Foreign founders often ask for one number: how much money must be available to set up a company in France? The legally unavoidable starting point is narrower than the real launch budget. For a commercial company, the official Service Public Entreprendre page verified on 18 March 2026 lists a €33.83 registration fee and a mandatory €19.33 beneficial-owner declaration, before the legal notice and any additional service costs. A civil company has a different official registration amount. Those figures are not a quotation for a complete formation.
The final budget depends on the legal form, the activity, the French department, the registered office, the source and language of the founder’s documents, the bank’s onboarding process and the level of legal or accounting assistance required. Share capital must also be funded, but it is normally an asset of the new company rather than a formation expense. The distinction matters when a founder compares a €1,000 capital deposit with money that will actually disappear in fees. This guide separates those categories, gives a practical budget model and explains how to prevent pre-registration commitments from remaining personally payable. It concerns incorporation and the first corporate steps for a founder or foreign company; it is not an immigration or property-purchase guide.
For a structured overview of the incorporation sequence and the first compliance decisions, see the firm’s French company formation support hub for foreign founders.
I. What does a foreign founder have to pay to create a French company?
A. Which legal form, capital and registered office determine the first budget?
The first budget decision is not the filing form. It is the legal vehicle. A foreign group may create a French subsidiary, register a branch of an existing company, or use another structure suited to its activity. A French subsidiary is a separate legal person once registered. A branch remains an establishment of the foreign company, so the documents, liability analysis and evidence of authority follow a different path. The registration fee is only one line in either comparison. A lower apparent filing cost can be outweighed by a longer document chain, a parent-company translation or a more demanding bank review.
For a French company, the two common commercial forms for a foreign founder are the SAS, or société par actions simplifiée (simplified joint-stock company), and the SARL, or société à responsabilité limitée (limited-liability company). A one-person SAS is a SASU, or société par actions simplifiée unipersonnelle. A one-person SARL is an EURL, or entreprise unipersonnelle à responsabilité limitée. These acronyms appear on the draft statutes, the registration file and the future Kbis. The Kbis is the official extract identifying a company in the French commercial register. Choosing between SASU, EURL, SAS and SARL changes the statutes, governance, social-security treatment of the manager, share-transfer mechanics and future compliance workload. It can therefore change professional fees even when the public registration line is similar.
The legal starting point is the purpose of the company and the contribution of its founders. Article 1832 of the French Civil Code begins with the rule that “La société est instituée par deux ou plusieurs personnes” and also allows a one-person company in the cases provided by law. It describes the agreement to contribute to a joint undertaking and to share the profit or benefit that may result. This is why the budget should be built after the commercial objective and ownership chain are clear, not by selecting the cheapest online package first.
The statutes are not merely a template to attach to an INPI submission. Article 1835 of the Civil Code states that “Les statuts doivent être établis par écrit.” They set out the contributions, form, object, name, registered office, capital and duration, among other matters. A foreign founder should expect additional drafting work where the shareholder is a foreign legal person, where voting rights differ from the percentage of capital, where a parent company will finance the subsidiary, or where a director must act from outside France. A basic filing package can be cheap while a document that correctly records reserved matters, deadlock, related-party funding and exit rights is more expensive. The relevant question is whether the cost prevents a larger correction later.
The SAS and SARL also express limited-liability rules differently. Article L. 227-1 of the Commercial Code provides that a SAS may be formed by one or more persons who bear losses only up to their contribution. For a SARL, Article L. 223-2 of the Commercial Code says that “Le montant du capital de la société est fixé par les statuts.” The amount chosen should be tested against the first twelve months of expenses, supplier confidence, banking expectations and the founder’s ability to fund the company. A nominal capital can be lawful in a given structure but commercially inadequate. Conversely, a large capital contribution is not a fee paid to the government.
