Applying to the Codefi — public support for businesses in difficulty
The French administration has set up specific committees to help businesses in difficulty find solutions to restore their financial position. A business facing funding problems in carrying on its activity or its development falls to one of two structures, on a single criterion — HEADCOUNT: fewer than 400 employees means the CODEFI, the departmental committee for examining business funding problems; more than 400 means the CIRI, the interministerial committee for industrial restructuring. The Codefi is a DEPARTMENTAL structure chaired by the prefect of the department, presented as a local point of contact. It does three things: it WELCOMES AND DIRECTS businesses to the competent bodies — for example to the CCSF to obtain payment terms; it DETECTS difficulties, carrying out, WITH THE BUSINESS'S AGREEMENT, audits intended to assess its financial, economic and social position, validate its recovery assumptions and draw up a forecast cash-flow plan; and it DIAGNOSES and proposes suitable treatment, with LOANS possibly offered for economic and social development. Applying is done through a simplified file, sent by post to the permanent secretariat of the Codefi for the place of the registered office — or, at the business's choice, to the business tax office it reports to.
Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 12, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 45 min
Deadlines
- No deadline imposed — and that is the point
- The source sets no deadline for applying: the Codefi addresses a business facing funding problems, not one already unable to meet its liabilities. The earlier the application, the wider the range of financial, social and industrial measures remains.
- An audit requires the business's agreement
- The Codefi may carry out audits to assess the financial, economic and social position — but WITH THE BUSINESS'S AGREEMENT. Nothing is triggered against it.
- The 400-employee threshold directs, it does not exclude
- Fewer than 400 employees: Codefi. More than 400: Ciri. No business is left without a structure; headcount merely designates which one.
Documents to prepare
- Your headcount: fewer than 400 for the Codefi, more than 400 for the Ciri
- The Codefi's simplified application file
- A description of your funding problems — activity or development
- Your financial, economic and social position, which will feed the diagnosis
- Your economic recovery assumptions, which the audit will aim to validate
- Your agreement to an audit, without which none may be carried out
- The address of the permanent secretariat of the Codefi for the place of your registered office
- Failing that, the contact details of your business tax office
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
- The business facing funding problems in carrying on its ACTIVITY or its DEVELOPMENT — the difficulty need not be terminal to justify applying
- The business with FEWER THAN 400 EMPLOYEES, which falls to the Codefi
- The business with MORE THAN 400 EMPLOYEES, which falls to the Ciri, a national structure chaired by the director general of the Treasury
- The business seeking to recover, to maintain its employees' jobs or to develop: the source cites all three objectives together
- The business willing to accept an AUDIT: the Codefi may only carry one out with the business's agreement
- The business that does not know which body to turn to: welcoming and directing are among the committee's missions
Worked example
Example: a 35-employee company losing its main customer
A 35-employee industrial company loses a customer who accounted for 40 % of its turnover. It is not unable to meet its liabilities, but its funding no longer holds: that is precisely the situation the Codefi addresses, its mission being to help businesses in difficulty with fewer than 400 employees through financial, social and industrial measures. With 35 employees, it is well below the 400 threshold: this is the Codefi, not the Ciri. It completes the simplified application file and sends it by post to the permanent secretariat of the Codefi for the place of its registered office; it could equally have applied to the business tax office it reports to, as the source opens both channels. The committee, a departmental structure chaired by the prefect, receives it and begins by DIRECTING it: having tax and social debts in arrears, it is pointed to the commission of heads of financial services to obtain payment terms — the official fact sheet gives precisely that example. The Codefi then offers it, with its agreement, an AUDIT: the aim is to assess its financial, economic and social position, but also to VALIDATE THE RECOVERY ASSUMPTIONS it puts forward and to draw up a forecast cash-flow plan — a document it will need in any event, notably if it then applies to the commission, which requires one from businesses that are not very small. With the diagnosis made, the committee proposes suitable treatment; loans may be offered for economic and social development. None of this substitutes for the head of the business: the source says so expressly of the Ciri, which negotiates with economic players in agreement with the business "without substituting itself for the head of the business".
