E-Invoicing in United Kingdom [2025 Requirements]

The UK is on the Road to E‑invoicing

Though there is no e-invoicing obligation in the UK except for the National Health Service (NHS), the British government encourages businesses to send, receive, and process e-invoices when making B2G transactions.

The 2015 Small Business, Enterprise, and Employment Act gives ministers the power to regulate the use of electronic invoicing in the field of public procurement in England. This does not apply, however, to Northern Ireland, Scotland, or Wales, which have their own regulations. Also, there is no single or central governmental platform for e-invoicing applicable to the whole UK territory, but there are such solutions in Wales and Scotland. Solutions delivered by a third-party service provider are used based on a 'three-corner' model, where contracting authorities and economic operators use a common platform, supported as required by interoperability agreements with other service providers.

On November 26, 2025, the UK government published Budget 2025, confirming a major step toward digitalising tax administration. As part of a broader investment in HMRC, the government is expected to introduce B2B e-Invoicing mandate in 2029.

Who Is Obligated to Use E‑Invoicing in the UK

Electronic invoicing is not mandatory either at the B2G or B2B level. Contracting public authorities need to be able to receive and process e-invoices if their suppliers want to do so. One exception in this regard applies only to the healthcare sector, where e-invoicing to the National Health Service (NHS) is mandatory.

Making Tax Digital for VAT (MTD)

Making Tax Digital (MTD) was introduced in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2019, which is a kind of digital tax system. MTD introduces the obligation to conduct tax settlements via online services. Currently, the MTD applies only to companies whose annual turnover exceeds the UK VAT registration threshold (i.e., £85,000). From April 1, 2022, HMRC (the UK's tax, payments and customs authority) decided to extend this reporting obligation and include other taxpayers registered for VAT purposes in the UK, regardless of their turnover.

What is the Required Format of an E-Invoice

Until March 2029: Flexible (PDF, XML, EDIFACT).
From April 2029: Mandatory structured formats (e.g., XML or UBL) likely based on the EN 16931 standard.
Specific sectors: NHS transactions must continue to use the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 standard.

Archiving Requirements for E‑Invoicing in the United Kingdom

Required storage period is 6 years after the end of the accounting year.

How Integrity and Authenticity May Be Ensured?

In terms of integrity and authenticity, the following, mentioned in the Public Notice, are accepted, among others: advanced electronic signature, qualified electronic signature and EDI.

Acts / Government sites

1. Legal compliance
Full compliance with the latest data exchange regulations and modern data transfer standards
2. Digitization
Applying new technologies and IT solutions in order to streamline workflows and automate activities and procedures
3. Individual approach
Tailor-made solutions based on processes specific to each company – own road map and a suitable pace of changes
4.Security
Highest level of security for all sensitive and important company data

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