You found the office in Paris, the landlord wants a signed lease this week, and your French company does not exist yet. The bank asks for the company registration certificate, called extrait Kbis, before releasing the capital. A supplier asks for a purchase order now. From London, New York, Dubai or Singapore, the temptation is to sign first and register later. Under French law that order can leave you personally liable for the lease, the deposit and every invoice, even after the company is registered. This guide explains, in plain English for a business reader, which pre-registration acts bind you, which wording saves you, how a French SAS or SARL takes over your early commitments, and how to fix mistakes and fight claims without flying to France.

The trap sits at the intersection of two French principles. First, a commercial company has no legal existence before its registration with the trade and companies register, called registre du commerce et des sociétés or RCS, kept by the commercial court registry, called greffe du tribunal de commerce. Second, only acts expressly made in the name of or on behalf of the company in formation can later be taken over by it. An act signed merely by or for a company that does not yet exist is void, and three recent rulings of the Cour de cassation, the French supreme court for commercial matters, dated 29 November 2023, enforce that formalism strictly while opening a narrow judicial assessment of the parties’ intent. Every French acronym you will meet below, from Kbis to URSSAF, the social security collection body, and BODACC, the official gazette for company filings, is explained when it first appears.

This article first explains why acts signed before the Kbis bind the founder personally, then gives the three legal routes that transfer those acts to the company and the practical remedies when a landlord, a bank or a supplier refuses to play along. It cites the Commercial Code, the Monetary and Financial Code, the Labour Code and the General Tax Code as verified on Légifrance, and the 29 November 2023 trio of the Commercial Chamber. Companion guides cover forcing a French bank account open from abroad and the annual legal calendar of a French company once it exists.

I. Why do acts signed before the Kbis bind you personally under French law?

A. When does your French company start to exist and who can act for it?

A French SAS, société par actions simplifiée, and a French SARL, société à responsabilité limitée, are the two standard limited liability vehicles a foreign founder uses for a French subsidiary. The SAS is defined by Article L227-1 of the Commercial Code: “Une société par actions simplifiée peut être instituée par une ou plusieurs personnes qui ne supportent les pertes qu’à concurrence de leur apport.” One or more persons may form the company and bear losses only up to their contributions. The SARL is defined by Article L223-1 of the Commercial Code: “La société à responsabilité limitée est instituée par une ou plusieurs personnes qui ne supportent les pertes qu’à concurrence de leurs apports.” The shield is identical in words, with a single-member SAS called SASU and a single-member SARL called EURL. But that shield only starts to work on a precise date.

That date is set by Article L210-6 of the Commercial Code: “Les sociétés commerciales jouissent de la personnalité morale à dater de leur immatriculation au registre du commerce et des sociétés.” Commercial companies acquire legal personality only upon registration with the trade and companies register. Before that date there is no company, no corporate assets and no corporate debtor. There is only a company in formation, called société en formation, which is a factual situation, not a person. Anyone who signs, pays or orders during that period acts in a legal vacuum that the statute fills with personal liability.

The same Article L210-6 states the consequence: “sont tenues solidairement et indéfiniment responsables des actes ainsi accomplis, à moins que la société, après avoir été régulièrement constituée et immatriculée, ne reprenne les engagements souscrits.” Persons who acted before registration remain jointly and indefinitely liable for the acts performed, unless the company, once duly formed and registered, takes over the commitments. And the statute adds the reward for a correct takeover: “Ces engagements sont alors réputés avoir été souscrits dès l’origine par la société.” Taken-over commitments are deemed to have been entered into by the company from the start, with retroactive effect. Liability or retroactive takeover, there is no third outcome. Either the company validly takes over, and the founder is released for the future with the company deemed debtor from day one, or it does not, and the founder stays liable indefinitely alongside anyone else who signed.

