Check e-invoices for free and without signing up
You have received an invoice and want to know whether it is a valid e-invoice and whether the bank details are correct? Enter the file and your email address and get the result in seconds, without an account.
Good to know
Since 1 January 2025
German businesses have had to be able to receive e-invoices since 1 January 2025, regardless of their size. The obligation to issue them follows in stages until 2028. Anyone receiving invoices therefore faces the question of whether what arrived is a valid e-invoice at all.
A PDF sent by email is not an e-invoice
What matters is not that the invoice arrives digitally, but that it contains structured, machine-readable data according to EN 16931. A scanned or printed PDF does not meet this. Our check first tells you which category your file falls into.
The check report as proof
According to the German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) circular of 15 October 2025 (para. 35a), you may rely on the technical result of a validation if you exercise due care; the retained validation report serves as proof. More on this in the guide to input VAT deduction and input VAT protection. This does not replace tax advice.
What is checked
Formal validity (KoSIT)
The invoice runs through the official KoSIT validator (KoSIT is Germany's Coordination Office for IT Standards), the same tool the German public administration uses. It is checked against EN 16931 and the German XRechnung rules (BR-DE). You get the violated rules in plain language, not just a red cross.
What you see versus what machines read
A ZUGFeRD PDF has two layers: what you see and what your accounting software imports. We compare both. If the IBAN printed in the PDF differs from the embedded XML, that is a red flag that pure format validators do not even look for.
Plausibility of the payment details
Is the IBAN valid according to its check digits at all? Does the IBAN country match the issuer's registered location? This is exactly where payment diversion fraud strikes: an otherwise genuine invoice where only the bank details have been swapped.
Error message in your result?
The KoSIT validator reports rule identifiers such as BR-DE-15 or BR-CO-25. The error code reference lists all rules from EN 16931 and the German XRechnung standard with their official text.
With a free account we check even more
- Bank change detection: an alert when a known supplier suddenly bills with a different IBAN.
- IBAN vault: approve or block bank details per supplier, optionally with four-eyes approval.
- Mailbox automation: incoming invoices are checked automatically before anyone pays.
- Duplicate check & check history: spot duplicate invoices and look up past results.
Frequently asked questions
Is a PDF sent by email already an e-invoice?
No. An e-invoice as defined by the rules contains structured, machine-readable data according to EN 16931, either as embedded XML in the PDF (ZUGFeRD, Factur-X) or as a pure XML file (XRechnung). A scanned or printed PDF is a picture of an invoice, not an e-invoice.
When does the e-invoice become mandatory in Germany?
Since 1 January 2025, German businesses have had to be able to receive e-invoices. The obligation to issue them follows in stages until 2028, depending on company size.
What do I do if the check reports errors?
The message names the violated rules with their identifier and official text. Formal errors must be corrected by the invoice issuer, because only the issuer can issue a corrected invoice. Our error code reference explains the identifiers in plain language, which helps when talking to the supplier.
Does the check detect manipulated bank details?
It detects the typical signs: an IBAN in the visible PDF that differs from the embedded data, a formally invalid IBAN, or an IBAN country that does not match the issuer's location. With a free account you also get the comparison against the previous bank details of the same supplier, in other words bank change detection.
Do I have to sign up?
You do not need an account, just your email address, which we use to show you the result. Three checks per day are free; the uploaded file is processed only for the check and is not stored.
Can I have all incoming invoices checked continuously?
Yes. With an account you can connect your mailbox, and every incoming invoice is then checked automatically before anyone pays. Alternatively, use the API via POST /v1/check from your own system.