Declaration of cessation of payments (cerfa 10530) — filing for bankruptcy within 45 days

A business is in a state of cessation of payments where its cash is no longer sufficient to settle its debts — in other words where its AVAILABLE ASSETS no longer cover its DUE LIABILITIES. As soon as that state is established, it must, within 45 DAYS, file the declaration of cessation of payments (form cerfa no. 10530*02), formerly known as filing for bankruptcy, with the registry of the competent court. When completing the declaration, the head of the business must choose between the opening of a JUDICIAL REORGANISATION — where they consider that a plan can improve the financial situation — and a JUDICIAL WINDING-UP — where the situation is irretrievably compromised; but it is the court that decides which procedure is actually opened. Filing beyond the 45 days exposes the head of the business to a BAN ON MANAGING: that is not an automatic penalty, as the court examines whether they deliberately delayed.

Up to date for 2025 — verified on October 3, 2026Official form10530*02Guide: about 40 min

Deadlines

45 days to file, from the cessation of payments: The form must be sent within 45 days of the cessation of payments to the registry of the court having jurisdiction according to the nature of the activity. The obligation to apply for the opening of a procedure arises from the moment the head of the business is aware of the state of cessation of payments.
45 days, too, for conciliation to remain available: A conciliation procedure may be opened where the cessation of payments dates back LESS THAN 45 DAYS. After that, the amicable route closes.
18 months — the maximum length of the suspect period: The period between the date of cessation of payments, set by the court, and the judgment opening the reorganisation or winding-up procedure is called the suspect period. Its length is limited to 18 months.
1 January 2025 — the economic activities courts: Since that date, the commercial and civil courts of twelve cities have been replaced by economic activities courts for handling ad hoc mandates, conciliation and collective proceedings: Avignon, Auxerre, Le Havre, Le Mans, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Nanterre, Paris, Saint-Brieuc and Versailles.

Documents to prepare

Form cerfa no. 10530*02, declaration of cessation of payments
Statement of available assets: cash, bank cheques issued in your favour even if not cashed, support from financial institutions, contributions from a director or partner, current account advances neither blocked nor called
Statement of due liabilities: invoices past their due date, wages to be paid, tax and social security instalments
Evidence, for each debt excluded, that it is contested, undetermined or covered by a moratorium
The date of cessation of payments adopted, which starts the 45 days
Reasoned choice between judicial reorganisation and winding-up
Competent registry according to the nature of the activity — Ministry of Justice simulator
Record of acts carried out since the date of cessation, to be checked against the suspect-period nullities

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Who this applies to

Any business whose cash is no longer sufficient to settle its debts, as soon as that state is established by the head of the business, with the help of their accountant
COMMERCIAL or CRAFT activities, which file with the commercial court or the economic activities court
PROFESSIONAL or AGRICULTURAL activities, which file with the civil court or the economic activities court
Regulated legal professions — lawyers, notaries, commissioners of justice, commercial court registrars, judicial administrators and judicial agents —, for which the civil court has jurisdiction
NOT in cessation of payments: a business with credit reserves, and therefore substantial available assets, or which obtains payment extensions from its creditors, its due liabilities then being low

Worked example

Example: €12,000 of cash against €31,000 of debts fallen due — and the two figures that do not count

A finishing-trade company has €9,000 in its accounts and holds a €3,000 bank cheque issued in its favour and not yet cashed: its available assets therefore amount to €12,000, since a bank cheque issued in its favour counts even if not yet cashed. It also owns a van and premises, but those movable and immovable assets ARE NOT available assets: they do not count here. Against that, it owes €18,000 of supplier invoices fallen due, €9,000 of wages to be paid and €4,000 of tax and social security instalments, that is €31,000 of due liabilities — those debts are certain, since none is contested before the court, liquidated, since their amount is determined, and due, since no creditor has granted a moratorium or payment facilities. The available assets do not cover the due liabilities: the business is in cessation of payments. Two outcomes could have avoided it: a shareholder's current account advance, neither blocked nor called, or further advances from a financial institution, would have raised the available assets; extensions obtained from creditors would have reduced the due liabilities. Failing that, the manager must file form cerfa no. 10530*02 with the registry within 45 days, choosing between reorganisation and winding-up — her activity being a craft activity, that will be the commercial court or, if her district has come under one since 1 January 2025, the economic activities court. The court will itself set the date of cessation of payments, open the suspect period — 18 months at most — and decide which procedure to open. Had she waited four months while selling shareholdings in the hope that business would pick up, she would have been "perfectly aware of the scale of the difficulties" and would have exposed herself to a ban on managing.

