OD (Dematerialisation Operator)

An OD is a non-registered dematerialisation operator that must route invoices through a PDP or the public portal for them to be transmitted officially.

Definition

A Dematerialisation Operator (Opérateur de Dématérialisation, OD) is a technical provider that offers e-invoicing services without being registered as a PDP by the French tax administration.

It can act along the chain (creation, format conversion, validation, archiving, integration with the client's information system), but it does not hold the right to officially transmit invoices and tax data.

Role and limits

The OD acts as a technical intermediary serving the business. For invoices to circulate within the regulatory framework, it must connect either:

• to a registered PDP; or
• to the public portal.

It is not listed as an authorised actor in the central directory and does not report data directly to the DGFiP.

Example

A business-software vendor may offer a module that generates Factur-X invoices and pre-validates them: in that case it plays the role of an OD. For actual delivery to the recipient and transmission of tax data, the flow is handed to a partner PDP, which ensures official routing and interoperability.

Good to know

The OD/PDP distinction is essential: only the PDP bears the regulatory responsibility for transmission and e-reporting. A business can perfectly combine the two: keep its usual OD to produce invoices and connect it to a PDP for the regulatory part.