Verifactu becomes mandatory on 1 January 2027 for companies and 1 July 2027 for autónomos. Until those dates, using it is voluntary.
It is the rule that requires every invoice to be issued through certified software that produces a QR code and stores the record so it cannot be altered without leaving a trace.
Here are the confirmed dates, who is exempt, what changes on your invoices, and how to check whether your software qualifies.
There are only two, and which one applies depends on how you are taxed, not on your size.
If you are a company director taxed under IRPF, the date that governs is the one for whoever issues the invoice. If the company invoices, it is January 2027.
This is the most common source of confusion, and it comes from the dates having changed.
Real Decreto-ley 15/2025, published in the BOE on 3 December 2025, postponed Verifactu by twelve months. The original dates were in 2026 and moved to 2027.
The obligation was postponed, not cancelled. The tax agency's technical services have been live since April 2025, and software vendors had until 29 July 2025 to have their products ready and their compliance declaration signed.
If you find articles quoting 2026, they are out of date. And if someone tells you Verifactu has been scrapped, that is not true.
Verifactu applies to anyone issuing invoices with software: autónomos, limited companies and professionals alike.
There is no exemption for invoicing very little. No minimum income and no minimum number of invoices.
From your date, every invoice you issue has to do three things.
Excel and Word stop being valid for invoicing from your entry-into-force date.
This is the nuance most people misread.
VERI*FACTU mode. Your software sends each invoicing record to the tax agency at the moment of issue. The invoice carries a "verifiable invoice" label and the QR links to the tax agency's verification page, where your client can check it.
Non-VERI*FACTU mode. No real-time submission. Records are stored locally with a digital signature and made available if the tax agency asks. The QR is still mandatory, but it works from your own software.
Real-time submission is optional. The QR and the immutable record are not.
Worth clarifying: there is no official list of approved software published by the tax agency. Certification works by the manufacturer's own responsible declaration, not by prior approval from the authorities.
That means "approved software" on a commercial website proves nothing by itself. What you need is the document.
A valid responsible declaration identifies the producing entity with its tax number, the specific software version, the regulation applied, the signature date, and whether the system runs exclusively in VERI*FACTU mode.
Two quick checks:
The options are compared in free billing software in Spain.
Invoicing with non-certified software after your date is a direct infraction carrying a fixed 50,000 euro penalty per fiscal year, under article 201 bis of the General Tax Law.
The penalty is fixed, not proportional. A freelancer billing 15,000 euros a year faces the same amount as a business billing 500,000, because what is penalised is the system used, not the income earned.
Manipulating or destroying issued records goes up to 150,000 euros a year, or up to 2% of turnover.
The two are confused constantly and they are separate obligations.
Verifactu governs the software you invoice with, and it affects every invoice, to businesses and consumers alike.
B2B electronic invoicing, from the Crea y Crece law, governs the format of invoices between businesses. It has its own timetable, still pending its implementing regulation.
You can be subject to Verifactu and not to B2B electronic invoicing, or the other way round. The full explanation is in the difference between Verifactu and electronic invoicing.
The step-by-step checklist is in Verifactu for autónomos.
When does Verifactu come into force?
1 January 2027 for companies and 1 July 2027 for autónomos. Until those dates, using it is voluntary.
No. Real Decreto-ley 15/2025 postponed it by twelve months, it did not scrap it. The dates are fixed and the tax agency's technical services have been running since April 2025.
No. That is VERI*FACTU mode and it is optional. What is mandatory is the QR code and the immutable record.
Until your entry-into-force date, yes. After that, no: Excel is not a certified invoicing system, and using it carries a 50,000 euro penalty per fiscal year.
No. There is no form and no procedure. Compliance sits in the software you use, so it is enough that it is certified.
There is no exemption based on volume. The tax agency offers a free basic tool for occasional invoicing, which is valid for compliance though impractical for daily use.
You are responsible for compliance, not the vendor. You would need to migrate to a certified alternative before your date, exporting your full invoice history first.
