Starting a Business · France
Starting a business in France: foreigner's guide (2026)
France shaded by its starting a business status
France offers streamlined, low-cost company formation through a single online window (Guichet unique/INPI), with no minimum capital for the most common forms (SAS/SARL, €1) and no general foreign-ownership ceilings. EU/EEA/Swiss nationals can set up on the same footing as French citizens, making it genuinely easy for them. Non-EU founders who wish to reside in France and actively run the business must first obtain an appropriate residence permit (Entrepreneur/profession libérale or Passeport Talent), which adds time, cost and an economic-viability assessment.
Key points
There is no general cap on foreign shareholding in French companies; a foreigner may own 100% of an SAS or SARL. Sensitive/strategic sectors are subject to separate foreign-investment screening (contrôle des investissements étrangers en France), but ordinary business creation is unrestricted.
For the most common forms — SAS/SASU and SARL/EURL — share capital is set freely by the founders and can be as low as €1. A société anonyme (SA) requires €37,000. At least half of cash contributions to an SAS must be paid in at incorporation, the balance within five years.
Since 1 January 2023 all business formalities (registration, amendments, accounts filing, cessation) go through the Guichet unique des formalités d'entreprises run by INPI, feeding the Registre national des entreprises (RNE). This replaced the former CFE network and centralises the procedure.
Typical sequence: choose legal form and company name, draft and sign the statutes (articles of association), deposit the share capital with a bank/notary to obtain the depositor's certificate, publish a notice of constitution in a legal-announcements service, then file the registration dossier (with beneficial-ownership declaration and directors' non-conviction statement) on the Guichet unique to obtain SIREN/SIRET and Kbis.
EU/EEA/Swiss nationals create a business on the same terms as French citizens, with no permit needed. Non-EU nationals who want to live in France and run the business need a residence permit authorising self-employment — the 'Entrepreneur/profession libérale' card or 'Passeport Talent – Création d'entreprise' — conditioned on a viable, sufficiently financed project; a non-resident managing remotely generally does not need one.
Once the dossier is complete, registration via the Guichet unique typically takes a few days to about two weeks. For foreigners, additional friction comes from opening a French business bank account for the capital deposit, providing a French registered address, and (for non-EU founders) the residence-permit process, which can take several weeks to months.
Timeline - major decisions & events
Persistent technical breakdowns of the INPI single-window forced the government to extend the Infogreffe fallback procedure into 2024; the Cour des comptes had judged the launch timetable unrealistic. It exposed how fragile the digitised company-formation pipeline still was in practice.
Revue Fiduciaire ↗All business creation, modification and cessation formalities must now be filed online via formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr, run by INPI, replacing the seven CFE networks; the RNE merged the commercial, trades and agricultural registers into one. It is the central one-stop entry point for starting a business today.
INPI ↗Law n°2022-172 created a unified 'entrepreneur individuel' status that automatically shields personal assets from business creditors (no declaration needed) and ended creation of the EIRL. Effective 15 May 2022, it made limited-liability sole trading the default, sharply lowering the risk of starting solo.
Légifrance ↗Law n°2019-486 mandated a single online platform and a dematerialised general business register, allowed online legal-notice publication, and raised audit-requirement thresholds for SARL/SAS/SA. It set the legal basis for the 2023 Guichet unique and reduced startup formalities and costs.
Légifrance ↗The simplified solo-business scheme created in 2008 was rebranded and progressively harmonised with the broader micro-enterprise rules. The regime remains the most popular and lowest-friction route to launching an activity in France.
Direction générale des Entreprises ↗Law n°2008-776 introduced (from 1 Jan 2009) a hugely simplified scheme letting anyone start a commercial, craft or independent activity with streamlined, turnover-based social and tax payments. It dramatically lowered the barrier to becoming an entrepreneur.
Légifrance ↗Law n°2003-721 'pour l'initiative économique' let founders freely set SARL capital from €1 (previously €7,500) and let entrepreneurs declare their main residence unseizable. It removed a key financial obstacle to incorporating a small company.
Légifrance ↗The 1999 reform removed the original capital floor and joint-venture restriction, letting any natural or legal person (and a sole shareholder, via the SASU) create a Société par actions simplifiée. This made the SAS the flexible, now-dominant vehicle for new companies and startups.
Légifrance ↗Law n°94-1 established the SAS, a corporate form whose internal organisation is largely set by the founders' bylaws rather than rigid statutory rules. Initially limited to capitalised joint ventures, it became the basis for France's most flexible modern company type.
Légifrance ↗Law n°85-697 introduced the entreprise unipersonnelle à responsabilité limitée, letting one person form a limited-liability company and separate business from personal patrimony. It established the foundational option for solo founders to incorporate with limited liability.
Légifrance ↗France - other topics
Last verified 5/23/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Explore the full world map →