Registering a business on the French formalities window

Since 1 January 2023, the formalities for creating, amending and ceasing a business must be completed online on the company formalities window. Using this digital single window is compulsory: it replaces the business formality centres, which have been abolished, and covers every business whatever its legal form or activity. On creation it carries, depending on the business, registration, the declaration of the start of activity or the declaration of a company's beneficial owners. The filer creates a personal user account on first login, enters the information, attaches the digital documents, then tracks progress from the dashboard of their personal account while the relevant bodies — the statistics institute, the social security and tax services, the commercial court registries and the chambers of trade — process what they receive.

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 11, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 45 min

This content is part of the path: Registering my business and starting up· Step 6 of 10· Next step: Declaration of non-conviction and filiation: free template

Deadlines

On creating the business: Registration, the declaration of the start of activity and the declaration of beneficial owners are all done on the company formalities window.
On every change: A change of activity, address, name, number of partners, legal form, articles, or of beneficial owners: all these formalities go through the same window.
On cessation: Cessation of activity and striking off also belong to the window, just as creation and amendments do.

Documents to prepare

A personal user account on the window, or an industrial property office "e-procédures" account
The business's identifying details: activity, address, legal form, partners
The articles and the digital documents the formality asks for
The identity of the beneficial owners, if you are setting up a company
A written delegation or mandate contract, if an employee or a third party files for you
A copy of that document, to be supplied when the formality is filed

See the procedure on the official site

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

Sole traders and companies carrying on a commercial, craft, professional or agricultural activity
Businesses with a registered office, a main establishment, a secondary establishment or an address in France
Foreign businesses wishing to carry on an activity in France
Micro-entrepreneurs, who declare the start of their activity through the same window
NOT covered: associations, works councils, property management syndicates, trade unions and foundations — an order of 15 January 2025 sets out the list of excluded entities

Worked example

Example: Inès registers her one-person consulting company, then delegates a change

Inès sets up a one-person consulting company. She logs in to the company formalities window and creates her user account, a personal one, on first login — she could have reused an "e-procédures" account from the industrial property office had she held one. She enters the company's details online and attaches the digital documents; as the process is long, she saves it as a draft one evening and finishes it the next day. Her creation filing covers both registration and the declaration of beneficial owners. The relevant bodies then process the file — the statistics institute for the number and activity code, the social security and tax services, the commercial court registry, the chamber of trade — and Inès tracks progress from the dashboard of her personal account. Six months later she moves the registered office: again through the window, this time as an amendment filing. Too busy to handle it, she entrusts the process to her accountant under a mandate contract, a template for which is available on the site, and a copy of the mandate is supplied when the formality is filed.

How to fill it in, step by step

Check that your entity belongs on the window: every business is covered, but associations, works councils, property management syndicates, trade unions and foundations are excluded by the order of 15 January 2025.
Create your user account on first login — it is personal. If you hold an "e-procédures" account with the industrial property office, you can use it to reach the window.
Decide who files: the business owner in person, an employee appointed delegate under a written delegation, or anyone else appointed agent under a mandate contract, a template for which is available on the site.
If you go through a delegate or an agent, prepare a copy of the delegation or mandate: it must be supplied when the formality is filed.
Enter the information requested online and attach the digital documents required; you can start the process, save it as a draft and finish later.
Cover the part or parts that apply to your creation: registration, the declaration of the start of activity or the declaration of a company's beneficial owners.
Track progress at any time from the dashboard of your personal account, while the statistics institute, the social security and tax services, the commercial court registries and the chambers of trade process what they receive.

The form, line by line

Registration: The part of the creation filing that enters the business in the registers. It is done exclusively online on the window since 1 January 2023.
Declaration of the start of activity: It accompanies creation, notably for a micro-entrepreneur, and belongs to the same window as registration.
Declaration of beneficial owners: The part of the creation filing that concerns companies. Any later CHANGE to it also goes through the window, as an amendment filing.
User account: Created on first login and PERSONAL. An "e-procédures" account held with the industrial property office can be reused to log in.
Delegation and mandate: An employee may file for the business if appointed delegate under a delegation; anyone else may do so as an agent under a mandate contract. In both cases a copy of the document must be supplied when the formality is filed.
Dashboard: The progress of filings can be checked there at any time, from the personal account on the window.

Good to know

Companies' annual accounts can also be filed on the formalities window; a paper filing remains possible, in a single copy, with the commercial or judicial court registry of the company's registered office.
Exceptional derogations survive, as PDF forms, for narrow cases — a report of striking off on the registrar's own motion, an exceptional conversion, or the creation of an association registered in the trade and companies register for as long as the window does not handle it online.
Foreign businesses wishing to carry on an activity in France use the same window.
A filing can be started, saved as a draft and finished later: there is no need to gather every document before logging in.
Registration opens the duties that follow: the local business property levy to be declared on form 1447-C, the company extract to be requested, and for certain management roles, a certificate of no criminal conviction.
Closing down follows the same route as setting up: cessation of activity and striking off are declared on this window.

Common mistakes

Looking for a business formality centre: they were abolished on 1 January 2023, and using the single window is compulsory.
Assuming an association or a works council uses the window: they are excluded, as are property management syndicates, trade unions and foundations.
Having a third party file with nothing in writing: an employee must be appointed delegate under a delegation, a third party agent under a mandate contract, and a copy of the document is supplied when the formality is filed.
Creating an account in the company's name: the window's user account is PERSONAL to the filer.
Opening a new account when you already hold an "e-procédures" account with the industrial property office, which can be used as it is.
Setting up a company and forgetting the declaration of its beneficial owners: it is made on the same window, and so is any later change to it.
Starting over because a document is missing: the filing can be saved as a draft and picked up later.

Frequently asked questions

Where is a business registered since 2023?

On the company formalities window, online. Since 1 January 2023 the use of this digital single window is compulsory and it replaces the abolished business formality centres.

Which entities are not covered?

Only businesses must complete their formalities on the window. Associations, works councils, property management syndicates, trade unions and foundations are not; an order of 15 January 2025 sets out the list of excluded entities.

Which formalities must be completed there?

Creation — registration, declaration of the start of activity, declaration of beneficial owners — amendments — activity, address, name, number of partners, legal form, articles, beneficial owners — and cessation of activity as well as striking off.

Can someone else file on my behalf?

Yes. An employee may do so as a delegate, under a written delegation; anyone else as an agent, under a mandate contract, a template for which is available on the site. A copy of the document must be supplied when the formality is filed.

How do I know where my filing stands?

Progress can be checked at any time on the window, from the dashboard of the personal account, while the relevant bodies — the statistics institute, the social security and tax services, the commercial court registries and the chambers of trade — process what they receive.

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Understand this form: the related course

Related forms

Official sources

Read in French

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.