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EDF Form Generator for Freelancers 2026

Fill RBI's Export Declaration Form for your foreign invoices, see each monthly due date and payment deadline, and download a draft for your bank

1. Your details

Fill this when someone other than the client pays you, such as a platform like Upwork or Payoneer. Leave it blank if the client pays you directly.

2. Invoices to foreign clients

  1. Invoice 1

    More details (optional)

    What you expect to receive after platform fees or commission. Leave blank if it is the full invoice amount.

  2. Invoice 2

    More details (optional)

    What you expect to receive after platform fees or commission. Leave blank if it is the full invoice amount.

  3. Invoice 3

    More details (optional)

    What you expect to receive after platform fees or commission. Leave blank if it is the full invoice amount.

3. Exchange rates

Enter the rate your bank used, or the RBI reference rate for the invoice date. The ₹10 lakh check needs a rupee value, so the tool never guesses a rate.

The sample uses round example rates, not today's rates.

Next EDF due

30 Nov 2026

Invoices raised in October 2026

Invoices
3
EDFs to file
2
Total value
₹5.54 L
Up to ₹10 lakh
3 of 3

Filing by this date meets Regulation 3(2) for every kind of service. If your service is not software, you may also file on or before the day the payment arrives. If you will be late, your bank can extend the deadline when you give reasons.

Download your draft

The draft follows the layout and wording of RBI's EDF, one form per month, and is in English like RBI's form. It is still a draft: your bank may use its own format or portal. Check the official form below. If RBI ever revises it, its notification page always has the current version.

EDF schedule by month

Invoices raised in October 2026

EDF due: 30 Nov 2026

  • INV-2026-0315 Oct 2026
    Client
    Northwind Studio Inc.
    Amount
    USD 2,500
    ₹ value
    ₹2,20,000
    Up to ₹10 lakh
    Yes
    Receive payment by
    5 Jul 2027
  • INV-2026-03228 Oct 2026
    Client
    Bergmann Analytics GmbH
    Amount
    EUR 1,800
    ₹ value
    ₹1,83,600
    Up to ₹10 lakh
    Yes
    Receive payment by
    28 Jul 2027

Invoices raised in November 2026

EDF due: 30 Dec 2026

  • INV-2026-03312 Nov 2026
    Client
    Gulf Media FZ-LLC
    Amount
    INR 1,50,000
    ₹ value
    ₹1,50,000
    Up to ₹10 lakh
    Yes
    Receive payment by
    12 Nov 2027

Invoice value by month

How the dates are worked out

Standard Formula
EDF due = last day of invoice month + 30 days; Receive by = invoice date + 9 months (12 if in rupees)
Live Calculation (Plugging Your Values)
Invoice date (D):5 Oct 2026
End of invoice month (EOM):31 Oct 2026
EDF due (EDF):30 Nov 2026
Months allowed (M):9
Receive payment by (R):5 Jul 2027
Substituted Equation:
31 Oct 2026 + 30 days = 30 Nov 2026; 5 Oct 2026 + 9 months = 5 Jul 2027
EDF due date:30 Nov 2026

Count the 30 days from the end of the month, not from the invoice date. An invoice dated 5 October and one dated 31 October share the same due date, 30 November. If a payment period ends on a date the month does not have, such as 31 May plus 9 months, it falls on the last day of that month.

About the EDF Form Generator

From 1 October 2026, RBI's Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 require every exporter of services to declare the full export value of its invoices on an Export Declaration Form (EDF). A freelancer, consultant, developer or agency that bills a client outside India is an exporter of services. Earlier, most non-software services needed no declaration at all, and software exporters filed SOFTEX.

The EDF goes to your Authorised Dealer (AD) bank, the bank where your foreign payments arrive, within 30 days from the end of the month in which you raised the invoice. One EDF can cover all of a month's invoices. This tool works out each due date, the last date by which the payment must reach India, and which invoices are small enough to be closed on your own declaration, and it prepares a draft you can give your bank.

How it Works

  • Enter your name, address, PAN and bank as they should appear on the EDF. GSTIN, IE Code, AD code and a third-party payer are optional.
  • Add one row per invoice to a foreign client: date, currency, amount, description and SAC code. Under More details, add the net amount after platform fees, a contract reference or remarks.
  • Enter an exchange rate for each foreign currency so the tool can test the ₹10 lakh limit.
  • Tick Payment settled in rupees when a foreign-currency invoice is paid to you in rupees. Rupee invoices get 12 months automatically.
  • Read the schedule, then download the CSV or print one EDF per month.

How to file an EDF with your bank

  1. Ask your AD bank how it takes EDFs. Banks accept them through net banking, email or the branch. Ask whether it needs your IE Code.
  2. At the end of each month, list every invoice raised to a client outside India that month.
  3. Fill one EDF for the month with each invoice's client, country, invoice number and date, currency, amount, description and SAC code.
  4. Submit it within 30 days from the end of the month. The schedule above gives the exact date. If you cannot make it, write to your bank before the date and give the reason. The bank can extend the period.
  5. Keep the bank's advice for each payment received so it can be matched with the invoice.
  6. Make sure the full amount arrives in time: 9 months from the invoice date, or 12 months if invoiced or settled in rupees. For an invoice up to ₹10 lakh, the bank can close the entry on your declaration.

