How to submit an e-invoice to the Swiss federal administration today

From 2026, Swiss federal government agencies are required to accept e-invoices from suppliers. The mandate does not require suppliers to switch — you can still send paper — but it gives federal agencies no excuse to reject a properly submitted e-invoice. In practice, several federal entities already accept and prefer electronic invoices today.

If you are a supplier to the Swiss federal administration and want to submit invoices electronically, here is how it actually works.

The two accepted channels

Federal agencies accept e-invoices via two channels: eBill and PEPPOL. You can use either. There is no requirement to use both, and there is no central federal portal you need to register with separately — you go through the same channels you would use for any Swiss e-invoicing.

eBill is the simpler path for suppliers who do not already have a PEPPOL connection. You register with an eBill service provider, and the federal agency receives your invoices through their own banking connection to the eBill network. Most large federal agencies — including the Federal Finance Administration (EFV), fedpol, ASTRA, and others — are registered on eBill as payers.

PEPPOL is the right choice if you already send invoices via PEPPOL to other large buyers, or if you are setting up a new e-invoicing infrastructure and want a single channel that covers both B2G and B2B. The federal administration accepts invoices conformant with the SwissDIGIN profile of PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0.

What information you need before you start

Before you can submit an invoice, you need:

The federal agency's identifier. For eBill, this is the agency's eBill payer ID — ask your contact at the agency or their accounts payable department. For PEPPOL, this is the agency's PEPPOL participant ID (their UID in 0209:CHE... format). The federal administration publishes a list of registered PEPPOL participants on their procurement portal.

The purchase order or contract reference. Federal agencies use structured procurement processes. Almost every invoice to a federal agency should reference a purchase order number (Bestellnummer) or framework contract number. Without this, the invoice will likely end up in a manual exception queue — even if it is technically valid.

The correct supplier UID. Your own UID (CHE-xxx.xxx.xxx) must appear on the invoice as the supplier's legal identifier. Federal agencies cross-check this against the federal supplier register. If the UID is missing or does not match your registration, the invoice can be rejected or delayed.

An EORI or customs reference if applicable. For invoices related to goods imports or cross-border contracts, additional customs references may be required. Check the specific contract terms.

Submitting via eBill

1. Register with an eBill service provider if you are not already. The overview of eBill service providers lists the main options. Some providers offer free tiers for low-volume senders.
2. Check that the federal agency you are billing is registered as an eBill payer. Most are, but the smaller ones may not be yet. Your service provider can usually confirm this.
3. Submit the invoice through your service provider's platform — either via API from your billing system, via SFTP file upload, or through a web portal for lower volumes.
4. Include the PO reference in the invoice's reference field. Most eBill service provider platforms have a field for this.
5. Monitor the status. The federal agency's approval or rejection will come back through the eBill network, typically within a few days.

Submitting via PEPPOL

1. Connect to a PEPPOL access point provider in Switzerland. See the access point overview for options.
2. Get registered as a PEPPOL participant with your UID. Your access point handles the SMP/SML registration. The PEPPOL registration guide covers the details.
3. Generate invoices conformant with the SwissDIGIN profile of PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0. This means including your UID with the MWST suffix, the correct CustomizationID, and the federal agency's PEPPOL participant ID in the buyer block.
4. Include the PO or contract reference in OrderReference/ID or BuyerReference — federal agencies specifically look for this.
5. Submit to your access point. They route it to the federal agency's access point. Delivery confirmation comes back within minutes.

Mandatory invoice fields for federal invoices

Beyond the standard PEPPOL BIS mandatory fields, federal agencies typically require:

Invoices missing the PO reference are the most common cause of delays. Federal AP teams process hundreds of invoices and rely on automated matching to POs. Without a valid PO reference, the invoice is either rejected immediately or parked for manual lookup.

Credit notes and corrections

Federal agencies accept credit notes and corrected invoices through the same channels. A credit note uses invoice type code 381 in PEPPOL BIS, and must reference the original invoice number in BillingReference/InvoiceDocumentReference/ID. For eBill credit notes, your service provider handles the mechanics — the eBill credit notes post covers the workflow.

Getting help

Each federal department has a central contact for supplier invoicing questions. For the federal administration as a whole, the Federal Finance Administration (EFV, Eidgenössische Finanzverwaltung) publishes guidance and contact details on their procurement pages at www.efv.admin.ch. For department-specific questions, your procurement contact within the agency is the right starting point.

For a step-by-step guide to navigating federal procurement as a supplier more broadly, the companion post on invoicing Swiss federal agencies covers the process from first contract to final payment.