SAS vs SARL: which company to choose in France
The governance, capital and investor differences that decide between the two.
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Corporate Service Lawyer In france
Recover what a French counterparty owes you — unpaid invoices, sums due under a contract, or damages for its breach. We assess the claim, obtain the enforceable title and carry out the seizures, in English. We tell you first what the debtor is worth, because a judgment against an empty company returns nothing, and the creditor who attaches first ranks ahead of those who follow.
- Distribution model selection memo — exclusive, selective or non-exclusive
- Loi Doubin compliance — Article L330-3 pre-contractual disclosure
- Bespoke distribution agreement — drafted, not templated
- Territory, pricing & reporting framework
- Rupture brutale protection clauses — Article L442-1, II
- Bilingual delivery (English / French)
Petroff Avocats· 182 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris · RCS Paris 814433470 · Toque #C2396
Who This Is For
When you need to set up an SAS in France
You are a founder, a group, or an established business that wants a French company — a subsidiary, a holding company, or a start-up — and you want it set up correctly the first time. You would rather not have to learn the registry's procedures or read the Commercial Code yourself. This service is for you if you have decided the SAS is probably the right form and you want it incorporated cleanly and remotely, from a short list of documents.
It suits a foreign parent opening its first French company, co-founders who need bylaws that match how they will really share control, and anyone told to “just use a template” who suspects the wrong wording now will cost them later. The SAS is set out in Article L 227-1 and following of the Commercial Code. Its defining feature is freedom: within a few mandatory rules, you decide the governance, the powers of the président (the company's legal representative), and how shares can be held and sold. All of this goes into the bylaws.
That freedom is also the risk. Good bylaws protect you when a shareholder leaves or an investor arrives; careless ones leave those moments to chance. We first confirm the SAS fits your plan, then draft the rules around how you intend to run the company — and, one day, to leave it.
The Deliverable
What our SAS incorporation service includes
There is no ready-made incorporation that fits every founder. An SAS is built around its bylaws, so the real work is drafting them well and filing the company correctly. We handle the whole procedure and advise on the choices that will matter for years.
We draft your bylaws — the statuts, the company's rulebook — tailored to your governance: what the président may do, how shares can be sold and to whom, and which decisions need a larger majority. We guide the deposit of the share capital into a blocked bank account and obtain the certificate that proves it. We draft and place the incorporation notice in an approved legal-notices journal. And we file the complete registration with the guichet unique — the single online window that registers French companies — including the declaration of who ultimately owns the company.
When the company is registered you receive the Kbis, its official proof of existence, with a short and plain note on your first tasks: opening the bank account and releasing the capital, registering for tax and VAT, and the routine filings that follow. There is no minimum share capital for an SAS, and it can have one shareholder (a SASU) or several, so we help you set a sensible capital figure and split it between shareholders. Where it applies, we tell you whether you will need a statutory auditor — most new companies do not, unless they pass certain size limits. The aim is a company that is not merely registered, but properly set up for how you plan to use it.
Handled Step By Step
How We Set Up Your SAS
Scoping call
We go through your shareholders, the activity, the share capital and the governance you want, and confirm the SAS is the right form for your plan.
Drafting your bylaws
We draft the bylaws (statuts), shaped to your governance — the powers of the président, and how shares may be held and sold.
Depositing the share capital
The share capital goes into a blocked bank account, and we obtain the certificate that proves it — ready for the registration file.
Publishing the legal notice
We publish the incorporation notice in an approved legal-notices journal (journal d’annonces légales). This step is required before the company can be registered.
Filing with the guichet unique
We file the complete registration with the guichet unique — the single online window — so the company is entered in the trade register, including who ultimately owns it.
Delivery of your Kbis
You receive the Kbis, your company’s proof of existence, with a clear note on your first tasks as a new SAS.
Handled Step By Step
What we need to incorporate your SAS
A short, defined list — most of it you already have. We tell you exactly what is missing and handle the rest.
Identity of shareholders and président
A passport or ID for each individual, the registration extract for any company shareholder, and proof of address.A registered office in France
The registered office (siège social) — your own premises, a domiciliation contract, or a service we can arrange. You will need proof that the company may use the address.Share capital and shareholding split
The amount of capital and how it splits between shareholders. You set both freely; there is no legal minimum.Your business purpose
A description of what the company will do (its objet social), which we turn into the wording used in the bylaws.
Transparent, Fixed Fee
What Setting Up an SAS Costs
One flat fee for the legal work, so you know the cost before you begin. Outside costs — the legal notice and the registry charges — are billed separately, at what they actually cost.
Included In The Fee
From€1200
excl. taxes — confirmed after scoping
- Tailored bylaws (statuts) drafted for your SAS
- Guidance on the capital deposit and depositary certificate
- Drafting and placement of the legal notice
- Full registration file filed with the guichet unique (INPI)
- Beneficial-owner declaration to the register
- Delivery of your Kbis and a first-steps note
Billed Separately, At Cost
Billed Separately, At Cost
- Legal-notice publication fee (journal d’annonces légales)
- Sworn translations, where documents are not in French
- Registry / RCS filing charges
Optional add-ons — a shareholders’ agreement, tax-registration guidance, or an ongoing corporate secretary — are quoted on request.
Why Choose Us
Why Incorporate Your SAS With french-business-law.com?
A lawyer, not a formation platform
An SAS is only as good as its bylaws. A formation website fills in a template; a lawyer writes a rulebook that fits how you actually plan to run the company and, one day, sell or reorganise it. The decisions made now — what the président can do, who may buy shares, which votes need a larger majority — are the ones that matter when a shareholder leaves or an investor arrives.