How to fill it in, step by step
- Count your headcount: it is the only routing criterion. Fewer than 400 employees, your contact is the Codefi; more than 400, it is the Ciri.
- Do not delay on the grounds that you can still meet your liabilities: the Codefi addresses businesses facing funding problems in carrying on their activity or development.
- Complete the simplified application file of the departmental committee for examining business funding problems.
- Send your request BY POST to the permanent secretariat of the Codefi for the place of your registered office.
- Or address your request to the business tax office you report to, for the place of your registered office: the source opens this second channel.
- Expect to be DIRECTED first: welcoming and directing businesses to the competent bodies is among the committee's missions — for example to the commission of heads of financial services for payment terms on tax and social debts.
- Decide whether you accept an AUDIT: the Codefi may only carry one out with your agreement. It aims to assess your financial, economic and social position, validate your recovery assumptions and draw up a forecast cash-flow plan.
- Prepare the material that will feed the diagnosis: your financial, economic and social position, and your recovery assumptions.
- Consider the treatment proposed: loans may be offered to you for your economic and social development.
- If your headcount exceeds 400 employees, contact the interministerial committee for industrial restructuring directly.
The form, line by line
- The 400-employee threshold
- It excludes nobody: it allocates. Fewer than 400 employees fall to the Codefi, more than 400 to the Ciri.
- Codefi
- Departmental committee for examining business funding problems. A DEPARTMENTAL structure chaired by the PREFECT of the department, presented as a local point of contact.
- Ciri
- Interministerial committee for industrial restructuring. A NATIONAL structure chaired by the DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE TREASURY, for businesses with more than 400 employees.
- Welcoming and directing
- The Codefi's first mission: welcoming businesses in difficulty and directing them to the competent bodies — the source gives the example of the commission of heads of financial services for obtaining payment terms.
- Audit, with the business's agreement
- The Codefi may carry out audits to assess the business's financial, economic and social position — but only with its agreement. The audit also aims to VALIDATE THE RECOVERY ASSUMPTIONS and to DRAW UP A FORECAST CASH-FLOW PLAN.
- Diagnosis and treatment
- Third mission: producing diagnoses and proposing treatment suited to the difficulties. Loans may be offered to the business for its economic and social development.
- Application channels
- By post to the permanent secretariat of the Codefi for the place of the registered office, OR to the business tax office the business reports to.
Good to know
- The Codefi is not a court: it is a support committee chaired by the prefect, and applying to it opens no insolvency proceedings.
- Its first usefulness is often DIRECTION: many businesses do not know whom to turn to, and the committee exists precisely to point them to the competent body.
- The example of direction the source gives is the CCSF, for obtaining payment terms: the two schemes fit together, they do not compete.
- The audit produces a FORECAST CASH-FLOW PLAN — precisely the document a business other than a very small one must enclose with a CCSF application. Going through the Codefi can therefore prepare the next file.
- The audit may only be carried out with the business's agreement: the scheme is voluntary throughout.
- LOANS may be offered, for economic and social development — the Codefi is not limited to advice.
- The three stated objectives are "to recover, maintain employees' jobs or develop": the scheme is not reserved for doomed businesses.
- The Ciri, for businesses above 400 employees, negotiates with shareholders, creditors, customers and suppliers in agreement with the business and "without substituting itself for the head of the business".
- Two application channels exist for the Codefi, including the business tax office — useful when the permanent secretariat cannot be located.
Common mistakes
- Waiting until you cannot meet your liabilities before applying: the Codefi addresses businesses facing funding problems in carrying on their activity or development.
- Thinking you are too small: the 400-employee threshold is a ceiling for the Codefi, not a floor.
- Approaching the Ciri with fewer than 400 employees, or the Codefi with more than 400.
- Confusing the Codefi with court proceedings: it is a departmental administrative committee chaired by the prefect.
- Expecting the Codefi to substitute itself for the director: it directs, audits with agreement, diagnoses and proposes.
- Refusing the audit as a reflex: it validates recovery assumptions and produces a reusable forecast cash-flow plan, notably for a CCSF application.
- Sending the file somewhere other than the permanent secretariat of the Codefi for the place of the registered office — or not knowing you can go through your business tax office.
