has received the invoice. |
| 214 | 201 — Émise par la plateforme (Issued) | Seller's PA (Sovos) | No | Sovos has forwarded the invoice to the buyer's PA. |
| 215 | 202 — Reçue par la plateforme (Received) | Buyer's PA | No | Buyer's PA confirmed receipt. |
| 216 | 203 — Mise à disposition (Made available) | Buyer's PA | No | Invoice delivered to the buyer. |
| 212 | 213 — Rejetée (Rejected) | Seller's or buyer's PA | Yes | Invoice rejected during functional validation. See Send invoices for full remediation guidance. |
214, 215, and 216 are optional. The buyer's PA is not obligated to send them, and the PPF does not receive them. Their absence does not indicate a problem.
Treatment phase
The optional business actions posted against an invoice after it has been delivered to the buyer. These actions are initiated by the buyer organization — approving, refusing, disputing, or suspending the invoice — and sometimes require a subsequent seller response. Buyers and sellers submit treatment-phase statuses as SBDs. See Lifecycle status body for the submission format.
| SCICloudStatusCode | French Code | Who Initiates It | Mandatory to PPF | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 204 — Prise en charge (Acknowledged) | Buyer | No | |
| 203 | 205 — Approuvée (Approved) | Buyer | No | |
| 217 | 206 — Approuvée partiellement (Partially approved) | Buyer | No | May give rise to a credit note. |
| 218 | 207 — En litige (Disputed) | Buyer | No | |
| 219 | 208 — Suspendue (Suspended) | Buyer | No | Seller must respond with Complétée plus supporting documents. |
| 206 | 209 — Complétée (Completed) | Seller | No | Seller's response to Suspendue. |
| 405 | 210 — Refusée (Refused) | Buyer | Yes | Reason code required. See Mandatory statuses for details. |
| 213 | 211 — Paiement transmis (Payment sent) | Buyer or seller | No | Optional; useful for treasury matching. |
| 220 | 212 — Encaissée (Payment received) | Seller | Yes (conditions) | Mandatory when VAT due on collection. See Mandatory statuses for details. |
Mandatory statuses
France's four mandatory statuses are reported to the PPF and carry the most significant regulatory and accounting consequences. These are the first statuses to understand before go-live:
Submitted by the seller PA
SCICloudStatusCode 211, French Code 200 (Déposée)
Issued automatically by Sovos when the invoice passes validation and is transmitted. This is the primary confirmation that the invoice is in the system. The PPF has received a copy of the regulatory data (Flux 1), and the invoice is now a legal document. After this point it cannot be corrected and resubmitted. Any correction requires cancelling the original and issuing a new invoice.
See Send invoices for full detail.
Rejected by the seller PA or buyer PA
SCICloudStatusCode 212, French Code 213 (Rejetée)
Set by the seller's PA or the buyer's PA when functional validation fails. A rejection reason code is always present. Because Rejetée is mandatory, it is reported to the PPF.
See Send invoices for full remediation guidance depending on which PA rejected and whether the PPF had already received the invoice.
Refused by the buyer
SCICloudStatusCode 405, French Code 210 (Refusée)
The buyer refuses the invoice or credit note in its entirety. A reason code is required. Because Refusée is mandatory, it is reported to the PPF.
When a buyer sends Refusée, the seller must cancel the invoice in their accounting records by creating an internal credit note (avoir interne). This credit note is for accounting purposes only and must not be submitted to Sovos.
Once the accounting entry is cancelled, the seller may issue a corrected invoice as a new document.
Payment received by the seller
SCICloudStatusCode 220, French Code 212 (Encaissée)
In France, VAT on services is due when payment is received by default, not at invoice date. Sellers can elect TVA sur débits to make VAT due at invoice date instead, which is the same rule that applies to goods.
Encaissée is mandatory and reported to the PPF for the following scenarios.
Service invoices where the seller has not elected TVA sur débits.
Down payment invoices subject to the same VAT-on-collection rule.
Submit as soon as payment is reconciled. Encaissée does not apply to goods invoices, services where the seller has elected TVA sur débits, or intra-community and reverse charge transactions.
The seller may optionally send Encaissée outside the mandatory scope to notify the buyer of payment receipt. In that case it is transmitted to the buyer only, not to the PPF.
For a full overview of which transaction types require after-the-fact payment reporting compared to a lifecycle status, see E-reporting.
Seller cancels with corrective invoice (Annulée)
When a seller issues a corrective invoice that fully replaces a prior invoice, the original invoice's lifecycle is formally closed with an Annulée status. This status is not in the 200-213 reform code range. It is a specific treatment applied to the original invoice when its replacement is submitted.
