Do solar panel electricity sellers in France need to sign up for electronic billing?

Reader Question: We recently received a letter informing us that our recently-installed solar panels, for which we sell the excess electricity to EDF, are large enough to require us to send electronic invoices. Is this true? I feel this will counteract any of the profits we make, making the installation even more expensive.

You are correct that the requirements for electronic billing will now apply to certain solar panel producers.

Domestic consumers with a solar panel installation producing over 9kWc will need to adhere to the electronic billing rules, the same as other micro-enterprise or self-employed people, if they plan on selling the excess consumption to the grid.

This is because these larger producers are subject to VAT (TVA) and electronic billing is becoming mandatory for those who are subject to this tax.

This means that from September 2026 you should be able to receive electronic invoices via an approved platform, and by 2027 send them (although see below for exemptions).

You said your installation is already over this threshold (at 10kWc) so you should have been required to originally set up a SIREN (French business) number to sell your excess electricity before these changes. 

Auto-billing possible

However, there are two options for homeowners. 

Producers can sign up for electronic billing themselves and issue their own invoices, if they wish to, although as you mention the cost of paying for the electronic invoicing only for this is likely to eat into most of the profits from selling your surplus electricity.

Therefore, it is possible for you to pass this step onto the company that you sell your surplus electricity to – the company with which you have signed the Obligation d'Achat. 

You will need to give them authorisation (donner mandat) to issue the invoice on your behalf. 

The exact steps for this depend on the company you sell your electricity to, but in the case of EDF you do this through your personal space (Espace Producteur EDF OA). 

If you have issues, contact EDF customer support — or the relevant service — for further assistance.

This process is known as autofacturation (auto-billing) and once set up should automatically apply to all future invoices sent on your behalf. 

Smaller producers

Note that some smaller producers may also be impacted by the change. 

Those with the smallest production capabilities (3kWc and below) are completely unimpacted – provided they are covered by the présomption de non-assujettissement and are excluded from VAT –  but those between 3kWC and 9kWc may also need to adhere to the new system. 

If you are a domestic producer within this range and signed up to the présomption de non-assujettissement (presumption of non-liability) system, your invoices are not subject to VAT and you are not impacted by the change. 

If however when setting up your Obligation d’Achat you signed up to either the micro-entreprise or régime réel simplifié systems, you have a SIREN and are also impacted. 

You also have the right to set up autofacturation if you wish. 

The official guidelines are available here.

Note that recent changes to solar panel installation has made it more advantageous for new installations to focus on using – and storing – electricity from their panels than selling excess power back to the grid. Read our coverage of the changes here.