Your French lease is ending, your domiciliation contract expires, or business logic pulls you to Paris while you live in London, New York, Dubai or Singapore. The question lands on your desk in plain English: how do I move my French company’s registered office without flying to France, and what proves the move is real? French law calls the registered office the si\u00e8ge social, and everything flows from it: the commercial court in charge of your file, the address on your Kbis (the official company identity certificate issued by the greffe, the registry office of the commercial court), the announcements in the BODACC (Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales, the official gazette for company notices), and the address where courts, tax offices and bailiffs write to you. This guide walks through the full sequence from abroad: who decides, which papers to sign, which notices to publish, how to file on the Guichet unique (the single online company-formalities portal operated by the INPI, the Institut national de la propri\u00e9t\u00e9 industrielle), and what to update the day after. If you are still at the creation stage, our companion walkthrough of setting up a company in France as a foreign founder, from bank account to Kbis, VAT and first hire<\/a> covers the starting blocks this article builds on.<\/p>\n The si\u00e8ge social is part of the articles of association. Article L210-2 of the Commercial Code states that “La forme, la dur\u00e9e qui ne peut exc\u00e9der quatre-vingt-dix-neuf ans, la d\u00e9nomination sociale, le si\u00e8ge social, l’objet social et le montant du capital social sont d\u00e9termin\u00e9s par les statuts de la soci\u00e9t\u00e9.” (Article L210-2, Commercial Code<\/a>), meaning that the form, the duration capped at ninety-nine years, the company name, the registered office, the corporate purpose and the share capital amount are all fixed by the articles.) The Civil Code says the same for companies in general: the articles “d\u00e9terminent, outre les apports de chaque associ\u00e9, la forme, l’objet, l’appellation, le si\u00e8ge social, le capital social, la dur\u00e9e de la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 et les modalit\u00e9s de son fonctionnement.” (Article 1835, Civil Code<\/a>), meaning that the articles fix, alongside each shareholder’s contributions, the form, purpose, name, registered office, capital, duration and operating terms of the company.) Moving the si\u00e8ge therefore means amending the articles, and the amendment must be decided by whoever your articles designate. In practice the rules differ sharply between the two vehicles foreign founders use most, the SAS (soci\u00e9t\u00e9 par actions simplifi\u00e9e, the flexible joint-stock company) and the SARL (soci\u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e0 responsabilit\u00e9 limit\u00e9e, the quota-based limited company).<\/p>\n In a SAS, contractual latitude governs. The law lets the articles allocate decisions as the founders wish, within the framework recalled by Article L227-1 of the Commercial Code<\/a>, and the official company-creation guidance confirms there is no statutory decision-maker imposed for a si\u00e8ge transfer: the quorum, the majority and the competent body are set by the articles when the company is formed, and that body may be the president, the shareholders in general meeting, or any other organ created by the articles such as a board. Read your articles first. Many SAS articles give the president alone the power to move the si\u00e8ge within the same d\u00e9partement, with later ratification by the shareholders; others require a collective decision in every case. Where the articles say nothing at all, the administration’s guidance is blunt: the decision must be taken unanimously by the shareholders. From abroad, that unanimity rule is the trap most often sprung on single-director SAS companies whose articles were copied from a template and never tailored: one missing signature and the whole filing chain behind it wobbles. The decision must be written up in minutes (proc\u00e8s-verbal), dated and signed, because the registry will ask for a copy of the very deed that decided the transfer.