What implementers must determine per client
Every France e-invoicing implementation requires a use case analysis. Answer these questions for every client before go-live:
- Which statuses will the client generate as a seller?
- At minimum: Encaissée (if applicable based on VAT regime and invoice type). Optionally: Complétée (if responding to buyer suspensions), Paiement transmis (if desired for treasury matching).
- Which statuses will the client generate as a buyer?
- At minimum: Refusée (if rejecting invoices). Optionally: Prise en charge, Approuvée, Approuvée partiellement, En litige, Suspendue, Paiement transmis.
- When must each status be triggered?
- Encaissée should be sent as soon as payment is reconciled. All other treatment statuses should follow the business event promptly.
How to handle mandatory and common statuses
SCICloudStatusCode 211 (Submitted / Déposée) → Invoice accepted an in transit. No action required.
SCICloudStatusCode 212 (Rejected / Rejetée) → As the seller, parse the reason code. See Send invoices for remediation based on which PA rejected.
SCICloudStatusCode 405 (Buyer refused / Refusée) → As the seller, create an internal credit note in your accounting records only. Do not submit it to Sovos. Issue a corrected invoice as a new document if the transaction is still valid.
SCICloudStatusCode 220 (Seller reports payment received / Encaissée) → As the buyer, reconcile against payment records.
SCICloudStatusCode 219 (Buyer is waiting for documents / Suspendue) → Buyer has placed the invoice on hold pending supporting documents. As the seller, respond with SCICloudStatusCode 206 (Complétée) and attach the requested documents.
Use cases
Most B2B invoices and credit notes follow the flow described in Send Invoices, which the AFNOR calls the nominal use case (cas nominal).
AFNOR has created a list of use cases defining expectations for specific business scenarios, such as third-party payment, advance invoicing, or self-billing. An implementer's job is to identify which of these use cases apply to the client's business and ensure the invoice structure and lifecycle handling are built accordingly.
Sovos supports seven production-ready use cases in addition to the nominal, with more released on an ongoing basis ahead of the September 2026 mandate. The full AFNOR list is below for reference.
| # | Use Case | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Multi-order and multi-delivery | Invoice consolidating multiple purchase orders, multiple deliveries, or both into a single billing document. |
| 2 | Invoice already paid by the buyer or a third party | Invoice issued after the buyer or a third party has already made payment. |
| 3 | Invoice to be paid by a third-party payer | Invoice addressed to the buyer but payable by a designated third party identified at invoice creation. |
| 4 | Invoice to be paid by the buyer and partial coverage by a third party | Invoice where the buyer pays part and a third party (insurer, subsidy provider) covers the remainder. |
| 5 | Expenses paid by employees with invoice in company name | Employee pays a business expense; invoice is in the employer's name. |
| 6 | Expenses paid by employees without an invoice | Employee incurs an expense with only a receipt (no formal invoice). |
| 7 | Invoice following purchase with lodged card | Invoice issued following a purchase made with a corporate lodged or purchasing card. |
| 8 | Invoice payable to a third party determined at invoicing | Invoice directing payment to a third party (factor, cash pool) identified at invoice issuance. |
| 9 | Invoice payable to third party managing order, receipt, and invoicing | A third party (distributor or depositary) manages orders, receipts, and invoicing on behalf of the seller. |
| 10 | Invoice payable to unknown third-party beneficiary | Invoice where payment may later be assigned to an unknown third party through factoring or subrogation. |
| 11 | Invoice to be received and processed by a third party on behalf of the buyer | A third party gets and processes the invoice on behalf of the buyer. |
| 12 | Transparent intermediary managing invoices for buyer principal | An intermediary transparently manages invoices for a buyer principal without taking ownership. |
| 13 | Subcontracting with direct payment or payment delegation | Subcontracting scenario with direct payment from client to subcontractor or a payment delegation. |
| 14 | Joint contracting (co-traitance) B2B | Multiple contractors jointly deliver to a single buyer under a joint contracting arrangement. |
| 15 | Invoice following order or payment by third party on behalf of buyer | A third party orders or pays on behalf of the buyer. |
| 16 | Disbursement invoice for reimbursement of invoice paid by third party | Invoice for reimbursement of expenses a third party paid on behalf of the buyer. |
| 17a | Invoice payable to third-party payment intermediary | A marketplace collects payment from the buyer on behalf of the seller. |
| 17b | Invoice payable to third-party intermediary and third-party invoicer under mandate | A marketplace collects payment and creates the invoice for the seller. |