Three practical consequences follow for a founder abroad. First, you cannot hire before the Kbis. The pre-hiring declaration, called déclaration préalable à l’embauche or DPAE, filed with URSSAF, requires the employer’s registration numbers. Article R1221-1 of the Labour Code provides: “La déclaration préalable à l’embauche comporte les mentions suivantes”. Without a registered employer there is no valid DPAE, and starting work early exposes the founder to concealed-work claims, called travail dissimulé. Second, you cannot invoice with French VAT before the company and its VAT number exist. Article 206 of the General Tax Code makes French companies liable to corporate income tax, called impôt sur les sociétés: “sont passibles de l’impôt sur les sociétés, quel que soit leur objet, les sociétés anonymes, les sociétés en commandite par actions, les sociétés à responsabilité limitée n’ayant pas opté pour le régime fiscal des sociétés de personnes dans les conditions prévues au IV de l’article 3 du décret n° 55-594 du 20 mai 1955 modifié”. Tax personality follows legal personality, so early trading profits and early input VAT sit in limbo until takeover. Third, capital contributions have their own lock. In a SARL, Article L223-7 of the Commercial Code provides: “Les parts sociales doivent être souscrites en totalité par les associés.” Shares must be fully subscribed, cash paid up by at least one fifth at formation with the balance within five years, contributions in kind paid up at once. The funds are frozen on a blocked account until the Kbis arrives. Spending them early through side payments creates a second layer of personal exposure on top of the contract liability.

B. What wording saves your early acts and what does the Cour de cassation really require?

The wording on the signature page decides everything. French courts distinguish three formulas. An act signed expressly in the name of the company in formation, called au nom de la société en formation, or on behalf of it, called pour le compte de la société en formation, can be taken over after registration. An act signed merely by the future company, called par la société, or signed by the founder in a personal capacity with the vague hope that the company will assume it later, cannot be rescued. The formula must appear expressly in the document, with the planned company name, registered office, called siège social, and legal form, so that the other party knows a substitution of debtor may occur after registration.

The Cour de cassation restated that rule in three formation-of-section judgments of 29 November 2023, Commercial Chamber, appeals Nos. 22-18.295, ECLI:FR:CCASS:2023:CO00758, published in the Bulletin, and 22-21.623, ECLI:FR:CCASS:2023:CO00757, available at Cour de cassation 22-18.295 and Cour de cassation 22-21.623. The Court recalled: “ne sont susceptibles d’être repris par la société après son immatriculation que les engagements expressément souscrits « au nom » (Com., 22 mai 2001, n° 98-19.742 ; Com., 21 février 2012, n° 10-27.630, Bull. n° 4 ; Com., 13 novembre 2013, n° 12-26.158) ou « pour le compte » (Com., 11 juin 2013, n° 11-27.356 ; Com., 10 mars 2021, n° 19-15.618) de la société en formation, et que sont nuls les actes passés « par » la société”. Only commitments expressly entered into in the name of or on behalf of the company in formation can be taken over after registration, and acts entered into by the company itself are void. The judgments explain the policy: “Cette jurisprudence repose sur le caractère dérogatoire du système instauré par la loi, lequel permet de réputer conclus par une société des actes juridiques passés avant son immatriculation.” The takeover system is exceptional because it deems a non-existent person to have contracted, so it must warn both sides. The express wording protects the third party, who learns that a retroactive substitution of debtor may follow, and it warns the founder, who understands that personal commitment continues until takeover.

The same judgments, see Cour de cassation 22-18.295, draw the line between void acts and valid-but-not-taken-over acts: “l’acte non expressément souscrit « au nom » ou « pour le compte » d’une société en formation est nul et que ni la société ni la personne ayant entendu agir pour son compte n’auront à répondre de son exécution, à la différence d’un acte valable, mais non repris par la société, qui engage les personnes ayant agi « au nom » ou « pour son compte »”. A void act binds nobody and can even leave the third party with no debtor at all if the act is annulled. A valid act that the company never takes over keeps binding the founder indefinitely. Both outcomes hurt, in opposite ways, which is why the signature formula plus a real takeover decision are both needed.

One nuance matters and must not be overstated. The 29 November 2023 judgments, see Cour de cassation 22-18.295, observe: “L’exigence selon laquelle l’acte doit, expressément et à peine de nullité, mentionner qu’il est passé « au nom » ou « pour le compte » de la société en formation ne résultant pas explicitement des textes”. Since that express-wording requirement does not appear explicitly in the statutes, the Court opens a sovereign judicial assessment of the parties’ intent in some configurations, which one commentary summarised as giving effect to the parties’ will. The outcomes in the trio differ precisely on the facts, with cassation in one case and rejection in another. For a founder, the lesson is conservative. Intent-based rescue is litigated case by case, takes years and depends on the trial judges’ sovereign reading of the documents. The express formula costs one sentence and works every time. Never sign early paperwork relying on what everyone supposedly intended. Write the formula.

