ZUGFeRD

Also called ZUGFeRD 2.1, ZUGFeRD 2.3

ZUGFeRD is a German specification for a hybrid electronic invoice: a PDF a person can read, with structured XML embedded inside it that software reads. Since version 2.1 it is technically identical to the French Factur-X specification, so the two names describe the same artefact.

Maintained by: FeRD, Germany
Aligned with Factur-X since: Version 2.1
XML syntax: CII (UN/CEFACT Cross Industry Invoice)
Container: PDF/A-3 with the XML as an embedded file

The same file under two names

ZUGFeRD and Factur-X were developed in parallel, by FeRD in Germany and FNFE-MPE in France, and converged. From ZUGFeRD 2.1 the specifications are aligned: the same profiles, the same CII XML, the same embedding rules.

The practical consequence is the one people want: if a German supplier says they send ZUGFeRD and your system expects Factur-X, you are already compatible. There is nothing to convert. Our validator does not ask you which one you have, because the question has no meaning at the file level.

Where the names still differ

The profile names carry over, with one German addition. ZUGFeRD defines MINIMUM, BASIC WL, BASIC, EN 16931 (also written COMFORT in older German material), EXTENDED and XRECHNUNG. Factur-X uses the same set minus the XRECHNUNG profile.

Older documents muddy this. ZUGFeRD 1.0 predates the convergence and is not EN 16931 based at all. If a partner sends you something described as ZUGFeRD 1.0, it will not satisfy the current mandates, and its XML is a different schema rather than an older version of the same one.

Why it matters

German suppliers will describe their output as ZUGFeRD and French ones as Factur-X. Treating those as two integrations to build is a common and expensive misreading.
ZUGFeRD 1.0 is the exception that will bite you, because the name looks current and the file is not.

Check it on your own file

Check a ZUGFeRD file
The same validator. It reads the profile out of the XML rather than asking which specification you meant.

Common questions

Is ZUGFeRD the same as Factur-X?: Since ZUGFeRD 2.1, yes. The specifications are aligned, so the same file satisfies both. ZUGFeRD 1.0 is not, because it predates the EN 16931 alignment and uses a different schema.
Does a ZUGFeRD invoice satisfy the French mandate?: If it is ZUGFeRD 2.1 or later at the EN 16931 profile, it is the same artefact French rules call Factur-X. The profile matters more than the name: MINIMUM does not carry enough detail to serve as a full invoice.