| 18 | Debit note management | Management of debit notes for added charges after invoicing. |
| 19a | Invoice issued by third-party invoicer with invoicing mandate | A third party issues invoices on behalf of the seller under a formal mandate. |
| 19b | Self-billing | The buyer issues the invoice on behalf of the seller (autofacturation). |
| 20 | Advance payment invoice | Invoice for an advance payment or deposit before goods or services are delivered. |
| 21 | Final invoice after advance payment | Final invoice reconciling advance payments already invoiced. |
| 22a | Discounted service invoice with VAT due on payment | Invoice with early payment discount for services subject to VAT on collection. |
| 22b | Discounted invoice with debit-basis VAT (goods and services) | Invoice with early payment discount for goods or services with VAT on débits option. |
| 23 | Self-billing between individual and professional | Self-billing between an individual (non-business) and a professional. |
| 24 | Earnest money (arrhes) management | Management of earnest money payments that can be forfeited. |
| 25 | Vouchers and gift cards management (SPV and MPV) | Management of Single-Purpose Voucher (SPV) and Multi-Purpose Voucher (MPV) vouchers. |
| 26 | Invoices with contractual reservation clause | Invoices with a contractual reservation of ownership until payment. |
| 27 | Toll tickets sold to taxable person | Toll tickets sold to taxable persons for VAT recovery. |
| 28 | Restaurant bills issued by taxable seller established in France | Restaurant invoices issued by French-established taxable sellers. |
| 29 | Single taxable person (VAT group) — Article 256 C CGI | Invoicing within a single taxable person (VAT group). |
| 30 | VAT already collected — B2C e-reporting operations with subsequent invoice | B2C transaction already e-reported, followed by a subsequent B2B invoice. |
| 31 | Mixed invoices (main operation and ancillary operation) | Invoice combining a main operation with ancillary operations. |
| 32 | Monthly payments | Invoicing for recurring transactions with periodic payments. |
| 33 | Transactions under margin scheme | Transactions under the margin scheme (biens d'occasion, oeuvres d'art). |
| 34 | Partial collection and collection cancellation | Partial collections and collection cancellations. |
| 35 | Author's notes | Notes d'auteur in cultural and creative sectors. |
| 36 | Transactions subject to professional secrecy and sensitive data | Transactions subject to confidentiality requirements. |
| 37 | Partnerships and joint ventures | Invoicing for partnership and joint venture structures. |
| 38 | Invoices with sub-lines and line groupings | Invoices with hierarchical line structures. |
| 39 | Transparent intermediary consolidating sales from multiple sellers for a single buyer | An intermediary consolidates sales from multiple sellers for a single buyer. |
| 40 | Grouped payments, netting, or compensation for cross buy and sell transactions | Payment netting for reciprocal buy and sell transactions. |
| 41 | Barter companies | Transactions between barter or exchange network members. |
| 42 | VAT refund management (detaxe) | VAT refund management for eligible transactions. |
| 43 | E-reporting when international B2B transactions use structured invoice formats | E-reporting obligations for cross-border B2B sales and purchases where the invoice is exchanged in one of the core structured formats (UBL, CII, or Factur-X). |
| 44 | Transactions involving French overseas territories | Identifies reporting obligation when a taxpayer location is in a French overseas territory (DROMs, COMs, TAAFs). |
How to submit a lifecycle status
Treatment-phase lifecycle statuses are submitted to Sovos as Standard Business Documents (SBDs) containing a CDAR XML body
For the SBDH values, embedding instructions, and CDAR schema, see Lifecycle status body.
Quick reference for CDAR content:
Reference the invoice using: invoice number (BT-1), invoice issue date (BT-2), and seller SIREN (BT-30).
Set
ProcessConditionCodeto the French reform code (for example, 212 for Encaissée). Note this is the French reform code, not SCICloudStatusCode 220.Set
ProcessConditionto the status name (for example, Encaissée).Include a reason code and reason text for Rejetée (French reform code 213) and Refusée (French reform code 210). These are required.
Use the profile URI
urn:cpro.gouv.fr:1p0:CDV:invoiceinExchangedDocumentContext.
Submit through the API
Endpoint: POST /v1/documents
Request:
POST /v1/documents
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {token}
x-correlationId: {unique-value}
{
"data": "base64_encoded_SBD",
"dataEncoding": "base64"
}
Include a unique x-correlationId on every request. This value is required when contacting support about a specific submission.
- Success Response: HTTP 202 Accepted.
- A 202 confirms Sovos received the SBD. It does not mean the status has been validated or delivered. Track the outcome through notifications.
For the complete list of HTTP status codes, error response schema, and retry guidance, see HTTP status codes and POST /v1/documents.
