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When you need a French company that can sign a contract this week, a ready-made shelf company — a “société préfabriquée” or pre-registered SARL or SAS — is the fastest legal route into the EU’s third-largest economy. ShelfCompanies24 maintains a live inventory of clean, never-traded French SARL and SAS entities registered in the Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS), with paid-up capital social, an active SIREN/SIRET and a clean DGFiP (tax authority) record. Most transfers complete in 5–10 working days.
France combines Eurozone single-market access, a 25% standard CIT (15% reduced for SMEs on first €42,500), the world’s most extensive double-tax treaty network outside the UK, and an extraordinary research-and-development regime (Crédit d’Impôt Recherche — CIR — 30% on R&D spend up to €100m). Combined with the post-2017 SAS reforms making it the most flexible French corporate form, ready-made French companies suit cross-EU trading, IP-holding and innovation structures.
Single fixed price covers SARL/SAS, RCS filing, registre des bénéficiaires effectifs (RBE), sworn translations and our agency fee.
Société préfabriquée + virtual siège + French banking + expert-comptable bundled.
Most transfers within 5–10 working days. French-speaking case manager.
Sign at any French consulate, via eIDAS qualified electronic signature, or delegate to our Paris attorney via procuration notariée.
We draft the cession de parts/actions, file RCS amendment via Guichet Unique, update RBE.
A French shelf company — société préfabriquée or société prête à reprendre — is a pre-registered, never-traded SARL or SAS formed by a professional service provider purely for transfer. From incorporation to sale, the company has:
| Feature | SARL (Société à Responsabilité Limitée) | SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) | SA (Société Anonyme) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum capital social | €1 | €1 | €37,000 |
| Members | 1–100 associés | 1+ actionnaires | 2+ actionnaires (7+ for listed) |
| Governance | Gérant(s) + assemblée générale | Président + bespoke governance per articles | Conseil d’administration / Directoire + Conseil de surveillance |
| Best fit | SMEs, family businesses, traditional | ~70% of buyers — modern flexible default | Listed groups |
The SAS is the modern French default. Almost everything is configurable in the articles: voting rights, share classes, transfer restrictions, governance, drag-along/tag-along, exit. For sophisticated structures (founder equity, VC rounds, family-business succession) the SAS dominates.
France is the EU’s third-largest economy and second-largest manufacturer. EU institutional and commercial centrality, world-class infrastructure, and access to French-speaking African markets (300m+ francophone consumers) make French shelf companies particularly suitable for cross-border B2B and franco-African corridor business.
French SARL/SAS qualifying as small SMEs (turnover ≤ €10m) pay 15% CIT on the first €42,500 of profit; 25% standard rate above. This is materially competitive for SME shelf-company buyers.
30% tax credit on qualifying R&D expenditure up to €100m (5% above). One of the world’s most generous R&D incentives — particularly attractive for tech, biotech and engineering shelf-company buyers.
Every French ready-made SARL/SAS carries an active SIREN (9-digit company identifier), SIRET (14-digit establishment identifier) and where pre-registered a numéro de TVA intracommunautaire for VIES.
BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, La Banque Postale, BPCE/Caisse d’Épargne, plus fintech options (Qonto — French unicorn — Shine, Anytime) all serve corporate clients.
Live inventory: SARL/SAS entities of various ages registered in Paris (most), Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux or Lille.
Apostilled passport copies, proof of address, business-purpose note. French AML rules under Code monétaire et financier.
SARL parts sociales: the cession de parts requires registration with the SIE (Service des Impôts des Entreprises) within one month and payment of registration tax (3% of price minus a €23,000 abatement). For SAS cession d’actions, the transfer is by simple share-transfer order; registration tax 0.1% on transfers above €25,000 (capped). We draft bilingual French-English deeds.
SARL: outgoing gérant resigns; new gérant appointed by associés’ resolution.
SAS: outgoing président resigns; new président appointed per articles.
Name (dénomination sociale), registered office (siège social), business purpose (objet social) are amended in the same act if required.
Since 2023 all RCS filings flow through the Guichet Unique (single-window portal) at formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr. Processing: typically 5–10 working days. The amendment is published in BODACC (the official commercial bulletin).
