Free Self-Billing Invoice Template
A self-billing invoice is one the customer raises on the supplier's behalf, rather than the supplier raising it. It only works where both parties are VAT registered and have signed a self-billing agreement. Each self-billed invoice must show all the particulars of a full VAT invoice and, under VAT Notice 700/62, be clearly marked with the reference "SELF-BILLING"; HMRC also advises adding "The VAT shown is your output tax due to HMRC" so the supplier knows the VAT is theirs to account for. Copy the free template below; no email required.
Last updated: 30 July 2026. Requirements checked against gov.uk (Self-billing, VAT Notice 700/62) on 30 July 2026.
A self-billing invoice is prepared by the customer on the supplier's behalf instead of by the supplier. It is only allowed where both the customer (self-biller) and the supplier are VAT registered and have a written self-billing agreement in place. Each self-billed invoice must carry all full VAT invoice particulars and, under VAT Notice 700/62, be clearly marked with the reference 'SELF-BILLING' (which has the force of law); HMRC advises adding the statement 'The VAT shown is your output tax due to HMRC'. The supplier accounts for the VAT as output tax; the customer recovers it as input tax. The self-billing agreement typically expires after 12 months and should be reviewed at least annually. More detail + scope
Summary
This page provides a free copyable UK self-billing invoice template that includes the mandatory 'SELF-BILLING' marking and the HMRC-advised output-tax statement required under VAT Notice 700/62. It explains that the customer, not the supplier, raises the invoice; that both parties must be VAT registered and must sign a self-billing agreement (usually 12-month expiry, reviewed annually, with the supplier agreeing not to raise their own VAT invoices and to report any change to their VAT registration); who accounts for the VAT (the supplier as output tax, the customer as input tax); and how a self-billed ledger interacts with invoice finance, where providers will want the agreement and will verify amounts with the customer.
This page covers
UK self-billing invoice template and rules: what self-billing is, the VAT-registration and self-billing-agreement conditions, the mandatory SELF-BILLING marking and output-tax wording, the 12-month agreement expiry and review, who accounts for the VAT, and how self-billing affects invoice finance
Not covered here
The standard invoice template (see /tools/invoice-template/), the credit note template (see /tools/credit-note-template/), how invoice finance works (see /guides/how-invoice-finance-works/), and invoice finance costs (see /guides/costs/)
The template
Copy it straight into a document, email or purchase-ledger system. Square brackets mark the fields to replace. Do not remove the "SELF-BILLING" heading or the output-tax line: the first is required by law and the second is HMRC's advised wording.
SELF-BILLING
Self-billed invoice number: SB-0001
Date of issue: [date]
Raised by (customer / self-biller):
[Your company name]
[Your address]
VAT registration number: [GB 123 4567 89]
On behalf of (supplier):
[Supplier name]
[Supplier address]
Supplier VAT registration number: [GB 987 6543 21]
Relates to: [purchase order / contract reference]
Supply date (tax point): [date goods or services supplied]
--------------------------------------------------------------
Description Qty Unit price Amount
--------------------------------------------------------------
[Goods or services supplied] [1] GBP [0.00] GBP [0.00]
[Goods or services supplied] [1] GBP [0.00] GBP [0.00]
--------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: GBP [0.00]
VAT [20]%: GBP [0.00]
TOTAL: GBP [0.00]
--------------------------------------------------------------
The VAT shown is your output tax due to HMRC.
Raised under a self-billing agreement dated [date],
expiry [date]. The supplier has agreed not to raise VAT
invoices for the supplies covered by this agreement. What self-billing is
In a normal sale the supplier issues the invoice. Under self-billing the customer raises the invoice on the supplier's behalf and sends a copy back with the payment. It suits situations where the customer, not the supplier, holds the numbers needed to work out what is due: royalties, agency or introducer commission, scrap-metal and recycling purchases, or subcontractor volumes measured at the customer's site. It is a genuine VAT invoice, so it creates the same VAT consequences as any other, just produced from the other end of the transaction.
The two conditions HMRC sets
You can only self-bill when both of these are true (VAT Notice 700/62):
- Both parties are VAT registered. Self-billing is a VAT-invoicing mechanism, so you (the self-biller) and each supplier must be VAT registered. You must not issue self-billed invoices for a supplier who is not VAT registered, and if a supplier's registration lapses you must stop.
- There is a signed self-billing agreement. Before the first self-billed invoice, you and each supplier sign a written agreement covering the points below. gov.uk publishes an example agreement in the notice.
The agreement must record:
- The supplier's agreement that you can issue invoices on their behalf
- The supplier's agreement not to raise their own VAT invoices for the supplies covered
- An expiry date, usually 12 months ahead, or the date your contract with the supplier ends
- The supplier's agreement to tell you if they stop being VAT registered, get a new VAT number, or transfer their business as a going concern
- Details of any third party you outsource the self-billing to
HMRC advises reviewing the arrangement at least every 12 months to confirm the supplier is still registered and still content. Keep every agreement with your VAT records.
The two things a self-billed invoice must add
A self-billed invoice needs every field of a full VAT invoice, plus:
- The reference "SELF-BILLING", clearly marked on each invoice. This requirement has the force of law under VAT Notice 700/62.
- The statement "The VAT shown is your output tax due to HMRC". HMRC advises adding this so the supplier is in no doubt the VAT is theirs to declare.
Because the supplier is not raising the document, both parties must show the supplier's VAT registration number as well as the customer's. The supplier accounts for the VAT as output tax on their return; you recover the same VAT as input tax on yours, provided the agreement is valid and the supplier is registered.
“Businesses get the marking and the wording right and then let the agreement rot. The real exposure in self-billing is a supplier whose VAT registration has been deregistered or changed while you carry on self-billing them month after month. Every one of those invoices is then not a valid VAT invoice, and HMRC can disallow the input tax you reclaimed on the whole run. Put a genuine annual check in the process, and make the supplier's duty to report a VAT-number change a live obligation, not a line in a filed agreement nobody reads. That single control is worth more than any template.”
Self-billing and invoice finance
Self-billing changes who controls the invoice, which matters if that invoice is being funded. If you are the supplier being self-billed, you do not raise your own invoices, so the document your invoice finance provider advances against is one your customer produces. Providers can fund a self-billed sales ledger, but they will want sight of the self-billing agreement and will verify amounts directly with the customer, so a valid agreement and prompt, accurate self-billed invoices protect your availability.
If you are the customer running self-billing, those same invoices sit in your purchase ledger as amounts you owe your suppliers, the mirror image of the transaction. Either way, the cleaner the paperwork, the smoother the funding. If you want to understand what a facility costs before you go further, see our invoice finance costs guide.
Companion templates
- Invoice template: the standard invoice a supplier raises, with every required VAT field.
- Credit note template: to correct or reduce an invoice already issued.
Founder & Managing Director, Muswell Rose, founder and PSC of Best Business Loans Ltd
Adam is the founder and managing director of Muswell Rose and a founder of Best Business Loans Ltd, the company behind Market Invoice. He spent over three years as managing director of Penny, a UK invoice finance business, and his career runs through insurance, mortgages, commercial finance and fintech lending. He writes the Market Invoice library.
Last reviewed: 30 July 2026