United States e-Invoicing Mandate
No VAT, no B2B mandate · voluntary DBNAlliance exchange network, OMB-directed e-invoicing in federal procurement
E-invoicing is not mandatory for B2B transactions in the United States, and there is no federal or state e-invoicing mandate of any kind. The United States has no VAT; consumption tax is levied as state and local sales and use tax, which does not rely on invoice reporting. The Office of Management and Budget directed federal agencies to process procurement invoices electronically, and voluntary interoperable B2B exchange runs over the DBNAlliance network.
| Status | Voluntary |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | No e-invoicing legislation. OMB Memorandum M-15-19 (2015) directed federal agencies to move to electronic invoicing for appropriate procurements; sales and use tax rules are set independently by each state. |
| Phase-in | 3 phases, 2015 to 2024 |
| Scope | B2G: Mandatory · B2B: Voluntary · B2C: Not required |
| Format | UBL 2.1 (DBNAlliance Exchange Framework), ANSI ASC X12 810, EDIFACT INVOIC · DBNAlliance Exchange Framework (UBL-based); no mandated national e-invoicing standard |
| Platform | DBNAlliance Exchange Network (voluntary); Treasury Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) for federal agency invoices · Interoperability (4-corner) |
| Penalties | There is no e-invoicing-specific penalty regime in the United States because no mandate exists; standard IRS record-keeping rules and state sales and use tax audit penalties apply to inadequate books and records. Retention periods vary: the IRS baseline is three years, extending to six years for substantial underreporting and four years for employment tax records, and each state sets its own sales tax retention rules. |
Phase-in timeline
2015 to 2027- 2015OMB issues Memorandum M-15-19 directing federal agencies to adopt electronic invoicing for appropriate procurements by the end of FY2018federal agencies
- 2024Participants in the Business Payments Coalition E-invoice Exchange Market Pilot, run with Federal Reserve support, announce the establishment of the Digital Business Networks Alliance to operate the national exchange frameworkvoluntary
- 2024First invoice exchanged across the DBNAlliance open exchange network, sent from Avalara and received by StorecovevoluntaryToday
Mandate at a glance
Verified Jul 2026- B2G mandatory
- B2B voluntary
- B2C not required
- Non-residents: out of scope
- UBL 2.1 (DBNAlliance Exchange Framework)
- ANSI ASC X12 810
- EDIFACT INVOIC
- DBNAlliance Exchange Framework (UBL-based); no mandated national e-invoicing standard
- DBNAlliance Exchange Network (voluntary); Treasury Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) for federal agency invoices
- Periodic reporting (not real-time)
- 3 years
- Digital signature: not-required
- Storage: Any (with access)
- There is no e-invoicing-specific penalty regime in the United States because no mandate exists; standard IRS record-keeping rules and state sales and use tax audit penalties apply to inadequate books and records. Retention periods vary: the IRS baseline is three years, extending to six years for substantial underreporting and four years for employment tax records, and each state sets its own sales tax retention rules.
- Federal contractors that fail to invoice through the required platform face payment delays and contractual remedies rather than tax penalties.
Full technical breakdown: United States guide on e-Invoice.app
Is e-invoicing mandatory in United States?
No. E-invoicing is voluntary. E-invoicing in United States is mandatory for B2G transactions. United States operates an interoperability model via DBNAlliance Exchange Network (voluntary); Treasury Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) for federal agency invoices. Non-resident businesses are outside the scope of the mandate.
What are the United States e-invoicing deadlines?
All phases of the United States mandate are already in force; no further deadlines are currently scheduled.
| Date | Scope | Obligation | Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
B2G | OMB issues Memorandum M-15-19 directing federal agencies to adopt electronic invoicing for appropriate procurements by the end of FY2018 | federal agencies | |
B2B | Participants in the Business Payments Coalition E-invoice Exchange Market Pilot, run with Federal Reserve support, announce the establishment of the Digital Business Networks Alliance to operate the national exchange framework | voluntary | |
B2B | First invoice exchanged across the DBNAlliance open exchange network, sent from Avalara and received by Storecove | voluntary |
What format and platform does United States require?
