E-Invoicing in Estonia — e-arve, PEPPOL & B2G Guide

B2G is mandatory: all Estonian state bodies and most local authorities have required e-invoices since 2019. For B2B, there is no legal mandate, but e-arve via banking channels is the de facto standard — most large Estonian companies and the banking system (LHV, SEB, Swedbank) exchange invoices in e-arve format. Estonia was one of the first EU members to achieve near-universal B2B e-invoicing adoption without a legal mandate.

e-arve is the Estonian domestic electronic invoice format published by Eesti Pangaliit (Estonian Banking Association). It uses a custom XML structure (root element <E_Invoice>, no XML namespace) that predates EU PEPPOL adoption. Two schema versions exist: 1.11 (dominant in banking channels) and 1.2 (newer, EN 16931-aligned). e-arve is separate from PEPPOL BIS 3.0 — Estonian cross-border invoices use PEPPOL while domestic invoices typically use e-arve.

Estonia joined the PEPPOL network in 2015 and operates an active PEPPOL Access Point ecosystem. PEPPOL BIS 3.0 is the standard format for cross-border e-invoicing (to EU buyers/suppliers) and for invoices to Estonian state buyers that require PEPPOL delivery. For domestic B2B within Estonia, e-arve through banking channels remains dominant. Many Estonian businesses use both: e-arve for local partners and PEPPOL for cross-border.

E-arve is transmitted through banking channels (LHV, SEB, Swedbank) and dedicated operators: Finbite (formerly Omniva finance), Telema, and Merit Aktiva, among others. To receive e-arve, a business must register with one or more operators who then route invoices to and from banking channels. Most Estonian ERP and accounting software has built-in connectors to these operators.

For Estonian state bodies, both e-arve and PEPPOL BIS 3.0 are accepted — check with the specific buyer which channel they prefer. The state portal (rmp.fin.ee) accepts e-arve; many state entities also have PEPPOL access points. For cross-border invoices to EU buyers, always use PEPPOL BIS 3.0.

aiDoks validates both Estonian e-arve XML (versions 1.11 and 1.2) and PEPPOL BIS 3.0 invoices — covering both domestic and cross-border Estonian e-invoicing. The validator auto-detects the format from the root element. The e-arve generator (Phase D in the roadmap) will produce e-arve XML from the guided form, targeting Finbite, Telema and Omniva as output channels.