Spain's Law 18/2022, known as Crea y Crece, makes B2B electronic invoicing mandatory for all companies and freelancers once its implementing Royal Decree (the detailed rule that activates the law) is published in the BOE (Spain's Official State Gazette). Rollout is phased by size: businesses with more than €8 million in turnover enter one year after the Decree; the rest two years after. Until that Decree is actually in the BOE, these clocks have not started. Drafts also define accepted formats, free interconnection among platforms, and a 4-day window to report invoice status changes like acceptance, rejection, and payment. Do not confuse this with Verifactu (the anti-fraud billing software rules) in RD 1007/2023, whose dates were updated by RD 254/2025.
When will e-invoicing be mandatory? After the Royal Decree is published in the BOE. From that date: +12 months for businesses over €8 million turnover and +24 months for the rest.
Which formats are valid? Facturae (Spain's official e-invoice XML), UBL (a common EU e-invoice format), EDIFACT (a UN electronic data standard), and CEFACT (the UN body behind EDIFACT), per the latest drafts. These are structured files a computer can process. A plain PDF is not enough.
Do I need Verifactu for Crea y Crece? They are different regimes. Choose software that covers both calendars so you do the work once.
Do I have to report invoice "states"? Yes. Recipients must communicate acceptance or rejection and payment status within 4 days.
Does this affect consumer sales? Crea y Crece focuses on B2B (business-to-business). Keep B2C (business-to-consumer) out of scope for this obligation.
Scope: All B2B transactions must use a structured e-invoice once the regulation is approved. Paper or a PDF by itself will not meet the rule.
Activation: Duties begin only after the implementing Royal Decree is published in the BOE. As of October 2025, it is still pending.
Phases: Over €8 million turnover: 12 months after the BOE date. The rest: 24 months after that same BOE date.
Tip: if you need a refresher on what an electronic invoice is and how it works in Spain, read our guide to the basics here: Electronic invoice in Spain.
Purpose: boost business creation and growth, reduce paperwork, fight late payments, and digitise transactions. Mandatory B2B e-invoicing is one of its main tools.
Other measures: easier SL setup with €1 share capital, simpler licensing and permitting, and updates to crowdfunding and business financing rules.
E-invoicing is not only a document change. It forces cleaner customer and supplier data, faster dispute handling, and a clearer audit trail.
Status: the latest draft was re-opened to public hearing in March 2025. It sets the legal and technical regime for B2B e-invoicing: formats, interconnection, recipient access, and status reporting.
Facturae, UBL, EDIFACT, and CEFACT are accepted, with a path to add more. These are structured files a machine can read. A scanned image or a simple PDF cannot be automatically processed.
Plain explanation: think of a structured e-invoice as a spreadsheet the computer reads line by line. A PDF is a picture.
Free interoperability among platforms. Your provider must be able to send and receive from others without extra tolls.
Recipient access for 4 years. The recipient must be able to view and download their invoices through a portal or API (a secure connection between systems) for at least four years. Plan for identity and permissions.
Commercial status: the recipient communicates acceptance or rejection within 4 days. If rejected, they should give the reason.
Payment status: the recipient reports when it is paid and the payment date. Use this to chase late payers and clean your aging list.
Why 4 days: it creates a near real-time view of the order-to-cash cycle. Train teams to avoid bottlenecks.
Law 18/2022 was published on 29 September 2022. Most non e-invoice measures took effect 20 days later. The e-invoice obligation waits for the Royal Decree to start the phase-in.
Phase-in triggers once the Decree is in the BOE:
Over €8 million turnover: mandatory 12 months after the BOE date.
€8 million or less: mandatory 24 months after the BOE date.
Market expectation as of October 2025: approval likely in late 2025 per industry and legal press. Plan projects with that assumption, but do not commit dates until the BOE is out.
Here is the official text you can cite, including the article that expands B2B e-invoicing by modifying Law 56/2007 (on measures to boost the information society): BOE - Ley 18/2022 Crea y Crece.
Note: do not confuse this with RD 1007/2023 on billing software integrity under the anti-fraud law, or RD 254/2025 that moved those adoption dates. Different scope, different ministry.
Structured and automatable. The e-invoice must be a file a computer can process without manual retyping. Facturae remains pivotal in Spain. UBL and EDIFACT are common in EU supply chains.
Delivery and access. The sender must ensure proper electronic delivery and that the recipient can access invoices for years. This usually means a secure portal and APIs.
For a practical overview of tools and workflows, see our Spanish guide to mandatory e-invoicing for autónomos and SMEs.
Different legal tracks. Crea y Crece governs B2B e-invoicing. Antifraude and the Verifactu regime set rules for billing software integrity and, optionally, real-time reporting to the tax agency. RD 254/2025 adjusted Verifactu dates.
Different owners. Economy leads Crea y Crece. Hacienda and the tax agency lead Verifactu. The tax agency has hinted its app and interfaces may help future B2B e-invoice flows, but that is separate from the legal duty under Crea y Crece.
Press confusion. Many summaries in 2025 mix both. Keep them apart when planning. Your roadmap should align to both calendars so you do not rebuild twice.
Crea y Crece will force B2B e-invoicing once the Royal Decree hits the BOE. Build on Facturae, UBL, EDIFACT, and CEFACT. Wire your 4-day status flows. Ensure platform interconnection and long-term recipient access. Time your rollout to your turnover bracket and track the Royal Decree approval while you also follow Verifactu dates. If you set these blocks now, you will switch on day 1 without chaos and you will comply with the Crea y Crece Law electronic invoice requirement.
