France
Recommended Register Your French SARL with TKEG Expat

Why Start a Business in France

France is a founding member of the European Union and the eurozone’s second-largest economy, home to more than 20,000 foreign-owned enterprises across aerospace, pharmaceuticals, luxury goods, tourism, aviation, automotive, industrial machinery, and food and beverage. A company in France gives non-resident founders direct, tariff-free access to the single market, a deep pool of skilled labour, world-class infrastructure, and a government that actively courts foreign entrepreneurs.

The Societe a Responsabilite Limitee (SARL) is the default private limited liability company for small and mid-sized ventures in France. This guide walks through exactly how to register a company in France as a SARL in 2026, covering structure, capital, documents, tax, and the end-to-end filing workflow with the Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce.

France SARL Quick View

A French SARL is a private limited liability company governed by the French Commercial Code. Ownership is mixed (individuals, corporate entities, or both), shareholders are capped at 100, and the company cannot issue shares to the public.

The table below summarises the core parameters most non-resident founders need to confirm before starting incorporation in France.

Basic Information
Ownership structure Private company with mixed ownership (individual and/or corporate shareholders)
Limited liability Yes — shareholders are limited to their capital contribution
Publicly traded No — a SARL cannot issue shares to the public
Shareholders, Directors and Secretary
Shareholder requirements Minimum 1, maximum 100. A single-shareholder SARL (EURL) triggers roughly 5,000 EUR per year of French social security tax on the majority shareholder, so TKEG Expat recommends at least 2 shareholders
Director requirements At least 1 director (gerant), who must be a natural person. No nationality restriction and no local-resident director required
Legal representative required No — a SARL does not require a designated legal representative separate from the gerant
Company secretary required No
Registered Capital
Minimum registered capital From 1 EUR
Capital payment timing At least 50% of the share capital must be paid in cash before incorporation; the balance must be paid within 5 years. TKEG Expat recommends paying 100% in cash to avoid appointing a contributions-in-kind auditor
Capital verification Yes — the French bank issues an Attestation de depot du capital social before the registration dossier can be filed

How to Register a Company in France: 7 Steps

The process of how to register a company in France as a SARL is a defined seven-step sequence. With a local agent handling filings, most non-resident founders complete incorporation in France without ever travelling on-site.

  1. Reserve a company name — prepare three French-language name candidates (one primary plus two backups), avoid using the word “France” in the name, and ensure the chosen name ends with “SARL” or the full “Societe a Responsabilite Limitee” suffix.
  2. Appoint an agent and sign the POA — sign the power of attorney and agency agreement that authorises your French incorporation agent to file on behalf of the shareholders and directors.
  3. Draft the articles of association (Statuts) — the articles of association set out the shareholders, gerant, registered office, share capital, profit distribution, and governance of the French SARL.
  4. Open a French bank account and deposit the registered capital — shareholders transfer the share capital from their personal accounts into a provisional corporate capital account. TKEG Expat can assist with remote bank account opening for non-resident shareholders.
  5. File the registration dossier with the Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce — submit the signed articles, capital deposit attestation, director declarations, and supporting documents to the commercial court registry.
  6. Publish the legal notice in BODACC — a formal incorporation notice is published in the Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales (BODACC) to make the new company’s existence public.
  7. Receive the KBis extract and activate the permanent bank account — the KBis extract is the official proof of registration; with it the provisional capital account is converted into a permanent corporate bank account, and the SARL can begin trading.

Incorporation Requirements

Two operational conditions apply to every France SARL incorporation handled by TKEG Expat. Both are standard market practice for non-resident founders who do not already have a French footprint.

Prerequisites for Filing
Registered address Must be bundled with a TKEG Expat registered address service in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes, Toulouse, or Nice
Share capital deposit Share capital must be deposited into a French bank account before incorporation; TKEG Expat provides assistance with bank account opening if required

Required Documents

Document requirements differ slightly between natural-person shareholders and corporate (legal entity) shareholders. Any document not originally in French or English must be accompanied by a sworn or notarised French translation.

Natural-Person Shareholders and Directors
ID card Full scan of the national ID card; if the original is not in English or French, a sworn French translation is required
Passport Full scan copy of the passport bio-data page
Proof of address Two utility bills issued within the last 3 months; a sworn French translation is required if the bills are not in French
Legal Entity Shareholders
Proof of registration Certificate of incorporation or business license, with a notarised English translation
Company bylaws Full articles of association of the parent entity, with a notarised English translation

France Tax at a Glance

Rates below are sourced from the PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries and the OECD Corporate Tax Statistics database (2023 release) and reflect the headline figures a non-resident founder should factor into a France SARL operating model.

French SARLs are subject to corporate income tax (CIT), value-added tax (VAT), withholding tax on outbound payments, and a modest annual flat tax (IFA) of 750 EUR per year.

Corporate Income Tax
General CIT rate Standard 25%; a 15% reduced rate applies to the first EUR 42,500 of taxable profits for qualifying small corporations
CIT return deadline End of May following the 31 December fiscal year-end
Value-Added Tax
Standard VAT rate 20% (reduced rates: 10%, 5.5%, 2.1%)
Withholding Tax
Non-resident withholding Dividends 25%, interest 0%, royalties 25% (before treaty relief)
Effective Tax Rate (OECD 2023)
OECD 2023 composite rates Composite EATR 23.66% / Composite EMTR 15.38%

Frequently Asked Questions

France SARL Incorporation FAQ
Are there nationality or residency restrictions? No. Shareholders and directors of a French SARL can be of any nationality, and EU residency is not required. A nominee director is not needed for non-resident founders.
How many shareholders are required? A SARL requires a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 100 shareholders. Shareholders can be natural persons or corporate entities, with no nationality restrictions. Two or more shareholders are recommended to avoid the EURL social security charge.
SAS vs SARL — which should I choose? Both are private limited liability companies. The SAS is more flexible on articles of association and does not trigger French social security tax on the majority shareholder. The SARL is more rigid and requires formal capital verification. The SAS tends to suit founders who want governance flexibility; the SARL suits classic small and mid-sized businesses.
Is capital verification required? Yes. A SARL requires capital verification with a minimum of 1 EUR, transferred from the shareholders’ personal accounts to the company’s provisional capital account at a French bank. The bank then issues the Attestation de depot du capital social that accompanies the registration dossier.
Can the registered capital be used after incorporation? Yes. Once the KBis extract is issued and the permanent corporate bank account is active, the registered capital can be used to cover operating costs such as goods, accountants, and professional service fees.

Ready to Incorporate in France?

A French SARL suits founders who are pursuing first-time EU expansion, selling directly to European consumers, preparing for an eventual IPO, strengthening brand positioning on the continent, or using France as a strategic EU foothold. With 1 EUR minimum capital, no residency requirement, and a seven-step filing path, France is one of the most accessible major-market jurisdictions for non-resident founders.

TKEG Expat runs the entire France SARL lifecycle end to end: name search, articles of association, power-of-attorney drafting, remote bank account opening, capital deposit, Greffe filing, BODACC publication, KBis retrieval, and ongoing accounting and tax filing. If you are evaluating how to register a company in France in 2026, talk to our team to scope the fastest, most tax-efficient route for your shareholder structure.

France