Compulsory quote — which activities, which required items
Before buying a product or a service, the customer must be told its essential features, its price and the delivery or completion date — information usually gathered in a quote. In building and home equipment work, giving a prior quote is COMPULSORY, for a closed list of jobs and callouts running from masonry to chimney sweeping, from locksmithing to servicing fire extinguishers. Failing to give that quote carries an administrative fine of up to €3,000 for a sole trader and €15,000 for a company. The content is not left open: fourteen items are required, including the hourly labour rate INCLUDING VAT, how estimated time is counted, and a statement of whether the quote is free or paid for — with its cost where it is paid for.
Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 11, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 25 min
Deadlines
- Before the contract is concluded
- The quote tells the customer the essential features, the price and the timescale BEFORE the purchase: it is pre-contractual information, not a summary afterwards.
- Period of validity of the offer
- It is one of the required items: the offer only binds the professional for that period.
- 14 days to withdraw after doorstep selling
- Where the customer accepts a quote following doorstep selling, they have 14 days to withdraw. That period does NOT apply to emergency work and repairs, a water leak for instance.
Documents to prepare
- The exact nature of the repairs to be carried out and the place of work
- A detailed breakdown by quantity and price of every service and product, with unit prices
- The hourly labour rate including VAT and how estimated time is counted
- Travel costs, where there are any
- The applicable VAT rate, to give the overall sum excluding and including VAT
- The period of validity of the offer, and the cost of the quote where it is paid for
- The template for telling the customer they may keep the parts replaced
No form is attached to this procedure: the link leads to the official page that describes it.
What this page gives you
The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.
Who this applies to
- Building trades and businesses: masonry, plastering, painting, joinery, locksmithing, roofing, waterproofing, plumbing and sanitary work, electrics, glazing, mirror work, wall and floor coverings
- Chimney and climate engineering including renewable energy, chimney sweeping and insulation
- Rainwater drainage, wastewater clearing, cleaning and unblocking of pipes
- Servicing and repair of alarm and remote monitoring systems, and of private lifting platforms
- Pest and insect control, servicing and disinfection of refuse chutes, servicing of fire extinguishers
- All replacements or additions of parts, components or appliances arising from those services
Worked example
Example: Plomberie Reynaud prices an unblocking job and a bathroom refit
Plomberie Reynaud attends a private home for a drain unblocking and then a bathroom refit — two services on the list, so a quote is compulsory. The quote carries the date it was drawn up, the business's name and address, the customer's name, the place of work and the exact nature of the repairs. Then comes the detailed breakdown, by quantity and by price, of every service and product: description, unit price and what that price applies to — labour hours, linear metres of pipe, square metres of tiling — and the quantity planned. The hourly labour rate is given including VAT, how estimated time is counted is set out, travel costs are priced. The overall sum appears both excluding and including VAT, with the VAT rate. The quote states its period of validity and that it is free. Finally the tradesman tells the customer they may keep the parts replaced if they wish — a template is made available to professionals. The customer signs, adding "bon pour travaux" above their signature: that, and not before, is when they are bound.
How to fill it in, step by step
- Check that your service appears on the list of building and home equipment jobs and callouts requiring a prior quote — including the replacements or additions of parts, components or appliances arising from them.
- Give the identification: date drawn up, business name and address, customer's name, place of work, exact nature of the repairs to be carried out.
- Draw up the detailed breakdown, by quantity AND by price, of every service and every product needed: description, unit price, what that price applies to — labour hours, linear metre, square metre — and the quantity planned.
- State the hourly labour rate INCLUDING VAT and how estimated time is counted.
- Price travel costs where there are any.
- Give the overall sum to pay both excluding and including VAT, with the VAT rate.
- State the period of validity of the offer, whether the quote is free or paid for, and its cost where it is paid for.
- Tell the customer they may keep the parts, components or appliances replaced if they wish — a template is made available to professionals.
- Have the quote signed with the handwritten wording "bon pour travaux" or "bon pour accord" above the signature, and state in the contract whether any sum paid is a deposit or an earnest payment.
The form, line by line
- Detailed breakdown
- By quantity and by price, for every service and every product: description, unit price, what it applies to, quantity planned. It is the item most often rushed, and the most exposed.
- Hourly labour rate including VAT
- It is stated inclusive of VAT — not exclusive — and comes with how estimated time is counted.
- Overall sum excluding and including VAT
- Both figures are required, with the VAT rate applied.
- Period of validity of the offer
- A required item: it is what limits the professional's commitment in time.
- Free or paid for
- A quote may be free or paid for, but the statement must appear, and the cost must be given where it is paid for.
- Parts replaced
- The professional must tell the customer they may keep the parts, components or appliances replaced. A template is made available to professionals.
- "Bon pour travaux" or "bon pour accord"
- The wording the customer adds above their signature. The quote binds the professional once the customer has accepted it; the customer is only bound from signature.