Separate the capital line into three boxes:
| Budget line | What it means | How to treat it |
|---|---|---|
| Share capital | Cash or assets contributed in exchange for shares or units | Funded for the company; not automatically a lost formation cost |
| Formation expenses | Public fees, legal notice, translations, drafting and filing assistance | Paid or accrued to complete the creation process |
| Launch cash | Working capital for rent, salaries, suppliers, software, tax and insurance | Kept available after registration; often more important than the filing fee |
The capital deposit normally requires a depositary, often a bank or another authorised institution, to issue a certificate. The deposit can be delayed when the bank has not completed its customer due-diligence review. A foreign founder should not confuse the deposit certificate with proof that the company already exists. Before registration, the company has not yet acquired the normal legal personality of a registered commercial company. A bank may also charge account-opening or payment fees, require a minimum relationship, or ask for additional evidence before releasing the funds. Those costs belong in the banking line, not in the capital line.
The registered office is a second structural choice. The company must have a French address that it can lawfully use and prove. Article L. 123-11 of the Commercial Code requires a legal person seeking registration in the Registre du commerce et des sociétés (RCS, the commercial and companies register) to justify its enjoyment of the premises where it installs its registered office. The proof may be a lease, an ownership document, a domiciliation contract, or another document accepted for the particular situation. Domiciliation means using a professional provider’s address under a contract; it is not the same as renting operational premises.
The registered-office budget should include the contract, any setup charge, a possible security deposit, mail handling and the period during which the address must be maintained. If the address is a founder’s home, check the rules that protect personal-address information and the practical requirements for receiving official letters. If the address belongs to a parent company or a shared service provider, preserve the agreement and authority documents. A rejection caused by an unclear address can cost more than a modest professional review before filing.
The foreign founder’s nationality does not itself impose a universal “foreign-founder fee”. It changes the evidence. A French resident and a non-resident may submit different identity, address, authority and tax-residence documents. A foreign company shareholder may need its certificate of incorporation, articles, current register extract, ownership chart, board resolution and a document proving the representative’s authority. The more complex the ownership chain, the more likely it is that translation, certification and beneficial-owner analysis will affect the budget.
B. Which filing, beneficial-owner and legal-notice fees are mandatory?
The creation declaration is made through the Guichet unique des formalités des entreprises, the one-stop electronic filing body operated through the Institut national de la propriété industrielle (INPI, the French National Institute of Industrial Property). Article L. 123-33 of the Commercial Code describes the single electronic file: “dépôt d’un seul dossier comportant les déclarations qu’elle est tenue d’effectuer.” One file does not mean one flat price. The file may transmit information to the RCS, the Registre national des entreprises (RNE, the national register of businesses), the tax administration and social bodies, while separate regulated tariffs apply to the formalities.
For a commercial company, the official Service Public Entreprendre cost page, verified on 18 March 2026, states:
- the registration formality costs €33.83;
- the declaration of beneficial owners costs €19.33;
- a solely craft activity outside the RCS has a €45 registration amount;
- a mixed craft and commercial activity can have a €15 craft registration amount when the company is registered, or being registered, in the RCS;
- an agent commercial, meaning a commercial agent, may require both the €33.83 RCS registration and the €23.21 Registre spécial des agents commerciaux (RSAC, special register of commercial agents) registration.
The page states that a commercial company must also publish an avis de constitution, or legal notice of incorporation. The price varies with the legal form and the department in which the notice is published. It is not responsible to insert a universal legal-notice amount into a foreign founder’s budget without knowing those two variables and the notice’s required content. Use the official Service Public cost simulator as an initial estimate, while remembering that the page says its calculations are indicative and do not replace the actual statements from the relevant public bodies.
For a civil company, the same official source lists €60.38 for the registration formality and €19.33 for the beneficial-owner declaration, before the legal notice and other costs. A civil company is not automatically the right low-cost alternative for an operating business. A Société civile immobilière (SCI, civil real-estate company), for example, belongs to a property context, which is outside this article’s business-formation focus. A structure must match the activity and liability plan before its fees are compared.
The national register component should also be understood. The official Guichet unique tariff page displays tariffs in force from 1 March 2026, including a €5.90 INPI fee for an inscription or modification concerning a company, group or public industrial and commercial establishment in the RNE, and a €5.45 amount for certain annual-accounts deposits. Public pages can display consolidated fees or separate tariff components differently. The figure shown in the final electronic cart for the exact formalitiy is the amount to retain. Do not add every number from two different official tables as though each were an additional charge.
