Late payment penalties on invoices: the legal obligation everyone ignores
French law requires late payment penalties on every B2B invoice. Yet 95% of freelancers ignore it. Here's what you're risking — and how to comply effortlessly.
A massively ignored legal obligation
Ask any freelancer in France: "Do you mention late payment penalties on your invoices?" The answer is almost invariably no. Yet this mention has been mandatory on every B2B invoice since the LME law of 2008 and its successive implementation decrees.
Fines for non-compliance can reach €75,000 for individuals and €375,000 for legal entities. This isn't theoretical: the DGCCRF conducts regular audits, and adjustments increase every year.
What the law actually requires
Three elements must appear on every B2B invoice:
The late payment penalty rate. The legal minimum is the ECB's main refinancing rate plus 10 points. In 2026, that's approximately 14%. This rate applies automatically from the day after the invoice due date, without any reminder being necessary.
The fixed compensation for recovery costs. Set at €40, it's owed automatically in case of late payment. It's a flat-rate compensation for the administrative costs of collection.
No grace period. Unless otherwise specified in the contract, no grace period applies. The delay starts from Day 1 after the due date.
The freelancer's dilemma
The reason nobody enforces these penalties is obvious: fear of damaging the business relationship. Claiming €40 in recovery costs from a client who pays three days late seems disproportionate — and risks being counterproductive.
But there's a crucial nuance most people miss: mentioning penalties is mandatory. Enforcing them is a choice.
In other words, the law requires you to inform the client of the consequences of late payment. It doesn't require you to act on them.
The pragmatic solution
The wisest approach is to systematically include the legal mentions on every invoice (ensuring compliance), while reserving the right to enforce on a case-by-case basis.
A tool that automatically calculates the ECB + 10 points rate, adds the €40 fixed compensation mention, and integrates everything into a compliant invoice template solves the compliance problem without creating commercial friction.
You're in compliance. And in case of a chronically late payer, you have a legitimate contractual lever.