Free Factur-X & ZUGFeRD Viewer — Open E-Invoices as Readable PDF

Received a Factur-X or ZUGFeRD invoice and want to see what the machine-readable part actually says? Upload the hybrid PDF (or the raw CII XML) and read the embedded invoice data as a clean, human-readable PDF — seller, buyer, line items, VAT breakdown and totals. Free, no signup.

Open a Factur-X / ZUGFeRD file Validate it instead

How the Factur-X / ZUGFeRD viewer works

1

Upload the PDF (or raw CII XML)

Drop in the Factur-X / ZUGFeRD PDF you received. The server locates the embedded factur-x.xml / ZUGFeRD-invoice.xml attachment inside the PDF/A-3 wrapper and extracts it automatically. A raw CII XML file works too.

2

The XML is parsed, not just displayed

The embedded UN/CEFACT CII invoice is parsed field by field — parties, references, payment terms, line items, allowances, VAT categories — exactly the data an ERP would import. This is what your accounting software will book, which may differ from the visual page of the original PDF.

3

Read it as a clean PDF

The invoice opens as a human-readable PDF in a new tab: seller and buyer details, every line item with quantities and unit prices, the VAT breakdown per category, and the final payable amount. Print it, archive it, or forward it to your accountant.

What the viewer shows you

The machine-readable truth

A Factur-X / ZUGFeRD file is two invoices in one: the visual PDF page and the embedded XML. Accounting systems only read the XML. The viewer renders that XML, so you see exactly what will be imported and paid — useful whenever the visual page and the structured data might disagree.

All profiles, both names

Factur-X 1.x and ZUGFeRD 2.x are the same format, so the viewer opens both. Files with full invoice content (BASIC, EN 16931, EXTENDED profiles) render completely; header-only MINIMUM / BASIC-WL files contain no line items to show.

Line items, VAT and totals

Every invoice line with description, quantity, unit price and line total; document allowances and charges; the VAT breakdown per category and rate; prepaid amounts and the amount due for payment.

More than Factur-X

The same viewer opens PEPPOL BIS and XRechnung UBL invoices, raw UN/CEFACT CII, Spanish Facturae and Estonian e-arve XML — the format is detected automatically from the file itself.

Why you suddenly receive Factur-X / ZUGFeRD invoices

France and Germany are switching business invoicing to structured e-invoices. In Germany, every company must be able to receive EN 16931 e-invoices since January 2025, and ZUGFeRD hybrid PDFs are one of the two common formats. In France, from 1 September 2026 every company — regardless of size — must be able to receive electronic invoices, and Factur-X is the format most suppliers will send. If a supplier's invoice landed in your inbox as a "PDF with something inside it", this is that something.

You can open the PDF page in any reader, but the embedded XML is what legally matters and what accounting software imports. The viewer makes that XML readable without installing anything — no desktop tools, no ERP, no plug-ins.

Viewer or validator — which do you need?

Use the viewer to read an invoice you received: check the amounts, the IBAN, the VAT rates, the payment terms. Use the validator to check compliance: whether the file passes the official EN 16931 and Factur-X schematron rules — typically before you send an invoice, or when your customer's system rejected one. Both are free and work on the same files.

Files from any tool

Whether the file was produced by SAP, DATEV, Lexware, Sage, Chorus Pro, Mustangproject or any other pipeline — if the PDF/A-3 contains an embedded CII attachment with a recognised filename, the viewer extracts and renders it. If a PDF has no embedded XML at all, the viewer tells you so — that means it is an ordinary PDF, not a Factur-X / ZUGFeRD e-invoice.

Factur-X / ZUGFeRD viewer: FAQ

How do I open a Factur-X or ZUGFeRD file?

A Factur-X / ZUGFeRD e-invoice is a normal PDF with an XML invoice embedded inside. Any PDF reader shows the visual page, but the embedded XML — the part your accounting software actually reads — needs a dedicated viewer. Upload the file to the aiDoks viewer and it extracts the XML and renders it as a clean, readable PDF. Free, no registration.

Why can the rendered invoice differ from the PDF page I received?

Because a hybrid invoice contains two representations: the visual page and the embedded XML. Accounting systems import only the XML. The viewer renders the XML, so you see exactly what will be booked and paid. If the supplier's software wrote different data into the XML than onto the page, the viewer is how you notice.

The viewer says the PDF has no embedded e-invoice XML. What does that mean?

Your file is an ordinary PDF, not a Factur-X / ZUGFeRD hybrid — there is no machine-readable invoice inside it. If you need a structured e-invoice from it, use the aiDoks PDF-to-e-invoice converter, which reads the document with AI OCR and builds compliant XML from it.

Is my invoice data stored?

No. The file is processed on our EU-hosted API to render the PDF and is not kept afterwards. Viewing works anonymously; free usage is rate-limited to prevent abuse.

Can I also check whether the invoice is valid?

Yes — use the free Factur-X / ZUGFeRD validator. It runs the official EN 16931 and Factur-X 1.08 schematron for all five profiles and reports every failing rule by ID. The viewer answers what the invoice says; the validator answers whether it is compliant.

Related tools

Factur-X / ZUGFeRD validator

Check the same file against the official EN 16931 and Factur-X rules.

XRechnung viewer

Open a German XRechnung XML as a readable PDF.

UBL / e-invoice viewer

Open PEPPOL BIS, Facturae or e-arve invoices as readable PDFs.

Open your Factur-X / ZUGFeRD invoice now

Free, no signup — upload the PDF and read the embedded invoice in seconds.

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