The tariff framework is not a discretionary price set by the registry clerk. Article L. 743-13 of the Commercial Code states that “Les émoluments des greffiers des tribunaux de commerce sont fixés en application du titre IV bis du livre IV du présent code.” This is useful when checking an invoice: separate the regulated registry amount, the legal-notice publisher’s amount, the INPI component and the adviser’s own fee.
The beneficial-owner declaration is compulsory for the relevant legal entities and should not be treated as a clerical afterthought. The bénéficiaire effectif is the natural person who ultimately owns or controls the company, applying the legal tests to the ownership and control chain. A foreign parent with several holding companies, trusts, voting agreements or nominee arrangements can make this analysis more involved. Article L. 561-46 of the Monetary and Financial Code governs the declaration of beneficial-owner information through the registration system. Budget for a review of the ownership chart and for correcting the declaration if the original description does not match the company’s real control.
The file also has a timing cost. The founder pays for documents, signatures, a capital deposit and sometimes a lease or service contract before receiving the Kbis. The Guichet unique can issue a receipt showing that the application is pending, but pending status is not the same as registration. If INPI or the relevant validation body requests a correction, the founder may pay for a new translation, an amended legal notice, a new filing service or additional bank time. A budget that includes a contingency is more realistic than a budget made only of the first payment screen.
Build the public-cost estimate in this order:
- Identify SAS, SASU, SARL, EURL, branch or another vehicle and confirm whether the activity is commercial, craft, regulated or civil.
- Obtain the current legal-notice amount for the chosen form and French department.
- Add the official registration amount and the beneficial-owner declaration.
- Check whether an RNE, RCS, RSAC or activity-specific component applies.
- Confirm the amount in the Guichet unique cart and save the receipt.
- Keep professional fees, translations, banking, domiciliation, insurance and launch cash in separate lines.
The resulting public-fee floor is useful, but it does not answer the question “How much cash should a foreign founder keep available?” A founder who has €53.16 for a commercial-company registration and beneficial-owner declaration still needs the legal notice, address, documents, capital and working capital. The next part explains why the additional lines are often the difference between a clean incorporation and a stalled one.
II. How do foreign documents and pre-registration decisions change the real cost?
A. Which translation, professional, banking and compliance costs are variable?
Translation is the first variable that domestic formation comparisons often omit. A foreign founder may need an identity document, proof of address, birth or marital-status evidence where relevant, a foreign company extract, articles, a board resolution, a power of attorney, a group ownership chart and source-of-funds documents. Whether a document must be translated by a sworn translator, apostilled or legalised depends on its origin, the receiving body and the purpose. Not every document needs every formality. Ordering an apostille or a translation automatically can waste money; filing an unaccepted copy can waste more.
Use a document matrix before ordering anything. For each document, record the issuing country, date, language, validity period, whether an original or certified copy is needed, whether an apostille or legalisation is required, the name of the signatory, and the French authority that will receive it. A translation should identify the document and preserve names, dates, company numbers and signatures. If the shareholder is a foreign company, ask whether the French filing needs a recent registry extract or a complete chain of control rather than a historic certificate. If a document is not accepted, the replacement cost is not just the translator’s invoice: it may include a second courier, a renewed bank appointment, a revised filing and a new deadline.
Professional fees should be split by deliverable. A lawyer may draft or review the statutes, check the legal form, prepare a power of attorney, analyse a foreign shareholder’s authority, review a commercial lease, structure a parent-company loan, or protect the founder in a deadlock. An accountant may build the opening balance sheet, set the accounting calendar, configure payroll or advise on tax registrations. A formation agent may transmit a standard file. These services are not interchangeable, and a low headline fee can exclude the work needed for a foreign ownership chain or a regulated activity.
Ask each provider for a written scope:
- Does the price include a legal-form recommendation or only a template?
- Does it include the beneficial-owner analysis and the foreign shareholder’s authority?
- Does it include review of the registered-office proof and the legal notice?
- Does it include one INPI correction request, or is every correction extra?
- Does it include capital-deposit coordination with the bank?
- Does it include tax and VAT onboarding, or only incorporation?
- Does it include English explanations for the founder and a document checklist?
- Does it state whether VAT is added to the adviser’s price?
