EHF: the Norwegian Elektronisk Handelsformat for e-invoicing, with generation differences and the transition to Peppol BIS 3.0.
EHF (Elektronisk Handelsformat) is the Norwegian standard for e-invoicing. Norway was one of the first countries to mandate e-invoicing for government suppliers and is a co-founder of the Peppol network. EHF is therefore one of the longest-standing national e-invoice standards in Europe.
EHF has two generations with fundamentally different technical foundations:
The difference between G2 and G3 is fundamental: EHF G2 is based on the older CEN BII specifications and cannot be transformed to modern EN 16931 formats like NLCIUS or BIS Billing V3. EHF G3 is functionally identical to Peppol BIS 3.0 and fully interoperable.
In practice, EHF G3 and Peppol BIS Billing V3 are functionally identical. Both are based on the European standard EN 16931 and use UBL 2.1 as their syntax. The difference is mainly historical: EHF G3 is the Norwegian designation for what is known on the Peppol network as BIS Billing V3.
For international invoice exchange, it is recommended to use BIS Billing V3 rather than EHF G3 as the designation, since this is more widely recognised outside Norway.
Government suppliers in Norway must be registered in the ELMA register (Elektronisk Mottakaradresseregister). This central register contains the receiving capabilities of all Norwegian government bodies. Registration is mandatory; PDF invoices are only accepted as an exception.
eConnect fully supports EHF via the Peppol network. Invoices to Norwegian recipients are automatically routed in the correct format. Received EHF G2 invoices are recognised, but conversion to G3/BIS 3.0 is needed for further processing due to the fundamental structural differences.
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