Preliminary section: Business formalities centres

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Article A123-3

French Commercial codeIn force
Ask for lawyer reviewed or certified translation

Updated 4 Nov 2023

I.-The qualified electronic signature certificate referred to in Article R. 123-5 falls at least, pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/ EC, into one of the following categories:

1° A qualified certificate issued by a qualified trust service provider meeting the requirements of the said regulation;

2° A certificate issued by a certification authority, French or foreign, which meets the equivalent requirements in Annex I of the said regulation.

II.-The signature formats are XAdES, CAdES or PAdES as referred to in Articles 1 and 2 of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) No 2015/1506 of 8 September 2015 laying down specifications for the formats of advanced electronic signatures and advanced electronic stamps to be recognised by the public sector bodies referred to in Article 27, (5) and Article 37(5) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/ EC.

The signatory uses the electronic signature creation device of their choice.

III.-The validity of the signature verification procedure is established by a functional check that covers at least the following points:

1° The identity of the signatory;

2° Whether the signatory's certificate belongs to one of the categories of certificates mentioned in I;

3° Whether the signature format mentioned in II is complied with;

4° Whether the certificate has not expired or been revoked at the date of signing;

5° The integrity of the signed document.

These verifications may be carried out automatically, with the exception of verification of the identity of the signatory.

The system used to validate the electronic signature provides the result of the validation process and enables any problems relating to security to be detected.

The instructions for checking the validity of the electronic signature are made available free of charge when the signed document is submitted.

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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