The VAT question is important. VAT means taxe sur la valeur ajoutée, the French value-added tax. A French adviser’s invoice may charge VAT even when the founder is established abroad; the treatment depends on the service, customer status and applicable place-of-supply rules. Do not assume that a quote marked “excluding tax” is the final amount paid. Also distinguish the company’s VAT registration from VAT on formation services. A company can be formed before its first VAT number is operational, but the commercial activity may create separate registration and reporting duties.
Banking costs have both a price and an opportunity-cost element. The bank may charge an account fee, a transfer fee, a card fee or a foreign-currency conversion margin. More significantly, the capital may remain blocked until the company is registered and the bank receives the Kbis. A founder paying a supplier or rent from a foreign account during that period may incur extra transfer costs or lose a negotiated commercial date. The budget should contain a temporary payment plan, not merely the bank’s tariff.
Bank onboarding can also add a compliance cost. The bank may ask for the business plan, contracts, expected countries of payment, source of capital, tax residence, identification of the beneficial owner, proof of address and evidence of the foreign parent’s activity. This is linked to anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing checks, often shortened to AML and CTF. An accurate ownership chart and consistent answers reduce delay. Never make the capital appear to come from a person or entity that does not match the corporate documents. A mismatch can trigger a new review, a new document order and a delayed filing.
The registered office and operational premises also need separate treatment. A domiciliation provider may charge monthly rent, an initial fee, mail scanning, forwarding and optional meeting-room use. An office lease can involve a deposit, insurance, fit-out, utilities and a commercial-lease review. A founder abroad may be tempted to use an address without checking the contract’s permitted activities. That can create a proof problem at registration and a service problem after registration when tax or social-security letters are sent to the wrong place.
Insurance and accounting are launch costs, even if they do not appear on the filing screen. Professional civil-liability insurance may be required by the activity or expected by customers. A regulated or technical business may need a specific policy before trading. Accounting costs can include bookkeeping, annual accounts, tax returns, payroll setup, VAT returns and software. URSSAF, the Union de recouvrement des cotisations de sécurité sociale et d’allocations familiales, is the body that collects many French social-security contributions; its reporting implications should be priced when the company will employ or remunerate people. The first-year cost may be higher because systems, chart of accounts and reporting calendars have to be established.
Tax and VAT are not a single “formation fee”. A new company may need to exchange information with the Service des impôts des entreprises (SIE, business tax service), choose or confirm its tax regime, provide bank details, request a VAT number or explain why it is not yet liable to VAT. Corporate income tax is commonly referred to as impôt sur les sociétés (IS). The cotisation foncière des entreprises (CFE) is a local business-property contribution with its own rules and forms. Those topics belong in the launch and compliance forecast, alongside the annual accounts and beneficial-owner calendar. They should not be treated as optional extras if the company will trade immediately.
Evidence and signing also have a budget implication. A foreign founder can sign remotely, but the method must permit the receiving party to identify the signatory and preserve document integrity. Article 1366 of the Civil Code states that “L’écrit électronique a la même force probante que l’écrit sur support papier” when the legal conditions are met. Article 1367 of the Civil Code provides that “La signature nécessaire à la perfection d’un acte juridique identifie son auteur.” A reliable electronic signature can avoid travel, but a platform fee, identity check or consular formalitiy may still be needed. A scanned signature on an otherwise incomplete power of attorney is not a substitute for authority.
Finally, distinguish one-off and recurring costs. Filing, legal notice, initial translation and formation advice are mostly one-off. Domiciliation, bank services, accounting, insurance, software, payroll and tax compliance recur. A founder should calculate at least three scenarios:
| Scenario | One-off items | Recurring items to forecast |
|---|---|---|
| Lean remote start | Public fees, legal notice, essential translations, basic registered office and narrow document review | Bank, accounting, address, insurance and tax compliance |
| Investor-ready subsidiary | Tailored statutes, ownership analysis, foreign-parent documents, capital deposit, shareholder arrangements and broader advice | Group reporting, transfer-pricing support, accounting, bank and governance |
| Regulated or operational launch | All formation lines plus licence, premises, insurance, technical compliance and activity-specific support | Staff, premises, filings, insurance, VAT and sector reporting |
These scenarios show why a single “cost of setting up a company in France” figure can mislead. The public charges may be modest; the business-ready budget can be materially higher because the founder is buying evidence, speed, certainty and operational capacity.