Good to know
- A quote is an OFFER OF CONTRACT: it binds the professional once the customer has accepted it, whereas the customer is only bound from the moment they sign.
- A payment without a signature may nonetheless bind, and everything turns on how it is characterised: a DEPOSIT binds both parties — whichever backs out owes damages — whereas an EARNEST PAYMENT lets the consumer change their mind by forfeiting it, and lets the professional withdraw by repaying it TWICE OVER.
- The contract states whether a sum is an earnest payment or a deposit; where nothing is stated, the sum paid is treated as an EARNEST PAYMENT — a drafting gap that changes who is bound.
- After doorstep selling, the customer has 14 days to withdraw — except for emergency work and repairs, such as a water leak.
- The fine differs with legal form: up to €3,000 for an individual, a sole trader, and €15,000 for a company.
- The compulsory quote belongs to consumer law, and is not the same as the invoice, which has its own required particulars and comes afterwards.
Common mistakes
- Not giving a quote on a service from the list: the administrative fine can reach €3,000 for a sole trader and €15,000 for a company.
- Giving the hourly labour rate exclusive of VAT: it is shown INCLUSIVE of VAT.
- Settling for a single overall price: a detailed breakdown by quantity and price of every service and product is required.
- Leaving out how estimated time is counted, which accompanies the hourly rate.
- Omitting the period of validity of the offer, or the free/paid statement — and its cost where paid for.
- Not telling the customer they may keep the parts replaced, when a template exists for that.
- Having the quote signed without the wording "bon pour travaux" or "bon pour accord" above the signature.
- Leaving the contract silent on the nature of a sum paid: absent any statement, it is treated as an earnest payment, and the customer may back out.
- Applying the 14-day withdrawal period to emergency work: it does not apply there.
- Assuming an accepted quote does not bind the professional until the customer signs: it is the other way round — the customer's acceptance binds the professional.
Frequently asked questions
For which activities is a quote compulsory?
For building and home equipment jobs and callouts: masonry, chimney and climate engineering including renewable energy, chimney sweeping, insulation, joinery, locksmithing, roofing, waterproofing, plumbing and sanitary work, plastering, painting, glazing, mirror work, wall and floor coverings, electrics, rainwater drainage and wastewater clearing, servicing and repair of alarms and private lifting platforms, pest and insect control, servicing of refuse chutes and fire extinguishers — together with the replacements and additions arising from them.
What is the penalty if no quote is given?
An administrative fine of up to €3,000 for an individual, a sole trader, and €15,000 for a company.
Can a quote be charged for?
Yes, a quote may be free or paid for. The "free or paid for" statement is a required item, and the cost must be given where it is paid for.
When does the customer become bound?
From the moment they sign the quote, adding the wording "bon pour travaux" or "bon pour accord" above their signature. The professional is bound as soon as the customer accepts the quote.
What is the difference between an earnest payment and a deposit?
A deposit binds both parties, and whichever backs out owes damages. An earnest payment lets the consumer change their mind by forfeiting it, and lets the professional withdraw, having to repay twice the amount. If the contract says nothing, the sum paid is treated as an earnest payment.
Can the customer withdraw after signing?
Where they accepted the quote following doorstep selling, they have 14 days to withdraw. That period does not apply to emergency work and repairs.
Go further
Compute the related amounts
Understand this form: the related course
Related forms
- Compulsory particulars on a business-to-business invoice
- French advance-payment invoice (facture d'acompte)
- Construction subcontracting invoice — the VAT reverse charge
- Pro forma invoice for export
- Ten-year liability certificate — what a builder must hand over
- General terms of sale — what they must contain
- Personal services — registration, approval and the tax advantage
- 5.5 % or 10 % VAT on building work — the statement that replaces attestation 1301
Official sources
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — Compulsory quote: activities covered (checked 9 September 2022, Ministry for the Economy; that is the latest state served by the page): pre-contractual information of the customer, closed list of building and home equipment jobs and callouts requiring a prior quote and its extension to consequent replacements and additions, fourteen required items including the detailed breakdown by quantity and price, the hourly labour rate including VAT, how estimated time is counted, travel costs, the overall sum excluding and including VAT with the VAT rate, the period of validity of the offer and the free/paid statement with its cost, informing the customer about keeping the parts replaced and the template made available, administrative fine of up to €3,000 for an individual and €15,000 for a company, status as an offer of contract and the respective commitments of professional and customer, the "bon pour travaux" or "bon pour accord" wording, the earnest payment/deposit distinction and the presumption of an earnest payment absent any statement, the 14-day withdrawal period after doorstep selling and its exclusion for emergency work — September 11, 2026
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — VAT reverse charge on subcontracting in the construction sector (checked 7 July 2023): the quote is among the documents establishing the link between principal and subcontractor failing a subcontracting contract — the same document therefore serves two distinct purposes — September 11, 2026
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.