Changing your business at the one-stop shop — address, activity, trade name, dormancy
A sole trader business — EI, EIRL or micro-entrepreneur — may make changes during its life, and those changes must be REGISTERED with the trade and companies register or the national business register. Since 1 January 2023, those steps can no longer be taken at a business formalities centre: the CFEs have been abolished, and the declaration is made on the COMPANY FORMALITIES WINDOW, which covers all businesses whatever their legal form or activity. Three families of change are declared there: those concerning the head of the business, those concerning the establishment, and striking off on permanent cessation of activity. Two points to remember: publication of the change in a legal announcements medium is NOT required, and where the business moves premises, a new SIRET number is issued in replacement, while the SIREN number is kept.
Up to date for 2024 — verified on October 3, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 25 min
Deadlines
- 1 January 2023 — the end of the CFEs
- Since that date, formalities for creation, modification and cessation of activity must be carried out online on the company formalities window. That one-stop shop replaces the business formalities centres, which have been abolished.
- Continuous tracking of progress
- The progress of formalities can be checked at any time on the window, from the dashboard of the personal account: there is no acknowledgement to wait for passively.
- No publication in a legal announcements medium
- Publication of the change in a legal announcements medium is not required — a formality, and a cost, that there is no reason to incur.
Documents to prepare
- Exact nature of the change: head of the business, establishment, or striking off
- Digitised supporting documents specific to the change declared
- Window user account — personal — or an existing INPI "e-procédures" account
- Where relevant, written delegation to the employee delegate, or contract of office (model available on the site)
- Copy of the delegation or contract of office, to be sent when the formality is carried out
- After a move: list of documents bearing the old SIRET to update (invoices, contracts, commercial documents)
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
- A sole trader, EIRL or micro-entrepreneur changing information about themselves: birth name or first name, nationality, home address, spouse's status — collaborating spouse or employed spouse
- Someone changing information about their establishment: trade name or sign, address of an establishment, closure or opening of a secondary establishment, change or addition of a new activity, dormancy, change of the authorised representative
- Someone permanently ceasing activity and applying to be struck off
- An employee appointed DELEGATE to carry out the formality on behalf of the business, on the basis of a written delegation
- Any other person appointed AGENT under a contract of office — a model is available on the site
- All businesses, whatever their legal form or activity: the one-stop shop is not reserved to sole traders
Worked example
Example: moving a workshop, and the number that changes without the business changing
A joiner trades as a sole trader and moves his workshop from one municipality to another. He must declare that change to the authorities: the address of an establishment is among the information that can be changed, and the change must be registered with the national business register. He no longer goes through a business formalities centre — they have been abolished since 1 January 2023 — but through the company formalities window. On his first connection he creates a user account, which is personal; had he already held an "e-procédures" account with the INPI, he could have used it directly. He enters the information online and attaches the necessary digitised documents; as one document is missing, he saves the step as a draft and finishes it the next day. The competent bodies — the Insee, the social security and tax services, the commercial court registries, the consular chambers — then process the information received, and he follows the progress from the dashboard of his personal account. Two consequences he did not expect. First, a NEW SIRET number is issued in replacement of the old one, because the SIRET identifies the establishment; he does, however, keep the same SIREN number, which identifies the business. Second, he has nothing to publish: publication of that change in a legal announcements medium is not required. Had he preferred to delegate, he could have entrusted the formality to an employee by drawing up a delegation, or to any other person — his accountant, for example — by drawing up a contract of office, subject to sending a copy of that deed when the formality is carried out on the site.
How to fill it in, step by step
- Identify the nature of the change: information about the head of the business (birth name or first name, nationality, home address, spouse's status), information about the establishment (trade name or sign, address of an establishment, closure or opening of a secondary establishment, change or addition of a new activity, dormancy, change of the authorised representative), or striking off on permanent cessation of activity.
- Decide who will carry out the formality: the head of the business themselves, an employee appointed delegate by a written delegation, or any other person appointed agent by a contract of office — a model contract is available on the site.
- Prepare, where relevant, the copy of the delegation or the contract of office: it must be sent when the formality is carried out on the site.
- Go to the company formalities window site: since 1 January 2023, these steps can no longer be taken at a business formalities centre.
- Create your user account on first connection — it is personal. If you already hold an "e-procédures" account with the INPI, you may use it to access the window.
- Enter the information online and attach the necessary digitised documents.
- Save the step as a draft if a document is missing: it is possible to start a step and finish it later.
- Let the competent bodies process the information received — Insee, social security and tax services, commercial court registries, consular chambers.
- Track the progress of the formality at any time, from the dashboard of your personal account on the window.
- Where you have moved premises, expect a NEW SIRET number in replacement, and check that you keep the same SIREN number: update your invoices, contracts and commercial documents accordingly.
- Do NOT incur publication in a legal announcements medium: it is not required for a change to a sole trader business.
The form, line by line
- Register of record
- Changes must be registered with the trade and companies register or the national business register (RNE).
- Spouse's status
- One of the items of information about the head of the business that can be changed: collaborating spouse or employed spouse.
- Dormancy
- One of the declarable establishment changes, alongside the closure or opening of a secondary establishment.
- Authorised representative
- A change of authorised representative is also an establishment change to be declared.
- Delegate
- An employee whom the head of the business asks to carry out the formalities on behalf of the business, by drawing up a delegation.
- Agent
- Any other person to whom the head of the business gives that task, by drawing up a contract of office. A model contract is available on the site, and a copy of the deed must be sent when the formality is carried out.
- User account
- Created by the declarant — head of the business, agent or delegate — on first connection. It is personal. An "e-procédures" account with the INPI gives access to the window.
