The administrative process for registration has been greatly simplified by the 2003 Dutreuil law.

Before registration procedures have been completed certain commitments will no doubt already have been made and taken on behalf of the new El or company being set up. Knowing what can and should be done before signing the articles, in the case of companies, and then before the official registration certificate is received is particularly important. Make a list of what has been done and/or promised and keep it with the proposed articles before they are signed. The company as a legal identity (personne morale) will then take over liability for these acts and commitments which up to that moment have been the personal responsibility of its future partners.

When the articles have been signed the principal entrepreneur should be officially mandated by the partners to sign contracts on behalf of the company for business premises, purchases, staff, etc. Ideally, the business should start trading after all these initial contracts have been signed.

If applying for a patent (see Chapter 1) await its acceptance before publicising the project or product. Acceptance normally takes about three weeks. No reply within five months means that the patent application has been accepted.

The bank account for the business is established as soon as any required capital is paid up, but cannot be used until registration has been completed.

Registration formalities

The CFEs (centres de formalités des entreprises) are the registration organisations for all the necessary formalities when starting a business. One file is deposited in one office containing all the required paperwork. Ensure the forms requesting information are filled in correctly and all the documents required are supplied at the same time, otherwise the whole registration process will be delayed. Each CFE covers a geographical area. There are different CFEs for different types of business activities and different types of business structure.

The table overleaf is a guide to the main CFEs and their applications.

Any subsequent changes to the business (a move elsewhere, change in name, change in business structure, change in type of business, change in partners, capital, directors, and marital status for Els, etc.) must be notified to the CFE where the business was originally registered.

Initial registration, since February 2005, can now be effected online via the Internet. The registration receipt (Récépissé de dépôt de création d’entreprise (RDCE) now has legal value and states that a registration number for the new business is awaited. It is accepted immediately by banks providing loans, and by France Télécom providing phone lines at business rates, as proof of the business’ future existence.

Commerçants, Sociétés commerciales (SARL, SA, SCOP, EURL, SNC),	Chambre de commerce et d’industrie
Artisans listed on the trades register (Répertoires des métìers), Individuals (personnes physiques), Sociétés	Chambre de metiers
Sociétés civiles (SCI, SCM, SCP), Sociétés d’exercice libéral (SELARL, SELCA, SELU), Non-salaried sales agents (Els)	Greffe du tribunal de commerce
All professional/service (El) businesses	URSSAF
Writers and artists who invoice VAT and who either pay (IR (BIC) tax or IS tax, and are not in the above categories	Centre des impôts
Individual farmers and farming companies	Chambre d’agriculture

All businesses subsequently receive a 14–digit identification SIRET number which is composed of the legal identity SIREN number – the first nine digits – and the internal classification number (NIC) – the last five digits. This number pinpoints where the business is located. The business code (NAF) classification number is also received at the same time and the actual business registration certificate, known as ‘extrait K’ for EIs and ‘extraits K bis’ for companies, later on.

It may be possible to start the business activity while awaiting the SIRET. It is recommended that this is checked as soon as the RDCE is issued.

Strictly speaking there is no registration fee, but in practice most CFEs charge an administrative fee, from around 30€ in a Tribunal de Commerce for an El up to around 300€ for a SA or SAS company. There is no registration fee with URSSAF.

As soon as the business is officially registered this must be announced in the local press and in the national civil- and commercial-announcements journal, BODDAC. Local newspapers may accept deferred payment. Essential information is the type of legal structure, name of the business, capital amount (if applicable), registered address, business activity, period of existence and the full name and address of the manager or entrepreneur running the business, and the registration office. The date the business is set up is often included. If not the date of the announcement suffices. Below is a typical announcement for an EURL:

Avis de constitution

Avis est donné de la constitution d’une société présentant les caractéristiques suivantes:

Forme: EURL

Dénomination: France

_____

Capital: 1.000€

Siège social: 99, boulevard _____ 75007 Paris

Objet: _____

Durée: 99 ans

Gérance: Monsieur Claude DUPONT, 6 chemin _____ 75001 Paris Immatriculation (registration): RCS de Paris (1ère arrondissement)

All businesses should check they have done the following:

• opened a bank account;
• advised La Poste of where they are;
• made themselves known or become a member of their trade/professional federation;
• registered within three months with an ARRCO complementary pensions office even if there are no salaried staff immediately;
• taken out business and personal insurance policies. (Obtain information from the CDIA (centre de documentation et d’information de l’assurance) Visit www.cdia.fr.

Companies should also:

• register their articles with their tax office;
• deposit cash capital in a frozen account, and have any capital provided in kind officially evaluated by a commissaire aux apports.