United States supports e-invoices in UBL 2.1 (DBNAlliance Exchange Framework) or ANSI ASC X12 810 or EDIFACT INVOIC (DBNAlliance Exchange Framework (UBL-based); no mandated national e-invoicing standard), exchanged via DBNAlliance Exchange Network (voluntary); Treasury Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) for federal agency invoices on a non-real-time basis. Invoices must be retained for 3 years. For format specifications and implementation detail, see the full United States technical guide on e-Invoice.app.
What are the penalties in United States?
- There is no e-invoicing-specific penalty regime in the United States because no mandate exists; standard IRS record-keeping rules and state sales and use tax audit penalties apply to inadequate books and records. Retention periods vary: the IRS baseline is three years, extending to six years for substantial underreporting and four years for employment tax records, and each state sets its own sales tax retention rules.
- Federal contractors that fail to invoice through the required platform face payment delays and contractual remedies rather than tax penalties.
What changed recently?
- The DBNAlliance hosted the United States E-invoicing Conference in New York, convening finance, procurement, tax and technology leaders around interoperable document exchange; adoption of the open exchange network remains market-driven with no mandate in prospect.
- The first invoice was successfully exchanged over the DBNAlliance open exchange network, sent from Avalara and received by Storecove, moving the exchange framework into live operation.
Need the full United States compliance detail?
This page is a high-level snapshot. For registration procedures, technical specifications, exemption rules and implementation guidance, see the detailed United States country guide on our partner site e-Invoice.app.
United States e-invoicing guide on e-Invoice.appUnited States e-invoicing: frequently asked questions
Why does the United States not have an e-invoicing mandate like Europe or Latin America?
The main driver for e-invoicing mandates elsewhere is VAT fraud, particularly missing-trader and carousel fraud, and the United States has no VAT. Consumption tax is collected as sales and use tax at the point of retail sale by 45 states, the District of Columbia and thousands of local jurisdictions, so there is no federal authority with an interest in seeing every business-to-business invoice and no single body that could impose a nationwide requirement.
What is the DBNAlliance and should my business join?
The Digital Business Networks Alliance grew out of the Business Payments Coalition market pilot run with the Federal Reserve and now governs a voluntary open exchange network for US B2B e-invoices and e-documents. It exchanged its first invoice in March 2024 and reported more than 30 member organisations when it announced its launch as network operator in January 2024. Joining is a commercial decision about automation and supplier reach, not a compliance obligation.
How do US businesses invoice customers in countries that do have mandates?
US sellers are generally out of scope of foreign mandates unless they are registered for VAT or GST in that country, in which case the local rules apply to their local invoices rather than to their US operations. Many US exporters connect to Peppol through an access point so they can meet European and other requirements without changing their domestic process. The country-by-country cross-border obligations and access-point routing detail is covered in the detailed United States guide on e-Invoice.app.
More detailed questions? See the full United States guide on e-Invoice.app.
Sources
This page was verified against the following sources on 23 July 2026.
- OMB Memorandum M-15-19: Improving Government Efficiency and Saving Taxpayer Dollars through Electronic Invoicing (Office of Management and Budget)
- How long should I keep records? (Internal Revenue Service)
- B2B Payments Experts Launch Digital Business Networks Alliance (Federal Reserve FedPayments Improvement)
- Digital Business Networks Alliance launches to operate US e-invoicing exchange network (DBNAlliance via PR Newswire)
- First Invoice Sent and Received Over the US Digital Business Networks Alliance Open Exchange Network (DBNAlliance via PR Newswire)
- DBNAlliance to Host United States E-invoicing Conference in New York City on April 22 (DBNAlliance via PR Newswire)
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