II. How do you transfer early acts to the company and fight claims from abroad?

A. Which takeover route should your SAS or SARL use after the Kbis arrives?

French practice knows three takeover routes, and the right one depends on timing. The first route is the annexed statement, called état des actes accomplis, attached to the statutes. For the SARL it is codified at Article R210-5 of the Commercial Code: “l’état des actes accomplis pour le compte de la société en formation, avec l’indication, pour chacun d’eux, de l’engagement qui en résulterait pour la société, est présenté aux associés avant la signature des statuts.” The list of acts performed on behalf of the company in formation, showing for each the commitment it would create for the company, is presented to the shareholders before they sign the statutes. Then: “Cet état est annexé aux statuts, dont la signature emporte reprise des engagements par la société, lorsque celle-ci a été immatriculée au registre du commerce et des sociétés.” The statement is annexed to the statutes, and signing the statutes effects takeover once the company is registered. This route covers everything signed between the first steps and the signature of the statutes: office search mandates, called mandats de recherche, draft leases, bank pre-agreements, domain and trademark filings, and supplier quotes accepted early.

The same Article R210-5 organises the second route, the mandate for the gap period: “les associés peuvent, dans les statuts ou par acte séparé, donner mandat à l’un ou plusieurs d’entre eux ou au gérant non associé qui a été désigné, de prendre des engagements pour le compte de la société.” The shareholders may, in the statutes or by separate deed, mandate one or more of themselves, or the designated non-shareholder manager, to enter into commitments on behalf of the company. With one condition: “Sous réserve qu’ils soient déterminés et que les modalités en soient précisées par le mandat, l’immatriculation de la société au registre du commerce et des sociétés emporte reprise de ces engagements par la société.” Provided the commitments are defined and their terms specified in the mandate, registration alone effects takeover. This route covers the window between signature of the statutes and issuance of the Kbis, typically two to six weeks, when the founder must pay the legal gazette, called journal d’annonces légales, top up insurance, called assurance, or confirm the lease. For a SAS the mechanism is identical in substance through the general takeover rule combined with the statutes, which leave wide latitude to name the president and mandate holders, since Article L227-6 of the Commercial Code gives the president wide representation powers after registration: “Le président est investi des pouvoirs les plus étendus pour agir en toute circonstance au nom de la société dans la limite de l’objet social.” Draft the SAS statutes with an explicit article listing the pre-registration acts and the mandate for the interim period, mirroring the SARL statement, so the file shows the same discipline.

The third route is the post-registration decision. Acts that fit neither the annexed statement nor the mandate, because they were forgotten, signed in a hurry or wrongly worded, can still be taken over by a shareholders’ decision after registration, provided they were valid acts made in the name of or on behalf of the company in formation. A general meeting, called assemblée générale, votes the takeover act by act, the decision is recorded in minutes, called procès-verbal, and the third party is notified in writing with acknowledgement of receipt, called accusé de réception. This rescue has limits. It cannot cure a void act signed merely par la société with no in-formation wording. It cannot backdate tax or social filings that required an existing registration number. And it needs a real company decision, not a unilateral letter from the founder to himself. Where the founder is the sole shareholder, a written sole-shareholder decision, dated and filed with the company records, does the job, but it must still describe each act precisely.

Sequencing from abroad looks like this. Before signing anything, have counsel prepare the draft statutes with the planned name, office and purpose, called objet social. Sign every early document with the full formula: first name and surname, acting in the name of and on behalf of the future SAS or SARL in formation with its planned name, form and office. Keep one running list of every early act with date, counterparty, amount and formula used. Annex that list to the statutes at signature. Add a mandate clause for the interim period naming who may sign what up to which amount. After the Kbis arrives, hold the takeover decision for any act outside the first two routes, notify each counterparty, collect written acknowledgements, and file the minutes. The whole chain can be handled with powers of attorney, called procurations, and electronic signature, but the list must be exact. A counterparty omitted from every route stays the founder’s personal creditor.