B. How can you protect the budget if the filing or a pre-incorporation act fails?
The most serious hidden cost is personal liability for a commitment made before the company exists as a legal person. A founder may sign a lease, order equipment, engage an accountant, pay a software subscription or sign a bank-related document while the company is still “en formation”, meaning in formation. The document should state clearly that the person acts “au nom” or “pour le compte” of the company in formation, but that wording alone does not remove every risk. The act must be taken over by the company through a legally effective mechanism after, or in connection with, registration.
Article L. 210-6 of the Commercial Code contains the key rule: “Les sociétés commerciales jouissent de la personnalité morale à dater de leur immatriculation au registre du commerce et des sociétés.” The same article deals with people who act in the company’s name before that point and the conditions for the company to take over the commitments. The practical result is simple: do not treat the future company as though its registration were already complete.
Prepare an actes accomplis schedule, meaning a schedule of acts completed for the company in formation. For each act, record the date, counterparty, precise description, maximum amount, term, termination clause, payment schedule and the person who signed. Attach the schedule to the draft statutes where appropriate. A vague line such as “all expenses incurred for the company” does not give the founder or the counterparty the same protection as a list that identifies a lease, a translation order, a bank-service mandate or an accountant’s engagement.
The leading 6 December 2005 decision of the Commercial Chamber, appeal no. 03-16.853, is available on Légifrance. The court stated that “la reprise d’engagements pris au nom d’une société en formation ne peut résulter que” one of the prescribed mechanisms: an acts schedule annexed to signed statutes, a sufficiently precise pre-registration mandate, or a post-registration decision by the associates. In that case, the fact that the associates had taken part in signing the lease and later ratified it was not enough. A founder who pays a formation invoice or signs a long lease should therefore decide in advance how the act will be taken over.
The 21 March 2018 Commercial Chamber decision, appeal no. 15-29.377, also available on Légifrance, concerned an acts schedule that did not include the disputed commitment. The decision refers to “l’état des actes accomplis pour le compte de la société BLC en formation” and rejects an attempt to cure the omission implicitly and retroactively through a later amendment. The budgeting lesson is direct: the time spent checking the schedule before signature can prevent a second contract, a personal claim or a litigation budget.
The 13 December 2011 decision, appeal no. 11-10.699, provides a further warning. In its official analysis on Légifrance, the Court of Cassation required a regular legal mechanism and rejected the idea that partial reimbursement or a later leasing arrangement automatically proved an implicit takeover. The court’s summary states that a court cannot infer the takeover merely from subsequent performance where the prescribed formality has not been established. A founder should preserve the signed mandate, the annexed list and the post-registration resolution rather than relying on the accounting ledger alone.
The 21 February 2012 decision, appeal no. 10-27.630, is even more severe. The official Légifrance analysis says: “La nullité affectant les actes conclus par une société dépourvue d’existence juridique a le caractère de nullité absolue.” It adds that later performance after registration cannot cure the defect in the circumstances described. This is why a contract should not casually name a non-existent company as though it were already registered. The document should accurately identify the person signing and the company in formation, allocate the risk until registration and use a takeover route that the statutes and corporate records can support.
The 29 November 2023 decision, appeal no. 22-21.623, available on Légifrance, explains the protective function of wording. The court referred to “la présence d’une mention expresse selon laquelle l’acte est accompli « au nom » ou « pour le compte » d’une société en formation”. The wording alerts both the counterparty and the person signing that a future substitution may occur, but that personal exposure remains if the company does not properly take over the act. Insert the wording in the contract, then complete the corresponding corporate record.
The filing itself also needs a correction protocol. Article L. 123-33 makes the electronic one-stop filing central, but an incomplete file may generate a request for missing or inconsistent material. Before submitting, compare:
- the name, address and company number of every foreign shareholder across all documents;
- the exact spelling of the director’s name and the address used for the Kbis;
- the legal form, capital, share allocation and signing powers in the statutes;
- the beneficial-owner declaration against the actual ownership and control chart;
- the legal notice against the final signed statutes;
- the capital-deposit certificate against the company name and amount;
- the authority of any person filing or signing on behalf of the parent company;
- the translations, certifications and dates of every supporting document.