<\/p>\n In a SARL the statute speaks directly. Article L223-30 of the Commercial Code<\/a> provides that “le d\u00e9placement du si\u00e8ge social est d\u00e9cid\u00e9 par un ou plusieurs associ\u00e9s repr\u00e9sentant plus de la moiti\u00e9 des parts sociales.” (meaning that moving the registered office is decided by one or more shareholders holding more than half of the shares.) Every other amendment to the articles needs shareholders holding at least three quarters of the shares, so the si\u00e8ge transfer is deliberately easier than most statutory changes. The same article reserves a shortcut worth knowing: the manager (g\u00e9rant) may move the si\u00e8ge within the same d\u00e9partement on his own authority, subject to ratification by shareholders holding more than half of the shares. For a foreign owner who is also the g\u00e9rant, that shortcut avoids convening a full meeting for a move across the street in Lyon or from La D\u00e9fense to Boulogne-Billancourt, but the ratification must actually happen and be minuted, otherwise the transfer stays exposed to challenge by a co-shareholder or a creditor.<\/p>\n Signing from abroad is ordinary administration, not an obstacle, provided the chain of authority is clean. Minutes can be signed electronically, resolutions can be adopted by written procedure or videoconference where the articles allow it, and a shareholder living outside France votes exactly like one living in Paris. Two practical points deserve attention. First, the updated articles must be dated and complete: the registry expects a full copy of the amended articles showing the new si\u00e8ge address, not a one-page amendment note. Second, if the move changes anything about the beneficial owners (in French, b\u00e9n\u00e9ficiaires effectifs, the individuals who ultimately own or control the company), for example because the manager’s home address registered in the DBE (d\u00e9claration des b\u00e9n\u00e9ficiaires effectifs, the beneficial-owner filing) changes when the si\u00e8ge moves into the manager’s home, the DBE must be updated at the same time. The Guichet unique now asks the question systematically during the filing, and the administration warns that persistent failure can lead to heavy sanctions, up to removal of the company from the register. Check the box honestly, and file the corrected DBE where the situation really changed.<\/p>\n Before spending a euro on announcements, verify three things from your desk abroad: the exact decision rule in your articles and the body it designates, the list of signatures the minutes will need, and whether any shareholder agreement (pacte d’associ\u00e9s) adds consent requirements the articles do not show. Shareholder agreements sometimes require a co-shareholder’s prior consent for a cross-district move, and a registry clerk will never check that agreement for you. A transfer decided in breach of the articles or of a binding consent clause is not cured by publishing it beautifully; it remains attackable, and every later step inherits the defect.<\/p>\n Once the minutes exist and the articles are updated, French law imposes a three-stage sequence with a one-month clock: amend, publish, declare. The order matters and the deadlines run from the decision date, not from when you happen to land in France.<\/p>\n Publication comes first. The transfer recorded in the minutes must be published in a SHAL (support d’annonces l\u00e9gales, an authorised legal-notice publication, formerly JAL), for the area of the si\u00e8ge, within one month of the decision, as described in the official procedure sheet Changer le si\u00e8ge social d’une soci\u00e9t\u00e9<\/a>. Where the company stays within the jurisdiction of the same court registry, a single notice suffices. Where it moves to the district of a different tribunal, two notices are required: one in a legal-notice publication covering the old si\u00e8ge area and one covering the new si\u00e8ge area. Each notice must carry mandatory particulars: the transfer itself with old and new addresses, the company name with any acronym, the legal form, the share capital amount, the si\u00e8ge address, the unique company identification number (SIREN, Syst\u00e8me d’identification du r\u00e9pertoire des entreprises), the RCS (Registre du commerce et des soci\u00e9t\u00e9s, the Trade and Companies Register) reference with the city of the registering greffe, plus the identity of the persons with general authority to bind the company. For a cross-district move the notices must also name the RCS where the company will be registered after the transfer. Order the wording check before paying: a notice missing the capital amount or the RCS reference is the most common reason registries bounce an otherwise complete file.