12 steps to incorporating in France in 2024

Pre-incorporation-steps

1. Prior to France company incorporation, our Client i) settles Healy Consultants Group’s engagement fees ii) signs our Client Engagement letter and iii) provides us all the KYC documents (passport copies, proof of address, excerpt of judicial statement, details of the company’s intended activities);
2. Healy Consultants Group’s incorporation team drafts a detailed France business incorporation project plan. This plan will map out, week by week, France incorporation timelines, optimizing transparency and setting Client expectations;
3. Next, our Client and Healy Consultants Group reach an agreement regarding the optimal corporate structure, including shareholders and directors. Healy Consultants Group’s incorporation team performs a company name check with the French Patent and Trademark Office (INPI) and the Commercial Court Registry. If available, Healy Consultants Group registers the company name and applies for a Certificate of Uniqueness;
4. After corporate structure is agreed, Healy Consultants Group prepares the company incorporation forms and Company Constitution for Client’s signature and courier return;
5. Healy Consultants Group’s banking team assists our Clients to open a capital account in France. Our Client will deposit the company’s share capital into the bank account, and provide Healy Consultants Group the bank certificate of deposit;

Incorporation steps

1. Thereafter, Healy Consultants Group’s incorporation team i) legally incorporates the company ii) submits a complete company incorporation application to the Center for Administrative Procedures and iii) publishes a legal notice of incorporation in the legal gazette (JAL annonces légales). Our Client will not be required to travel for the company incorporation;
2. When our Client’s company is incorporated, Healy Consultants Group will i) submit the statement on commencement of business activity and ii) register the company articles with tax authorities to obtain a tax identification code;

Post-incorporation steps

1. Healy Consultants Group i) buys the company books and ii) has company books stamped and initialed by the clerk of the commercial court and iii) submits a notification of start of operations at the local municipality;
2. Healy Consultants Group assists our Clients’ activate the internet banking facility;
3. As required by French business law, Healy Consultants Group i) registers upon incorporation the internet domain names ending in .fr with the French Internet Names and Cooperation Association and ii) subscribes to a civil liability insurance;
4. Healy Consultants Group assesses the Client’s need to subscribe to an employee retirement plan (mandatory by law) and helps the Client to register hired employees with local labor authorities (URSSAF);
5. Following engagement completion, Healy Consultants Group couriers a company kit folder to our Client’s preferred international address, containing the following corporate documents including original France company incorporation documents, unopened bank correspondence and a Client feedback survey regarding the quality of our France company incorporation services.