Get ZUGFeRD
PDF CII PDF/A-3

Embed XML into a ZUGFeRD PDF

Add your existing PDF and its matching CII XML, and we package them into a single ZUGFeRD-conformant PDF/A-3 hybrid invoice, ready for Peppol delivery.

Your files are processed in memory and purged the moment your download finishes.

Have a UBL or XRechnung-UBL file instead of CII? Use the Convert tool

Meets the standards EN 16931 ZUGFeRD / Factur-X XRechnung KoSIT GoBD Archive PDF/A-3

How It Works

Turn a plain PDF and its CII XML into a ZUGFeRD hybrid invoice in three steps.

Step 1

Upload Your PDF

Start with the visual PDF invoice you already send to your customers today.

Step 2

Upload Your CII XML

Add the matching UN/CEFACT CII XML. This is the structured data that public authorities and Peppol partners actually process.

Step 3

Download Your ZUGFeRD Invoice

Receive a conformant ZUGFeRD PDF/A-3 with the XML embedded inside, ready to send over Peppol or by email.

Why Embed with Get ZUGFeRD?

Tuck your invoice XML inside your existing PDF to produce one ZUGFeRD hybrid file that both your ERP and your trading partners can read.

A Single Hybrid Document

Your PDF and CII XML become one PDF/A-3 file: people see the familiar invoice page, while accounting systems read the structured data embedded inside.

ZUGFeRD and EN 16931 Conformant

The result follows the ZUGFeRD PDF/A-3b specification and the EN 16931 standard, accepted across the Peppol network.

Processed in Memory

Every file is handled in memory and never written to disk. Your invoice data is discarded the instant the hybrid PDF is returned to you.

Ready in Seconds

There is nothing to install and no queue. Drop in your PDF and XML, and your ZUGFeRD invoice downloads right away.

From XML plus PDF to one compliant hybrid file

Embedding is a contract with several parties: a PDF/A-3 container, the XML under its prescribed file name, an association entry that declares it, and metadata that mirrors the invoice profile. Get one of them wrong and validators refuse a file whose invoice data is flawless. This tool packages your CII XML and your PDF page into a hybrid that honors all of them.

Order matters more than tooling: embed as the last step, after every design or stamping pass, and then leave the file alone. Most broken hybrids were valid until something improved them afterwards.

Related reading

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about building a ZUGFeRD hybrid invoice from a PDF and its XML.

A hybrid invoice is a single PDF that carries both a human-readable page and an embedded XML file. ZUGFeRD and Factur-X are the common hybrid formats in Europe.
You need a UN/CEFACT Cross Industry Invoice (CII) XML, the syntax ZUGFeRD is built on. If you only have a UBL or XRechnung-UBL file, convert it to CII first with our Convert tool.
No. We upgrade your everyday PDF into a conformant PDF/A-3 container while embedding, so any standard PDF works.
Convert reads a PDF and generates the XML for you. Embed assumes you already have the CII XML and simply packages it into the PDF as a conformant ZUGFeRD hybrid.
Yes. The output follows the EN 16931 standard and the ZUGFeRD PDF/A-3b specification accepted across the Peppol network.
GoBD Archive

Issuing e-invoices? You must archive them properly.

Since 2015, the GoBD, the tax office's rules for digital records, have applied to every business, freelancers included: digital invoices must be kept as the original file, unchanged, exportable and readable for the whole 8-year retention period. With the e-invoicing mandate a print no longer counts. Our archive takes care of it for you.

  • Every invoice stored exactly as it arrived: XML, PDF or photo
  • Locked against changes, so nothing can be altered afterwards
  • A second copy in another German data centre
  • Find any invoice by date and export it with an index for your tax advisor
  • Team access: several team members can work in the same archive
  • No ERP, no installation: right next to your e-invoicing tools
Discover the GoBD archive See plans
Built for the German mandate

One toolkit for ZUGFeRD and XRechnung

Every German business has had to accept e-invoices since January 2025. Both formats are covered here.

ZUGFeRD or XRechnung? Let the assistant pick the tool Tell the chat what you need: it converts, checks, builds, and reads out German e-invoices. Open assistant

Create

Fill one form, get a ZUGFeRD PDF or an XRechnung with Leitweg-ID
Create ZUGFeRD PDF ZUGFeRD PDF The guided form turns your details into a ZUGFeRD or XRechnung invoice. Create XRechnung XRechnung Generate a valid XRechnung with Leitweg-ID, ready for public-sector buyers. Create Order-X Order-X PDF Create an Order-X order file: the ZUGFeRD hybrid principle applied to purchase orders. ZUGFeRD Credit Note ZUGFeRD PDF Cancel or correct an e-invoice you already sent with a ZUGFeRD credit note. XRechnung Credit Note XRechnung Create an XRechnung credit note with Leitweg-ID for public-sector buyers.

Check & repair

Test against EN 16931 and the XRechnung CIUS, then fix what a buyer rejected
Validate ZUGFeRD ZUGFeRD PDF Run EN 16931 checks on your ZUGFeRD invoices before DATEV or your customer does. Validate XRechnung XRechnung Check XRechnung XML against EN 16931 and the German CIUS rules. Validate Order-X Order-X Run incoming and outgoing Order-X orders through the official Order-X 1.0 checks. Edit ZUGFeRD Invoice ZUGFeRD PDF Repair a refused or broken invoice: upload it, correct the fields, and get a valid file back. Edit XRechnung XRechnung Open an XRechnung as a form, fix the Leitweg-ID or any rejected field, and download a valid file.

Convert

Move an invoice between PDF, CII, UBL and XRechnung
PDF to ZUGFeRD PDF ZUGFeRD Any PDF, Word, or Excel invoice goes in; a ZUGFeRD or XRechnung file comes out. PDF to XRechnung PDF XRechnung Convert a PDF invoice to a valid XRechnung with Leitweg-ID for public-sector buyers. CII to ZUGFeRD CII ZUGFeRD Package existing CII XML as a ZUGFeRD PDF/A-3 hybrid invoice. Embed XML to PDF CII PDF ZUGFeRD Marry a PDF and its CII XML into one ZUGFeRD-compliant hybrid invoice. CII to UBL CII UBL Transform a CII invoice into UBL XML, the syntax most Peppol networks expect. UBL to CII UBL CII Map a UBL invoice to UN/CEFACT CII XML, ready to embed in ZUGFeRD or Factur-X. XRechnung to PDF XRechnung PDF See any CII, UBL, or XRechnung XML as a tidy, printable PDF.

Open & extract

Open a file, see what is inside it, and take the data with you
Extract XML PDF CII Pull structured XML straight out of any PDF invoice with AI-driven OCR. Extract Attachments ZUGFeRD XRechnung Pull every embedded file out of a ZUGFeRD or XRechnung invoice as a ZIP. XRechnung Viewer XRechnung CII UBL Open e-invoice XML in your browser and read it like a paper invoice. ZUGFeRD Viewer ZUGFeRD PDF Open a ZUGFeRD PDF and read the embedded invoice data your software books.

Look up & automate

Check who you are invoicing, or move the whole flow to an API
Check VAT Number Check any EU VAT number against VIES and get the customer's Peppol address. Developer API, MCP and automation Automate invoice generation and validation end to end.
Ready for mandatory e-invoicing?

Make every invoice compliant, in a single message

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EN 16931 & PDF/A-3b compliant Results in seconds No installation GoBD-compliant archive
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