<\/p>\n Declaration comes second, on the Guichet unique des formalit\u00e9s des entreprises. Article R123-1 of the Commercial Code<\/a> frames the portal’s role: “L’organisme unique mentionn\u00e9 \u00e0 l’article L. 123-33 permet aux entreprises de r\u00e9aliser l’ensemble des formalit\u00e9s et proc\u00e9dures n\u00e9cessaires \u00e0 l’acc\u00e8s et \u00e0 l’exercice de leur activit\u00e9.” (meaning that the single portal allows businesses to complete all the formalities and procedures needed to access and carry on their activity.) The INPI’s guide to changing company details<\/a> walks through the online steps, and the transfer must be declared within one month. The supporting documents are fixed: a copy of the deed that decided the transfer, a dated copy of the updated articles, proof of occupation of the new premises (title deed, lease, utility bill, domiciliation contract), and the certificate of publication of the legal notice. For a cross-district move, add the signed list of the company’s successive si\u00e8ges since registration, drawn up by the legal representative. The proof of occupation deserves emphasis because foreign owners underestimate it. Article L123-11 of the Commercial Code<\/a> requires that “Toute personne morale demandant son immatriculation au registre du commerce et des soci\u00e9t\u00e9s doit justifier de la jouissance du ou des locaux o\u00f9 elle installe, seule ou avec d’autres, le si\u00e8ge de l’entreprise, ou, lorsque celui-ci est situ\u00e9 \u00e0 l’\u00e9tranger, l’agence, la succursale ou la repr\u00e9sentation \u00e9tablie sur le territoire fran\u00e7ais.” (meaning that any registering company must prove it occupies the premises of its seat or, where the seat is abroad, of its French agency, branch or representative office.) A vague attestation from a friend, a mailbox without a real occupation right, or an expired domiciliation agreement fails this test, and the greffier (the registrar) is entitled to say so: Article L210-7 of the Commercial Code<\/a> entrusts the registrar with verifying the regularity of the company’s constitution and filings before registration. Modest filing fees apply to modifying entries under Article L123-54 of the Commercial Code<\/a>, which sets the schedule of registry duties for additional and amending entries.<\/p>\n The back-office sequence after filing is automatic but slow enough to plan around. The old greffe transmits where needed, the new greffe registers, a fresh Kbis is issued showing the new address, and the BODACC publishes the transfer notice so third parties can find it. The SIREN number stays the same for the life of the company, while the SIRET (the establishment-level identifier) changes because the establishment moved. Allow two to four weeks in practice between the Guichet unique submission and the updated Kbis, longer in August and January, and do not sign major contracts showing the new address until the Kbis confirms it. The one-month filing duty itself is not a suggestion. The Grenoble commercial chamber recently restated it word for word: “Aux termes de l’article R.123-66 du code de commerce, toute personne morale immatricul\u00e9e demande, par l’interm\u00e9diaire de l’organisme unique mentionn\u00e9 \u00e0 l’article R. 123-1, une inscription modificative dans le mois de tout fait ou acte rendant n\u00e9cessaire la rectification ou le compl\u00e9ment des \u00e9nonciations pr\u00e9vues aux articles R. 123-53 et suivants.” (Grenoble Court of Appeal, commercial chamber, 27 November 2025, no. 25\/01792, full decision<\/a>.) The Legifrance text of Article R123-66 of the Commercial Code<\/a> is the anchor to keep beside the file until the new Kbis arrives.<\/p>\n Publication is what makes the move enforceable against third parties. Article L210-9 of the Commercial Code<\/a> governs opposability of published appointments and departures, and the same logic runs through the RCS system: what is not published cannot be held against a third party who was entitled to rely on the register. Concretely, a creditor who sues at the old published address before the transfer is registered, a bailiff who serves there, or a tax office that writes there is acting regularly. Recent case law confirms the symmetry from the company’s side: the Court of Cassation holds that “Pour l’application de ces textes, une soci\u00e9t\u00e9, tant qu’elle n’a pas fait choix d’un nouveau si\u00e8ge social, est r\u00e9put\u00e9e conserver son si\u00e8ge social au lieu fix\u00e9 par les statuts et publi\u00e9 au registre du commerce, sous r\u00e9serve de la preuve de son caract\u00e8re fictif ou frauduleux.” (Court of Cassation, 2nd civil chamber, 12 June 2025, no. 22-24.111, full decision<\/a>.) Until the new si\u00e8ge is chosen and published, the old one remains your legal domicile in the eyes of the courts, and only proof of a fictitious or fraudulent si\u00e8ge displaces that presumption. File early, publish completely, and keep the receipts.<\/p>\nA. Who decides the transfer in a SAS and in a SARL, and how do you sign the paperwork from abroad<\/h3>\n
B. Which publications and filings make the move official within one month<\/h3>\n