Schmidt & Schmidt provides English translated and apostilled extracts from the French commercial register in PDF format quickly and easily via email.
In France, the commercial register of businesses and companies (Registres du commerce et des sociétés - RCS) is managed by local commercial and civil courts. There are currently around 4,500,000 companies in the French register, both active and inactive. The data submitted is verified before registration. The registers are available online and summaries are available in French and English. These extracts are a kind of "identity card" of companies, acting as the main profile of the company.
The extract from the French commercial register is an official document containing publicly available information on legal entities, partnerships, entrepreneurs and permanent establishments of foreign companies resident in France.
Records were created in 1919 and both hard copy and electronic records are available for every year since then.
Extracts from the French commercial register can be used for the following purposes:
- To get detailed information about potential business partners
- Negotiating foreign trade agreements
- Registration of legal entities with foreign participation
- Applying for a work visa in France
- Making legal claims
An extract is provided in French or English in the form of a PDF file. The original documents can be notarized and apostilled, translated and sent by courier.
The current citation is an official document containing up-to-date information about a company registered in France, including name, address, date of incorporation, management, authorized capital and bankruptcy or dissolution procedures. This is a main document confirming the legal status of a company, similar to the Certificate of Registration.
A recent extract from France's commercial register contains the following information:
- Full legal name
- Business type
- Legal address
- Contact details
- Main activity
- Shared Capital
- Members of the Board of Directors
- Balance sheets and financial statements
Information on some companies may not be available or may be available for a fee.
It takes a minimum of 30 minutes to process your request.
| Service | Price including 19% VAT | Price without VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Price for Electronic Extract | from 17,85 € | from 15,00 € |
| Price for Apostilled extract without international shipping | from 297,50 € | from 250,00 € |
The historical extract includes information that was valid during a specific period of the company's history, as well as a record of changes such as name, address, type of business and management.
It takes a minimum of 30 minutes to process your request.
| Service | 19% Price including VAT | Price without VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Price for Electronic Extract | from 17,85 € | from 15,00 € |
| Price for Apostilled Extract without international shipping | from 297,50 € | from 250,00 € |
Corporate documents: information such as the company's bylaws, articles of association, merger or demerger laws and amendments to these documents.
| Service | Price including 19% VAT | Price without VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Price for Electronic Extract | from 17,85 € | from 15,00 € |
| Price for Apostilled Extract without international shipping | from 297,50 € | from 250,00 € |
Annual financial statements consist of records such as profit and loss, etc. Based on these records it is possible to see the current financial position of a company.
The annual financial statements include the following information:
- Annual balance sheet
- Profits and losses
- Data on depreciation
- Fixed assets
- Payables and receivables
- CEO's financial report
- Dividend distribution data
- Auditor reports
Depending on the size of the company, the volume of information can range from 2 pages to hundreds of pages.
| Service | Price including 19% VAT | Price without VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Price for Electronic Extract | from 17,85 € | from 15,00 € |
| Price for Apostilled Extract without international shipping | from 297,50 € | from 250,00 € |
You can obtain the following other documents from the French commercial register:
- A debt report is a document presenting the company's debt reports, data on rent and lease obligations.
- The Certificate of Insolvency is a confirmation of bankruptcy and liquidation procedures or their absence.
| Service | Price including 19% VAT | Price without VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Price for Electronic Extract | from 17,85 € | from 15,00 € |
| Price for Apostilled Extract without international shipping | from 297,50 € | from 250,00 € |
In order to obtain the necessary documents, we will need the following information about a company:
- Full legal name
- Full name with full legal address
- Identity number
Main types of businesses in France
Legal Entities:
Société anonyme (SA) – Incorporated company
Société par actions simplifiée (SAS) – “simplified” Joint-stock company (not involved in stock trading)
Société à responsabilité limitée (Sàrl) – Limited liability company
Entreprise unipersonnelle à responsabilité limitée (EURL) – Limited liability company with one partner
Société en Commandite par Actions (S.C.A.) – Commandit company
Unincorporated:
Microentreprise – Individual Entrepreneur
Société civile (SC) – Unlimited partnership
Société civile immobilière (SCI) – Property Management Association
Société en nom collectif (SNC) – Registered partnership
Société civile professionelle (SCP) – Self-employed partnership ("self-employed" individuals)
Société en commandite (SCS) – Limited partnership
We provide extracts from records in full compliance with the legislation of the French Republic and the General Data Protection Regulation.
Requests are processed within one working day. Delivery of apostilled documents by courier is calculated and paid separately according to courier service tariffs.
You can order a free pre-compliance check of the required information on our website.
France Register of Beneficiaries
The French State Register of Trusts has existed since 2013 and was created as part of the law to combat tax fraud and serious economic and financial crimes. The register contains information received by the French tax authorities from trusts relating to France.
Since 2011, all trusts where at least one of the trustees, founders or beneficiaries is tax resident in France or has assets located in France must submit a special declaration to the French tax authorities according to article 1649 EU of the French Tax Code. It is this data that is included in the register and this data will soon be publicly available for anyone wishing to obtain information.
Apostille for extracts from the French commercial register
France acceded to the Hague Convention on the Abolition of the Requirement of Legalization of Foreign Official Documents on November 25, 1964.
Documents issued in France are therefore subject to a simplified apostille procedure, so that the documents acquire full legal value before the member states of the convention after certified translation.
Apostille usually takes about two weeks.
You can also order a certified translation from French.