How to fill it in, step by step

Compute your AVAILABLE ASSETS: the business's cash and credit reserves — a bank cheque issued in your favour even if not cashed, further support granted by financial institutions, cash provided by a director or a partner, current account advances made by partners that are neither blocked nor called.
Do NOT include the movable or immovable assets the business owns: they are not available assets.
Compute your DUE LIABILITIES: all debts fallen due whose creditors may demand immediate payment — invoices past their due date, wages to be paid, tax and social security instalments.
Check that each debt retained is certain (not contested and not the subject of litigation before the court), liquidated (its amount is determined) and due (the creditor has granted neither a moratorium nor payment facilities).
Compare the two: if the available assets cover the due liabilities, there is no cessation of payments. Obtaining credit reserves or payment extensions from your creditors may be enough to avoid it.
If cessation is established, date it: the 45 days run from that date, and the obligation to declare arises from the moment you are aware of it.
Complete the declaration of cessation of payments, form cerfa no. 10530*02, with the help of your accountant.
Choose in the declaration between the opening of a reorganisation procedure — where a plan can improve the financial situation of the business — and a judicial winding-up — where the situation is irretrievably compromised. Bear in mind that it is the court that decides which procedure is actually opened.
Identify the competent registry according to the nature of your activity: commercial court or economic activities court for a commercial or craft activity; civil court or economic activities court for a professional or agricultural activity; civil court for the regulated legal professions. The Ministry of Justice provides a simulator.
Send the declaration to the registry within 45 days of the cessation of payments.
If the cessation dates back LESS than 45 days, examine with your adviser the possibility of opening a conciliation procedure instead: it remains available within that window.
Stop any act liable to be set aside under the suspect period: paying an invoice not yet due, entering into a loan agreement while knowing the company is heavily indebted, or granting a gift of a company asset to a creditor.

The form, line by line

Available assets: Cash and credit reserves: a bank cheque issued in the business's favour even if not cashed, further support from financial institutions, cash provided by a director or a partner, current account advances neither blocked nor called. Movable and immovable assets are excluded.
Due liabilities: All debts fallen due whose creditors may demand immediate payment: invoices past their due date, wages to be paid, tax and social security instalments.
Certain, liquidated and due debt: Three cumulative conditions: no contest or litigation before the court (certain), determined amount (liquidated), no moratorium or payment facilities granted by the creditor (due).
Choice between reorganisation and winding-up: The head of the business opts for reorganisation where a plan can improve the financial situation, for winding-up where the situation is irretrievably compromised. The court, for its part, decides which procedure is actually opened.
Date of cessation of payments: It is the COURT that sets it, according to the financial situation of the business — not the head of the business.
Suspect period: The period between the date of cessation of payments and the opening judgment, limited to 18 months. Its purpose is to set aside acts that disperse the business's assets or favour certain creditors.
Competent registry: Commercial court or economic activities court for a commercial or craft activity; civil court or economic activities court for a professional or agricultural activity; civil court for the regulated legal professions.

Good to know

Cessation of payments is not a matter of profit or of total debt: it is the confrontation of AVAILABLE assets with DUE liabilities. A business that owns its premises may be in cessation of payments, since that asset is not an available asset.
A partner's current account advance counts among available assets provided it is NEITHER BLOCKED NOR CALLED — that is what distinguishes it from a debt.
Obtaining payment extensions from creditors reduces due liabilities: a debt for which a moratorium or payment facilities have been granted is no longer due, and leaves the computation.
The head of the business proposes, the court disposes: the choice between reorganisation and winding-up stated in the declaration does not bind the court, which decides which procedure is actually opened.
Conciliation remains available where the cessation of payments dates back less than 45 days: the amicable window closes at the same time as the filing period runs.
Certain acts of the suspect period are set aside AUTOMATICALLY by the court — paying an invoice not yet due, entering into a loan while knowing the company is heavily indebted, granting a gift of a company asset to a creditor.
A ban on managing is not automatic: the court examines whether the head of the business deliberately delayed, and does not impose the sanction where they did not have sufficient knowledge of the business's financial situation.
Since 1 January 2025, twelve cities come under an economic activities court for ad hoc mandates, conciliation and collective proceedings: Avignon, Auxerre, Le Havre, Le Mans, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Nanterre, Paris, Saint-Brieuc and Versailles. A Ministry of Justice simulator gives the competent court.
The form allows an application for the opening of a reorganisation or judicial winding-up procedure, with or without professional rehabilitation.

