Preliminary section: Business formalities centres

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Article A123-11-1

French Commercial codeIn force

Updated 4 Nov 2023

I.- Electronic transmissions from the single body referred to in Article R. 123-1 to the recipient bodies and competent authorities are carried out, pursuant to Article R. 123-7 and the conditions of form laid down by the provisions in force, using the following procedures:


1° In the case of information, in the form of files in UTF-8 compliant text format;


> In the case of documents, in the form of files in UTF-8 compliant text format 2° In the case of documents, in the form of files in image format that comply with the ISO 19005-1 standard.


II. II - Electronic transmissions from recipient bodies and competent authorities to the single body referred to in Article R. 123-1, pursuant to Article R. 123-7, are in the form of text files and comply with the UTF-8 standard. Information relating to the reasons for rejection decisions is provided in the form of a file in UTF-8 compliant text format indicating one or more reasons for rejection chosen from a list, to which is attached a file in ISO 19005-1 compliant image format corresponding to the letter notifying the rejection decision.


The information relating to the list of additional elements is satisfied by the indication, in the form of a file in text format conforming to the UTF-8 standard:



1° The field which the declarant has filled in incorrectly;


>The supporting document 2° The supporting document sent by the declarant does not comply with the expected requirements;



3° If the cases provided for in 1° and 2° cannot be used, a literal description of the expected additions.

Mariela Petrova

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Common Questions

Working with a corporate lawyer in France — Q&A

Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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