- SIRET and SIREN numbers after a move
- A new SIRET number is issued in replacement; the SIREN number is kept.
Good to know
- The company formalities window covers ALL businesses, whatever their legal form or activity: it is not a scheme reserved to sole traders.
- Business formalities centres have been ABOLISHED since 1 January 2023: steps can no longer be taken there, and looking for your former CFE is a dead end.
- Publication of the change in a legal announcements medium is not required — a saved expense, and one step fewer.
- A move changes the SIRET number but not the SIREN number: the first identifies the establishment, the second the business. All documents bearing the SIRET therefore need updating.
- The formality may be delegated to an employee, or entrusted to a third party under a contract of office — a model contract is available on the site, and the copy of the deed is sent when the formality is carried out.
- The window's user account is PERSONAL: it belongs to the declarant, not to the business.
- An "e-procédures" account with the INPI is enough to access the window: there is no need to create a second one.
- A step may be started then saved as a draft to be finished later — useful when a document is missing.
- Processing is shared between several bodies — Insee, social security and tax services, commercial court registries, consular chambers — and progress is tracked from the dashboard of the personal account.
Common mistakes
- Trying to file the change with a business formalities centre: the CFEs have been abolished since 1 January 2023.
- Publishing a notice in a legal announcements medium: that publication is not required for a change to a sole trader business.
- Continuing to use the old SIRET number after a move: a new number is issued in replacement.
- Believing the SIREN number also changes on a move: it is kept.
- Omitting to declare a change or an ADDITION of activity: it is one of the establishment changes to be declared.
- Forgetting that dormancy and a change of authorised representative are also declarable changes.
- Forgetting to declare a change in the spouse's status — collaborating or employed spouse.
- Entrusting the formality to a third party without drawing up a delegation or a contract of office, or without sending a copy of it when the formality is carried out on the site.
- Creating a second account when you already hold an "e-procédures" account with the INPI, usable as it is.
- Abandoning an incomplete step instead of saving it as a draft to finish later.
- Waiting passively for a confirmation when progress can be checked at any time from the dashboard.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I declare a change to my business?
On the company formalities window site. Since 1 January 2023, these steps can no longer be taken at a business formalities centre: the CFEs have been abolished, and the one-stop shop covers all businesses, whatever their legal form or activity.
Which changes must be declared?
Three families. Those concerning the head of the business: birth name or first name, nationality, home address, spouse's status (collaborating or employed spouse). Those concerning the establishment: trade name or sign, address of an establishment, closure or opening of a secondary establishment, change or addition of a new activity, dormancy, change of the authorised representative. And striking off, on permanent cessation of activity.
Must a notice be published in a legal announcements journal?
No. Publication of that change in a legal announcements medium is not required.
What happens to my SIRET number if I move?
Where your business moves premises, a new SIRET number is issued in replacement. You do, however, keep the same SIREN number.
Can I entrust the formality to someone else?
Yes. The head of the business may carry out the formalities online themselves, ask an employee — called a delegate — to carry them out on behalf of the business by drawing up a delegation, or give that task to any other person — called an agent — by drawing up a contract of office, a model of which is available on the site. A copy of the delegation or the contract of office must be sent when the formality is carried out.
How does the window work?
The declarant — head of the business, agent or delegate — creates a personal user account on first connection; holders of an "e-procédures" account with the INPI may use that account. They then enter the information online and attach the necessary digitised documents, with the option of saving the step as a draft to finish later.
Who processes the declaration, and how can its progress be checked?
The competent bodies — Insee, social security and tax services, commercial court registries, consular chambers, etc. — process the information received. The progress of formalities can be checked at any time on the window, from the dashboard of the personal account.
Where is the change registered?
With the trade and companies register or the national business register (RNE).
Go further
Understand this form: the related course
Related forms
- Registering a business on the French formalities window
- Closing a French sole trader business — declaration and striking off
- Kbis extract: getting one, and what it costs
- Declaring beneficial owners — threshold, deadlines and striking-off
- Filing annual accounts with the registry — deadlines, documents and confidentiality
- Dissolving and winding up a company voluntarily — three stages and their deadlines
Official sources
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — Modifications d'une entreprise individuelle (verified 1 January 2024, Entreprendre Service Public / Direction de l'information légale et administrative): the ability of a sole trader business (EI, EIRL, micro-entrepreneur) to make changes and the obligation to register them with the trade and companies register or the national business register; list of the information that can be changed about the head of the business (birth name or first name, nationality, home address, collaborating or employed spouse status) and about the establishment (trade name or sign, address of an establishment, closure or opening of a secondary establishment, change or addition of a new activity, dormancy, change of the authorised representative), together with striking off on permanent cessation of activity; issue of a new SIRET number on a move and retention of the SIREN number; abolition of the business formalities centres since 1 January 2023 and declaration on the company formalities window site; absence of any need to publish the change in a legal announcements medium — September 12, 2026
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — Guichet des formalités des entreprises (online procedure, read on 12 September 2026): the obligation since 1 January 2023 to carry out creation, modification and cessation formalities online on the one-stop shop, which replaces the abolished CFEs and covers all businesses whatever their legal form or activity; capacity of the declarant — head of the business, employee delegate under a written delegation, or agent under a contract of office with a model available on the site —, and transmission of a copy of the deed when the formality is carried out; creation of a personal user account on first connection and possible reuse of an INPI "e-procédures" account; online entry of information, digitised documents and the option to save a draft; processing by the competent bodies (Insee, social security and tax services, commercial court registries, consular chambers) and tracking of progress from the dashboard of the personal account — September 12, 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.