Common mistakes

Counting movable and immovable assets among available assets: they do not belong there, and including them wrongly suggests that the business is not in cessation of payments.
Forgetting a bank cheque issued in the business's favour and not yet cashed, which does count among available assets.
Including in due liabilities a debt contested before the court: it is not certain.
Including a debt for which the creditor has granted a moratorium or payment facilities: it is no longer due.
Counting the 45 days from the filing of the accounts or the end of the financial year: they run from the CESSATION OF PAYMENTS.
Waiting in the hope of a turnaround: that is precisely what the court examines before imposing a ban on managing, and selling shareholdings in that hope instead demonstrates awareness of the difficulties.
Filing with the commercial court for a professional activity: the civil court or the economic activities court then has jurisdiction.
Ignoring the change of 1 January 2025: twelve cities now come under an economic activities court for these procedures.
Paying one supplier as a priority just before filing: payment of an invoice not yet due is set aside automatically under the suspect period.
Believing that the choice stated in the declaration binds the court: it alone decides which procedure to open.
Ruling out conciliation without looking at it: it remains available as long as the cessation of payments dates back less than 45 days.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly is cessation of payments?

A business is in a state of cessation of payments where its cash is no longer sufficient to settle its debts, that is where its available assets no longer cover its due liabilities. Available assets comprise cash and credit reserves; due liabilities, all debts fallen due whose creditors may demand immediate payment.

What is the filing deadline?

45 days from the cessation of payments. Form cerfa no. 10530*02 must be sent within that period to the registry of the court having jurisdiction according to the nature of the activity.

Which court should be approached?

For a commercial or craft activity, the commercial court or the economic activities court. For a professional or agricultural activity, the civil court or the economic activities court. The civil court has jurisdiction for the regulated legal professions: lawyers, notaries, commissioners of justice, commercial court registrars, judicial administrators and judicial agents. Since 1 January 2025, twelve cities come under an economic activities court, and the Ministry of Justice provides a simulator to identify the competent court.

Must one choose between reorganisation and winding-up?

Yes, the head of the business must choose when completing the declaration: reorganisation where a plan can improve the financial situation of the business, winding-up where the situation is irretrievably compromised. However, it is the court that decides which procedure is actually opened.

What is the suspect period?

It is the period between the date of cessation of payments, set by the court, and the judgment opening the reorganisation or judicial winding-up procedure. Its length is limited to 18 months. Its purpose is to set aside acts that disperse the business's assets or favour certain creditors: some are set aside automatically, such as paying an invoice not yet due, entering into a loan agreement while the head of the business knows the company is heavily indebted, or a gift of a company asset granted to a creditor.

What is the risk of filing late?

Where the declaration is filed beyond the legal period of 45 days, the court may impose a ban on managing on the head of the business. That is not an automatic penalty: the court examines whether they deliberately delayed. If it establishes that they had sufficient knowledge of the state of cessation of payments, it imposes the sanction; absent such knowledge, it does not.

Can collective proceedings still be avoided?

Yes, in two cases. If the business has credit reserves — and therefore substantial available assets — or if it obtains payment extensions from its creditors — its due liabilities becoming low —, it is not in cessation of payments. And a conciliation procedure may still be opened where the cessation of payments dates back less than 45 days.

Who establishes the cessation of payments, and who sets its date?

It is identified by the head of the business, with the help of their accountant. But it is the COURT that sets the date of cessation of payments, according to the financial situation of the business, and that date governs the extent of the suspect period.

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Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.