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VeriFactu for Autonomos in Valencia: What Certified Invoicing Software Actually Has to Do Before July 2027

The hash chain, the QR, the two modes, and the 50,000-euro possession penalty, in plain terms for a Valencia sole trader.

To be VeriFactu compliant, your invoicing software has to do four things. It generates a chained SHA-256 hash for every invoice, so no earlier invoice can be changed without breaking the chain. It prints an AEAT-verifiable QR code on each invoice. It either sends each record to the Agencia Tributaria in real time (VERI*FACTU mode) or stores signed, chained records locally for inspection (non-VERI*FACTU mode). And it ships with a signed compliance declaration (declaracion responsable) from the software producer. As a freelancer you do not build any of this. You confirm your provider has it.

If you are self-employed in Valencia and taxed under IRPF, this becomes mandatory on 1 July 2027. Companies under Impuesto sobre Sociedades cross the line earlier, on 1 January 2027. Both dates come from a one-year postponement enacted in December 2025. Software you buy today already has to meet the rules, because producers were required to make compliant versions available by 29 July 2025. This piece explains what that software must do, so you can tell a compliant tool from one that will cost you money. It is general guidance, so confirm the details for your own situation with your gestor or the AEAT.

What must invoicing software actually do to be VeriFactu compliant?

The regulation rests on one legal duty in article 29.2.j of the Ley General Tributaria: your records must guarantee integridad, conservacion, accesibilidad, legibilidad, trazabilidad e inalterabilidad (integrity, retention, accessibility, legibility, traceability, and being unalterable). VeriFactu turns that duty into four concrete software features.

First, a SHA-256 hash fingerprint on every invoice, with each record chained to the one before it. Change any past invoice and the chain breaks, which is the point. Second, an AEAT-verifiable QR code printed on every invoice. Third, one of two record-handling modes: real-time submission of each record to the AEAT (VERI*FACTU mode), or local storage of signed, chained records kept for inspection (non-VERI*FACTU mode). Fourth, a declaracion responsable, a signed statement from the software producer certifying the tool complies. Your job is to verify your provider has all four.

🎯 Bottom line

The legal core is that records must be integral, retained, accessible, legible, traceable, and unalterable. The SHA-256 chain is how software proves the last of these: alter one past invoice and the chain visibly breaks.

When does VeriFactu apply to a self-employed person?

For autonomos taxed under IRPF, the mandatory date is 1 July 2027. For companies under Impuesto sobre Sociedades, it is 1 January 2027. These dates are the result of a one-year postponement in Real Decreto-ley 15/2025, de 2 de diciembre, published in the BOE on 3 December 2025. It modifies the original Real Decreto 1007/2023.

The postponement moved the taxpayer deadlines. It did not move the deadline for software producers, who had to make compliant versions available by 29 July 2025, following the technical rules in Orden HAC/1177/2024. So any invoicing software you buy or update now already has to be VeriFactu-ready, even though your own obligation to use it does not start until 2027. You have time to choose well. You have no reason to choose a tool that ignores the standard.

VERI*FACTU mode and non-VERI*FACTU mode: which should a Valencia freelancer pick?

There are two valid modes, and the difference is where your records live. In VERI*FACTU mode, the software sends each invoice record to the AEAT automatically as you issue it. Because the tax agency already holds the record, no electronic signature is required on your side. It is the simpler path.

In non-VERI*FACTU mode, records stay only on your system. They are still chained by SHA-256, and they must also be electronically signed (using XAdES) and retained for inspection. This mode carries stricter obligations, including that signature and an event log. For most sole traders in Valencia, VERI*FACTU mode is the lower-friction option: fewer moving parts, no signature to manage, and the record is confirmed with the AEAT the moment you issue the invoice.

What is the fine for using uncertified invoicing software?

For the taxpayer, article 201 bis of the Ley General Tributaria (introduced by Ley 11/2021) sets a fixed penalty of up to 50,000 euros per tax year for using, or merely holding, invoicing software that does not meet the requirements. Holding counts. This is a possession offense. The tax authority does not have to prove you committed any fraud, only that a non-compliant system was in use.

For developers, the figures are higher: up to 150,000 euros per tax year and per type of system for producing or marketing non-compliant software, plus 1,000 euros for each system sold without the required certification or declaracion responsable. That developer figure matters to you indirectly. It is the pressure that pushes reputable vendors to comply, which is why an off-the-shelf tool from a serious provider is the safe default.

🎯 Bottom line

The 50,000-euro penalty for taxpayers is a possession offense. Hacienda does not need to show fraud, only that a non-compliant system was in use. A spreadsheet cannot produce the chain, the QR, or the record, so it counts as non-compliant.

What does the QR code on every invoice contain?

The QR specification comes from Orden HAC/1177/2024. It must be printed between 30x30 mm and 40x40 mm, follow the ISO/IEC 18004:2015 standard, and use error-correction level M (medium, roughly 15 percent of the code recoverable if damaged). The QR encodes a URL to the AEAT electronic office plus four data points: the issuer's NIF, the invoice series and number, the date, and the total amount.

Two labels are required. Every compliant invoice carries the text QR tributario next to the code. Invoices issued in VERI*FACTU mode must also show VERI*FACTU or the phrase Factura verificable en la sede electronica de la AEAT. A customer scanning the QR on a VERI*FACTU invoice can confirm it was reported to the tax agency. In non-VERI*FACTU mode the same scan lets them report it.

Should you buy, use the free AEAT tool, or build your own?

For almost every sole trader, buying is the right call. A compliant tool from a reputable vendor already carries the hash chain, the QR, the chosen mode, and the declaracion responsable, and the developer bears the legal risk of getting the certification right. Building your own means taking on the full technical specification of Orden HAC/1177/2024 yourself, which is rarely worth it for one freelancer's invoicing.

There is a free middle path. The AEAT provides a basic invoicing tool in its electronic office for very small operators without their own software. You enter the invoice data and it returns a printable invoice with the QR, storing the record in VERI*FACTU mode. It has one clear limit: it handles complete invoices only, so no simplified invoices and no multi-recipient invoices. If your billing is simple and low-volume, the free form may be all you need. If you issue simplified invoices or need features it lacks, buy a compliant tool.

Common questions

Do autonomos in Spain have to use VeriFactu in 2026?

No. After the December 2025 postponement in Real Decreto-ley 15/2025, self-employed people taxed under IRPF must comply from 1 July 2027, and companies from 1 January 2027. Software you acquire now, however, must already be VeriFactu-ready.

Can I keep invoicing with Excel or a Word template?

Not once your deadline arrives. A plain spreadsheet cannot produce the chained SHA-256 hash, the verifiable QR, or the record submission the regulation requires, so using it counts as holding non-compliant software and exposes you to the up-to-50,000-euro annual penalty. The AEAT offers a free basic invoicing form for very small operators as an alternative.

What is the QR code on the invoice for?

It links to the AEAT electronic office and encodes the issuer's NIF, the invoice series and number, the date, and the total. In VERI*FACTU mode a customer can scan it to confirm the invoice was reported to the tax agency. In non-VERI*FACTU mode it lets them report it.

The through-line of VeriFactu is a single idea. The state wants invoice records that cannot be quietly rewritten. Every requirement, the hash chain, the QR, the two modes, the possession penalty, exists to enforce that one property. Pick a tool that already provides it, confirm it carries the producer's declaracion responsable, and your 2027 deadline becomes a date you have already prepared for.

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