- Believing the Codefi replaces the CCSF: on the contrary, it directs you to it for payment terms.
- Overlooking the possibility of loans: the committee may offer them for economic and social development.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Codefi?
The departmental committee for examining business funding problems. It helps businesses in difficulty with fewer than 400 employees through financial, social and industrial measures, and directs them towards solutions to recover, maintain jobs or develop. It is a departmental structure chaired by the prefect of the department, presented as a local point of contact.
From what size does the Ciri apply?
Above 400 employees. The interministerial committee for industrial restructuring is a national structure chaired by the director general of the Treasury, with the same mission of assistance through financial, social and industrial measures.
What does the Codefi actually do?
Three things: it welcomes and directs businesses in difficulty to the competent bodies — for example the commission of heads of financial services for obtaining payment terms; it detects difficulties, carrying out with the business's agreement audits to assess its financial, economic and social position, validate its recovery assumptions and draw up a forecast cash-flow plan; and it produces diagnoses and proposes suitable treatment, with loans possibly offered for economic and social development.
How is it approached?
By completing the Codefi's simplified application file and sending it by post to the permanent secretariat of the committee for the place of your registered office. The request may also be made to the business tax office you report to, for the place of the registered office.
Can the Codefi act without my agreement?
Not as regards the audit: the source states that it may carry out audits "with the business's agreement".
Does the Codefi replace the CCSF?
No, it directs you there. Obtaining payment terms falls to the commission of heads of financial services, and the official fact sheet cites precisely that direction among the committee's missions.
Does the Ciri negotiate in the director's place?
No. It negotiates with economic players — shareholders, creditors, customers, suppliers — in agreement with the business and without substituting itself for the head of the business.
Go further
Related forms
- Applying to the CCSF — one file to spread both tax and social debts
- "Prevention" meeting with the court president — free, anonymous, within 24 hours
- Applying for an ad hoc mandate — negotiating your debts without anyone knowing
- Opening a conciliation procedure — negotiating your debts with a conciliator
- Referring the French business ombudsman — dispute with a customer or supplier
Official sources
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — "Se faire accompagner par un acteur public : Codéfi et Ciri", fact sheet F38479 (verified 23 June 2026, Entreprendre Service Public / Direction de l'information légale et administrative), read line by line on 2026-09-12: existence of specific committees set up by the administration to help businesses in difficulty restore their financial position; allocation by headcount — fewer than 400 employees to the Codefi (departmental committee for examining business funding problems), more than 400 to the Ciri (interministerial committee for industrial restructuring); the Codefi's mission (financial, social and industrial measures, direction and assistance to recover, maintain employees' jobs or develop), its character as a departmental structure chaired by the prefect and a local point of contact; its three actions — welcoming and directing to the competent bodies, with the example of the CCSF for obtaining payment terms; detecting difficulties by carrying out, with the business's agreement, audits to assess the financial, economic and social position, validate the recovery assumptions and draw up a forecast cash-flow plan; producing diagnoses and proposing suitable treatment, with loans possibly offered for economic and social development; application arrangements through the simplified file sent by post to the permanent secretariat of the Codefi for the place of the registered office, or a request to the business tax office for that place; the Ciri's mission (diagnosis, recovery proposals, negotiations with shareholders, creditors, customers and suppliers in agreement with the business and without substituting itself for the head of the business, possible loans subject to conditions) and its chairing by the director general of the Treasury — September 12, 2026
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — "Obtenir des délais de paiement auprès de la commission des chefs des services financiers (CCSF)", fact sheet F38326 (verified 22 July 2026, Entreprendre Service Public / Direction de l'information légale et administrative), read on 2026-09-12 for the scheme the Codefi expressly directs businesses to: a single departmental point of contact for payment terms on tax and social security debts, free and confidential, with no publication at the commercial court; access conditions (being up to date with the filing of tax and social security returns and with payment of the employee share of contributions); the requirement, for businesses that are not very small, of a FORECAST CASH-FLOW PLAN and a business plan over the duration of the plan requested — precisely the document the Codefi's audit aims to draw up; a 2-month reply period with silence meaning rejection, and suspension of enforcement by public creditors once the plan is granted — 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.