Italy: Formats and rules

When does the obligation apply?

Country information
Scope	From	Status
Public clients	Jun 2014	in forceMinistries, staggered until 2016
Companies (B2B)	1 Jan 2019	in forcevia the SDI

Mandatory via the SDI since 2014 (gradually).

Mandatory via the SDI since January 1, 2019 for all domestic sales.

Formats	FatturaPA 1.2.x (XML) · Peppol BIS for cross-border invoices
CIUS	Peppol BIS Billing 3.0
Routing identifier	Codice Destinatario / PEC at SDI
Responsible body	Agenzia delle Entrate

✓ EN 16931 (BR-*)
✓ Peppol BIS Billing 3.0
Implemented regulations: Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL), EN 16931 (UBL), EN 16931 (CII)

FatturaPA is not an EN-16931 format and is not validated. The check is complete for Peppol invoices.

Status: 12.10.2026

When does the e-invoicing requirement apply in Italy?: The table above gives the dates for Italy: when receiving and when issuing become mandatory, for public bodies and for companies separately.
Does the requirement apply to small businesses too?: Usually yes. The obligation follows from trading between businesses, not from the size of the business. Smaller companies are often covered later, where a transition period applies — the dates above show where Italy stands.
Which formats are allowed in Italy?: The formats that satisfy EN 16931. Which ones apply in Italy, and which CIUS, is listed under formats and rules.
Can I check my invoice for Italy for free?: Yes. The validator checks free of charge and without sign-up against the rule sets that apply to Italy.

Free, without registration. The set of rules is selected from the specification identifier of the invoice.

Official rule sets up to date: EN 16931 1.3.17 · Peppol BIS 3.0.20 · XRechnung 3.0.2 (KoSIT 2.6.0). Last checked against the sources on 12.10.2026.