Keep a version-controlled evidence file. Article 1835 of the Civil Code requires written statutes, while Article 1833 states that a company must have a lawful purpose and be formed in the common interest of its associates, and that it is managed in its corporate interest. The evidence file should therefore contain the version actually signed, not a template used during negotiations. If the company’s purpose, registered office or control chain changes, update the related documents before filing.
Use a clear contingency reserve. The reserve should cover at least one replacement translation, one corrected notice or filing service, additional registered-office time, another bank document request and professional review of a refusal. The exact reserve depends on the file’s complexity; it is not a statutory percentage. A founder with a foreign corporate shareholder, several controllers, a regulated activity or a fast commercial deadline should reserve more time and cash than a founder with one individual shareholder and simple documents.
If a filing is rejected or held, first identify the decision-maker and the precise reason. An INPI request, a registry observation, a bank refusal and a tax request are different events with different remedies. Do not solve a registry observation by silently changing the statutes if the change affects shareholder rights. Do not create a second company or a duplicate filing merely to escape a correction without checking the first file, the capital deposit and the legal notice. A second filing can create two sets of costs and two inconsistent ownership records.
At registration, confirm the result in the public registers and keep the Kbis, RNE information and filing receipt. Check the exact company name, SIREN number, SIRET number where issued, registered office, director, activity and beneficial-owner status. SIREN is the nine-digit national company identifier; SIRET identifies an establishment and combines the SIREN with an establishment number. BODACC, the Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales, is the official bulletin that publishes certain commercial and corporate notices. A public entry is not a substitute for reading the underlying corporate documents, but it is an important post-registration check.
The budget should also cover the first decision after registration. If the company takes over pre-registration acts, adopt the required corporate decision, record it in the appropriate register or minutes and notify the relevant counterparty where needed. If an act was not correctly authorised, do not backdate a resolution. Obtain advice on whether a new contract, novation or another lawful mechanism is required. The cost of a clean replacement is usually easier to control than the cost of a personal-liability dispute.
Foreign founders can reduce waste with a four-stage control:
- Before ordering documents: map the ownership, activity, legal form, registered office and target filing date.
- Before signing: confirm the signatory, the company-in-formation wording, the act schedule and the takeover mechanism.
- Before filing: reconcile statutes, legal notice, capital certificate, beneficial-owner declaration, translations and address evidence.
- After registration: verify the Kbis and registers, complete the takeover decisions, activate tax and accounting processes, and preserve the final evidence file.
For broader decisions about the order of formation, structure, bank onboarding and first compliance steps, see this foreign-founder company-formation guide. The comparison between SAS and SARL in France should be read before paying for statutes. If a bank has refused the capital deposit, the dedicated guide on a refused capital deposit addresses that narrower problem. These links are complementary: they do not replace the cost model and pre-registration safeguards set out here.
Conclusion
For a foreign founder, the cost of setting up a company in France has three layers. The first is the regulated and public layer: registration, the beneficial-owner declaration, the legal notice and any applicable RCS, RNE, RSAC or activity-specific charge. For a commercial company, the current Service Public figures of €33.83 and €19.33 provide a useful starting point, but they do not include the legal notice. The second is the evidence layer: registered-office proof, foreign-company documents, translations, certifications, bank due diligence and beneficial-owner analysis. The third is the operating layer: capital, working cash, accounting, tax, insurance, banking and recurring compliance.
Capital should not be described as a fee merely because it must be deposited. It is intended to fund the company, although access can be temporarily restricted. Conversely, a low filing price does not make an incomplete or unsuitable structure economical. The most valuable budget control is to reconcile the legal form, ownership chain, address, documents and pre-registration acts before money is committed. Articles 1832, 1833, 1835, L. 123-11, L. 123-33, L. 210-6, L. 223-2, L. 227-1 and L. 561-46, together with the cited decisions of the Court of Cassation, give the legal framework for that control. A tailored review can then turn an indicative public-fee floor into a defensible incorporation and launch budget.
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