What the new rule means for you

Good news

  • One EDF can cover every invoice raised in a month, to any number of clients.
  • You file with your own bank, not with RBI.
  • If your service is not software, you may file on or before the day the payment arrives.
  • Your bank can give you more time if you ask with a reason.
  • An invoice up to ₹10 lakh can be closed on your own declaration, singly or in a quarterly bulk declaration.
  • Invoices raised or settled in rupees get 12 months for the money to arrive.

Extra work

  • Freelancers outside software, who never filed a declaration before, now have a monthly form.
  • There is no minimum amount. A single small invoice still needs an EDF.
  • It comes on top of GST returns and income tax. Neither of them replaces it.
  • Foreign-currency payments must arrive within 9 months. The January notification said 15, and the September amendment cut it before the rules took effect.
  • If a payment is more than a year overdue, further exports are allowed only against full advance payment or an irrevocable letter of credit.
  • RBI has not yet clarified how platform payouts such as YouTube ad revenue should be treated.

YouTube, AdSense and other platform payouts

The regulations do not name platform ad revenue, and RBI has not issued a clarification on it yet. Some advisers treat a direct payment from a foreign brand as an export of services but ad revenue as something else. Until RBI clarifies, ask your AD bank how it wants platform payouts reported.

References

EDF for Freelancers: FAQs

What is an EDF and do freelancers have to file it?
An Export Declaration Form (EDF) is the declaration of the full export value that RBI's Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 require from every exporter of services from 1 October 2026. If you invoice a client outside India for services, you are an exporter of services. The regulations do not carve out freelancers or set a minimum invoice value.
When is the EDF due?
Within 30 days from the end of the month in which the invoice was raised (Regulation 3(2)). Invoices raised in October 2026 are due by 30 November 2026, and invoices raised in January 2027 by 2 March 2027, because the 30 days run past a 28-day February. One EDF can cover all the invoices of a month. If your service is not software, the regulation also lets you submit the EDF on or before the date you receive payment. Filing by the 30-day date is safe in every case.
I am going to miss the 30-day deadline. What should I do?
Ask your bank for more time before the date passes. Regulation 3(2)(c) lets the AD bank extend the period when you request it and give the reason for the delay, once it is satisfied the reason is fair. Put the request in writing and keep the bank's reply.
Is there a minimum amount below which I do not need to file?
No. Regulation 3(2) applies to every exporter of services and sets no minimum value. The ₹10 lakh figure is about closing the entry after the invoice is declared, not about skipping the declaration.
How long do I have to receive the payment?
Nine months from the invoice date, or 12 months if the export is invoiced or settled in Indian rupees (Regulation 5(1)). The January 2026 notification said 15 and 18 months. RBI's amendment of 22 September 2026 cut them to 9 and 12 before the rules took effect, so older articles that quote 15 months are out of date.
What is the ₹10 lakh rule?
For an invoice up to ₹10 lakh, or its equivalent in foreign currency, the bank can close the entry on your declaration instead of waiting for full proof of payment. You can declare invoices one by one or in a quarterly bulk declaration (Regulation 4(2)). It does not remove the need to file the EDF.
I get paid through Upwork, Payoneer or Wise. Who files the EDF?
You do. The regulation puts the duty on the exporter of services, and the EDF describes the service you sold, not the withdrawal from the platform. File it with the bank in India where the money lands, and keep the platform's contract and payout statement so the bank can match the payment to your invoice. If the platform pays you instead of the client, the EDF has a field for the third party's name and address and its relationship to you.
I already have a FIRC and file GST returns. Why another form?
They are different laws. The EDF is a declaration under the Foreign Exchange Management Act to your bank, the GST return is a tax filing, and the bank's certificate for money received records the payment. The 2026 Regulations require the EDF whatever else you file.
I export software. Do I still file SOFTEX?
The 2026 Regulations replace the 2015 export regulations under which SOFTEX was filed, and they treat software as a service. Software exports are therefore declared on the same EDF as other services, with your AD bank, or with the Development Commissioner if you work from an SEZ.
Do YouTube or AdSense payouts need an EDF?
RBI has not clarified this yet. The regulations do not mention platform ad revenue. Until RBI issues guidance, ask your AD bank how it wants platform payouts reported, and keep invoices or payout statements for every receipt.
What happens if a client never pays?
Your bank reports every EDF and every payment in RBI's Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS). If an export stays unpaid for more than a year after the deadline, Regulation 13 allows further exports only against full advance payment or an irrevocable letter of credit. Tell your bank early if a client is not paying.
Is the downloaded file an official RBI form?
No. It reproduces the layout and wording of the services EDF in the Annex to RBI notification FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, one form per month, filled in with your invoices. It is still a draft to check and share with your bank, which may ask you to use its own portal or template.
Does money sent by family abroad need an EDF?
These regulations deal with the export of goods and services. Money from a relative is not payment for a service you exported, so it is not what the EDF declares. RBI has not issued a separate note on this, so ask your bank if a payment could look like income.
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📖 In-Depth Financial Guide10 min read

EDF Form for Freelancers 2026: Who Files, When and How

RBI's monthly Export Declaration Form in plain words: who must file, the 30 day deadline, the 9 or 12 month payment rule, and how to file with your bank.

Read Full Guide