You work directly with Mariela Petrova, a lawyer registered with the Paris Bar, in English, French or Russian. The whole process can be done remotely, from a short list of documents; you do not need to be in France. Because the bylaws are written for you rather than copied from a template, they can be explained and defended if a shareholder ever challenges them.
Lawyer registered with the Paris Bar
Understanding
Understanding Your SAS In France
Accountability
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Accountability
What is Lorem Ipsum?
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Accountability
What is Lorem Ipsum?
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Accountability
What is Lorem Ipsum?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse.
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Accountability
What is Lorem Ipsum?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse.
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Accountability
What is Lorem Ipsum?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse.
Accountability
What is Lorem Ipsum?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse.
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Accountability
What is Lorem Ipsum?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse.
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Accountability
What is Lorem Ipsum?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse.
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Your French Registered Lawyer
Mariela Petrova
Lawyer registered with the Bar of Paris
Toque #C2396
15+ Years In Corporate Practice
English · French
Mariela incorporates SAS and SASU companies and drafts the bylaws and shareholder arrangements that hold up when the company grows — for clients across the US, UK and Australia.
Practice Areas
How we help
- Incorporating SAS, SASU and SARL companies
- Bylaws and shareholders’ agreements
- Appointing the président / directeur général
- Share capital changes and transfers
- Registered-office changes and housekeeping
- Commercial and contract law in France
Remember
Key takeaways
- The SAS is set out in Article L 227-1 and following of the Commercial Code, and it is built around its bylaws.
- There is no minimum share capital. An SAS can have one shareholder (a SASU) or several.
- The only required officer is the président. It can be a person or a company, resident in France or not.
- The company is registered through the guichet unique — the single online window — and you receive the Kbis at the end.
- The bylaws’ flexibility is both the advantage and the risk: the governance and share-transfer clauses must be drafted with care.
- A statutory auditor is needed only above certain size limits. Most new companies do not need one.
Common Questions
Recovering a debt in France — Q&A
Most commercial debts must be pursued within five years under Article L 110-4 of the Commercial Code. Certain sectors are far shorter — carriage of goods runs to one year — and debts owed by consumers are subject to a two-year period. A formal demand does not, as a rule, stop the clock.
Above ten thousand euros, yes, before both the commercial court and the judicial court. Below it a creditor may act in person. No lawyer is required to present a request for an order to pay, whatever the amount claimed, though the choice of procedure usually repays advice.
Where the debt is undisputed and documented, an order to pay is granted on the papers without a hearing. Where speed matters and no serious defence exists, a provisional order is generally obtained in about a month. Contested claims follow ordinary proceedings.
Often, and sometimes faster. A jurisdiction clause governs proceedings on the merits, but the order-to-pay procedure follows the debtor's residence and disregards such clauses. Enforcement against French assets happens in France whatever forum gave judgment.
Yes, with authorisation, where recovery appears at risk. The protective seizure must be executed within three months of the authorising order, and proceedings to obtain a title must be commenced within one month of execution, failing which it lapses.
Individual enforcement stops and your claim must be declared within the statutory deadlines, failing which it is unenforceable in the procedure. Where you sold under retention of title, the goods may be reclaimed rather than merely claimed for.
No. Judgments circulate within the Union without exequatur, and an existing judgment can be certified as a European Enforcement Order. What defeats such claims in practice is defective service or translation, not the merits.
Mariela Petrova
Avocate au Barreau de Paris
Toque #C2396
15+ Years In French commercial & distribution Practice
English · French
Ready When You Are
Talk To A DEBT RECOVERY Lawyer In France.
A 20–30 minute call, in English, to scope your matter. No obligation, no preliminary fee. You will leave the call with a clear view of what the work will cover and what it will cost.
Where We Come In
Help With Your SAS
SAS Formation & Registration
Statuts, capital deposit, RNE registration and Kbis — handled end to end, without you setting foot in France.
SAS Statuts & Shareholder Agreement
Governance, transfer restrictions and exit terms drafted before you sign, not after the first disagreement.
Converting a SARL into an SAS
Shareholder approval, statuts rewrite, and the tax and social security consequences of the switch.
SAS Formation & Registration
Statuts, capital deposit, RNE registration and Kbis — handled end to end, without you setting foot in France.
Legal Support
Legal guidance for international clients creating companies in France
French-Business-Law.com is designed for clients who need French legal support in a clear, international and business-focused format. We help you understand the legal issue, prepare the right documents and move forward with practical next steps.
Mariela
Petrova
French Company Formation Lawyer, Paris, France
Mathieu
Cochet
French Lawyer — Barreau de Grasse, France
Nevena
Mehandzhiyska
French Notaire — Toulouse, France
Tony
Bazin
French Lawyer — Barreau de Angers, France
Other Matters We Handle
Beyond The SAS
French SARL Incorporation Lawyer
Fixed statutory governance, gérant appointment and the TNS social regime — the SARL route, and when it beats the SAS.
French SASU Incorporation Lawyer
The single-shareholder SAS: same flexibility, lighter formalities, and the obligations that still apply.
French SCI Incorporation Lawyer
The civil property vehicle for holding French real estate — statuts, gérance, and the tax election that decides everything.
French Subsidiary & Branch Lawyer
Filiale or succursale for a foreign group — corporate authority, signatory powers, and what each one exposes the parent to.
Your SAS Articles, Checked Before You File
A French registered lawyer reviews your articles and replies in plain English within 48 hours.
Understand The Law First