B. How do you unblock the money, the lease and the suppliers when each one says no?

Money first. Cash contributions must be deposited before signature of the statutes with a bank, a notary, called notaire, or the Caisse des dépôts, against a deposit certificate, called attestation de dépôt des fonds. French banks sometimes refuse or delay non-resident files for anti-money-laundering checks. Prepare the draft statutes, the foreign parent’s registry extract with certified translation, the beneficial owner chart, proof of address and source-of-funds evidence in one bundle, and apply to two banks in parallel. If every bank refuses the deposit, a notary can receive the funds. After registration the funds are released on presentation of the Kbis. If a bank then refuses the operating account, the right to an account, called droit au compte, applies. Article L312-1 of the Monetary and Financial Code provides: “A droit à l’ouverture d’un compte de dépôt dans l’établissement de crédit de son choix, sous réserve d’être dépourvu d’un tel compte en France”. A person with no such account in France has the right to have a deposit account opened with the chosen bank. After one documented written refusal, the Banque de France designates a bank that must provide basic services. Keep every refusal letter. The designated-bank procedure decides in days, while waiting politely can take months.

Leases second. Paris landlords often demand a signed commercial lease, called bail commercial, or a short derogatory lease, called bail dérogatoire, before the Kbis exists, plus a personal guarantee, called caution personnelle or garantie à première demande, from the foreign founder or parent. Sign the lease with the full in-formation formula, cap the guarantee in amount and time in writing, and make the lease conditional on registration where the landlord accepts it. After the Kbis, take over the lease expressly through the shareholders’ decision, register the company’s occupancy with the tax office, and replace the founder’s personal guarantee with a company deposit, called dépôt de garantie, or a parent guarantee with an expiry date as soon as the company’s bank references allow it. If the landlord later sues the founder personally, the defence file is the formula in the lease, the annexed statement or mandate, the takeover decision and the notification receipts. Without those four pieces, the founder pays the rent.

Suppliers and service providers third. Early invoices addressed to a non-existent company cannot be booked as company costs and cannot generate recoverable VAT until takeover regularises them. Ask each supplier to issue the order confirmation to the company in formation with the planned SIREN to follow, then to reissue or confirm the invoice to the registered company with its SIREN, SIRET premises number and RCS mention after the Kbis. For large deposits paid from the founder’s personal account, keep the bank trail and reimburse through a documented shareholder advance, called avance en compte courant, or a capital payment after registration, never through informal netting. If a supplier sues for an early order, the same four-piece file decides the outcome, and the void-act rule cuts both ways: a supplier who accepted an order signed par la société with no in-formation wording may discover it has no debtor at all, which is why serious suppliers now ask for the draft statutes before accepting early orders.

Hiring and payroll fourth, where timing is strictest. No DPAE, no pay slips, called bulletins de paie, and no occupational health enrolment exist before the SIRET number. Promising a start date before the Kbis arrives is the most common and most expensive mistake. Either delay the start date to after registration, with a written offer letter conditional on registration, or use a compliant interim solution such as a portage or interim arrangement while the company is being formed, checking the real cost first. Once registered, file the DPAE before day one, choose the collective agreement, called convention collective, by the real activity, set up payroll, and start the trial period, called période d’essai, in writing. Early work performed informally before registration cannot be regularised by a later takeover decision, because labour and social filings attach to the registered employer, not to the contract wording.

When a dispute crystallises, act in writing from abroad in this order. Put the counterparty on notice with the takeover documents and set a short deadline to recognise the company as sole debtor. If the counterparty sues the founder, raise the takeover with exhibits: formula, statement or mandate, Kbis, decision, notifications. If the counterparty refuses takeover, sue for a declaration that the company assumed the commitment, joining the company to the case so the judgment binds everyone. If the registry, called greffe, rejected the filing and nothing could be taken over in time, correct the exact rejection ground, refile through the single portal, called guichet unique run by the INPI, and document the delay, because courts distinguish founders who filed diligently from founders who traded durably without ever filing. Limitation periods run, so diary every deadline. A founder who answers every letter within days from abroad beats a founder who waits for the next trip to Paris.

Conclusion

Sign nothing in France as if the company already existed. Until the Kbis arrives there is no SAS and no SARL, only founders who will stay personally liable unless each act expressly states it is made in the name of or on behalf of the company in formation and is then taken over through the annexed statement, the mandate or a shareholders’ decision. Build the paper chain before the first signature: draft statutes, running list of early acts, full signature formula, deposit certificate, takeover decision and written notifications. Unblock money with the notary route and the right to an account, cap lease guarantees, reissue supplier invoices after registration, and never promise a start date before the SIRET exists. Handled this way from abroad, the early weeks produce a clean company file instead of personal lawsuits, and the French subsidiary starts its life with contracts, cash and staff already in the right name.