If the Sovos API is unavailable, check the Sovos status page for real-time operational status. Submissions accepted during any PPF unavailability are retried automatically. Do not resubmit.
Retrieve notifications
Notifications provide status updates as the lifecycle status progresses. Use the following parameters when polling outbound France notifications:
GET /v1/notifications/FR?taxId={SIREN}&sourceSystemId={SenderSystemId}&processType=0
taxId: Your SIREN from the SBDH.sourceSystemId: TheSenderSystemIdfrom the SBDH.processType: 0 (outbound).
- Acknowledging notifications:
- After processing, mark notifications as read to prevent retrieving them again. You can do this manually through the API, or configure auto-acknowledge on your ERP system ID in account setup. Use endpoint PUT /v1/notifications/FR or configure your ERP System ID to auto-acknowledge after receipt.
See Check notifications for full details, including setup, pagination, and acknowledgment.
For a full reference on application response structure, status codes, and how to interpret attachments, see Understanding application responses.
Response lifecycle
After submission, Sovos validates the CDAR and routes it to the counterparty's PA. A lifecycle status workflow follows this pattern:
Submit → Sovos validates → Sovos routes to counterparty PA → PPF validates mandatory statuses
Success path: 102 → 221
Failure paths: 401 (fix and resubmit) or 221 → PPF rejection notification (fix and resubmit)
Each notification contains an Application Response with one or more status codes. The primary code to rely on is the SCICloudStatusCode, a Sovos platform code that tells you exactly where the document is in the workflow and what, if any, action you need to take.
| SCICloudStatusCode | Meaning | Action Required |
|---|---|---|
102 | Sovos validation passed | Wait. |
221 | Status delivered to counterparty | Delivery confirmed. For mandatory statuses, a PPF rejection may still arrive. |
401 | Sovos validation failed | Fix CDAR or SBDH errors and resubmit. |
Troubleshoot issues
- SCICloudStatus 401 — Validation failure
- A 401 notification contains multiple Status elements. The top-level status uses
SCICloudStatusCode; each individual error usesSCIInternalValidationStatusCode:
<!-- Workflow status -->
<cac:Status>
<cbc:StatusReasonCode listID="SCICloudStatusCode">401</cbc:StatusReasonCode>
<cbc:StatusReason>Error processing document</cbc:StatusReason>
</cac:Status>
<!-- Per-error detail (one element per error) -->
<cac:Status>
<cbc:StatusReasonCode listID="SCIInternalValidationStatusCode">401</cbc:StatusReasonCode>
<cbc:StatusReason>ProcessConditionCode 212 requires PaymentAmount to be present</cbc:StatusReason>
</cac:Status>
Review all SCIInternalValidationStatusCode elements, fix the issues, and resubmit.
Common causes of 401 on lifecycle status submissions:
Missing or incorrect invoice reference (invoice number, issue date, or seller SIREN do not match the original invoice).
Missing reason code on Rejetée (213) or Refusée (210).
Invalid
ProcessConditionCodevalue.Malformed CDAR structure or missing required SBDH scope values.
SCIInternalValidationStatusCode values are free-text error messages generated by the Sovos validation engine, not a fixed enumerated list. Each element's StatusReason field describes the specific rule or field that failed. There is no published codelist for these values. Read the StatusReason text directly to identify what needs to be corrected.- PPF rejection of mandatory statuses
- For the four statuses mandatory to the PPF (Déposée, Rejetée, Refusée, and Encaissée), Sovos forwards your CDAR to the PPF after its own validation passes. The PPF then performs a second layer of validation and may reject the status with one or more rejection reason codes. This rejection arrives as a follow-up notification after you have already received SCICloudStatusCode 221.
These codes are distinct from the Sovos validation errors (
SCICloudStatusCode 401). A PPF rejection means the CDAR passed Sovos validation but failed the PPF's functional checks.
| Code | Check | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
REJ_INC | Status consistency | One or more statuses are inconsistent with the invoice's current lifecycle state. |
REJ_INEX | Status conformity | One or more statuses are incorrect or not permitted at this point in the lifecycle. |
REJ_RG | Business rule | One or more business rules are not satisfied. |
REJ_HAB | Authorization | The request is not authorized or requires a permission not held. |
REJ_ENCAISSEMENT | Payment amount | One or more collected amounts do not match the VAT breakdown declared on the invoice. |
REJ_ENCAISSEMENT applies specifically to Encaissée statuses where the payment amount submitted does not reconcile with the VAT rate breakdown on the original invoice.
For all PPF rejections, correct the CDAR and resubmit. The original mandatory status obligation remains. A PPF-rejected Encaissée or Refusée must be resubmitted with corrected data.