Beneficial owners filed in the Registre des Bénéficiaires Effectifs at the RCS within 30 days of the change. Penalties up to €375,000 plus criminal liability for non-compliance.
| Tax | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| IS — Impôt sur les Sociétés (standard) | 25% | Standard rate |
| Reduced IS for SMEs | 15% | First €42,500 of profit; turnover ≤ €10m |
| VAT (TVA) | 20% standard, 10% / 5.5% / 2.1% reduced | Mandatory above thresholds; voluntary below |
| Withholding tax on dividends | 25% | 0% to EU corporate parents under Parent-Subsidiary Directive |
| CIR — Crédit d’Impôt Recherche | 30% | R&D tax credit on qualifying expenditure up to €100m; 5% above |
| CICE successor / CII | 20% | Innovation tax credit for SMEs |
| Patent Box | 10% | Reduced rate on qualifying IP licensing income |
| CFE / CVAE (local business taxes) | Variable | Cotisation Foncière des Entreprises + Cotisation sur la Valeur Ajoutée des Entreprises |
Société préfabriquée or société prête à reprendre. Pre-registered, never-traded SARL or SAS held in reserve.
5–10 working days from KYC to complete RCS amendment via Guichet Unique.
For most modern foreign-investor scenarios, the SAS is the better choice: more flexible governance, easier share transfers (lower stamp duty), bespoke articles, no cap on members. SARL remains popular with French traditional family businesses but is structurally less flexible. For sophisticated investor structures, SAS is overwhelmingly the default.
€1 for both SARL and SAS. Most companies operate with €1,000–€10,000+ for credibility.
No. Sign at any French consulate, via eIDAS qualified electronic signature, or delegate to our Paris attorney via procuration notariée.
25% IS standard; 15% on first €42,500 if SME-eligible (turnover ≤ €10m). TVA 20% standard. 0% withholding to EU corporate parents. CIR 30% on R&D up to €100m.
Typical 2026 prices: fresh SAS from approximately €3,000–€5,000 depending on age and capital. Fresh SARL similar. Contact our French desk.
Want today’s French inventory? Contact our French desk.
France is one of several jurisdictions where ShelfCompanies24 maintains pre-formed entities and active formation services. Why pick France for your SAS specifically? EU’s second-largest economy, SAS flexibility is the headline reason — but it pays to understand the trade-offs against the alternatives. Below are concrete differentiators that matter when you’re pricing a structure decision against the actual operating profile of your business.
Cross-border corporate structuring in 2026 is governed by a tighter web of rules than in any previous decade. Three forces shape every decision:
For France specifically: 25% standard / 15% on first EUR 42,500 for SMEs; CIR R&D credit 30% on first EUR 100M; Guichet Unique replaced CFE since 2023.
Issues we routinely see when prospects come to us after attempting the process directly with local providers in France:
Yes. A name change is filed with the RCS via a directors’ resolution and a routine filing — typically clears in 5 days. We include up to one name change in the standard fee for both shelf-company purchase and new formation. Subsequent changes are billed at cost.
Yes. As a France-tax-resident SAS, your company has automatic access to the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive, the EU Interest and Royalties Directive, and the network of France’s bilateral double-tax treaties (typically 70-90 partner countries). Treaty access is conditional on meeting the principal-purpose test (PPT) under the Multilateral Instrument and the relevant treaty’s anti-abuse provisions.
Client information is held under contractual non-disclosure plus the professional-secrecy obligations applicable to corporate-service providers in our home jurisdiction. We do not share client identity or transaction details with third parties beyond what is statutorily required (KYC reporting, beneficial-owner-register filings, AML/CTF reporting where triggered). Our internal access to client files is logged and access-restricted by need-to-know.
Material tax changes (rate moves, new minimum-tax regimes, treaty amendments) get communicated to active clients with our analysis of impact. Where the change is structural — for example the OECD Pillar Two implementation in France or a domestic tax-base reform — we proactively flag clients whose structures may need restructuring and offer a pricing-defined remedial path. The client is not left to discover material regulatory change from their accountant or from media reports.
No — and you should not engage anyone who claims otherwise. The Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS) records the actual incorporation date, which is publicly searchable and immutable. The shelf SASs we offer have honest incorporation dates ranging from a few months to several years old; for buyers who want a longer corporate trading history, we recommend purchase rather than fabrication, since fabricated history would expose you to fraud, tax-evasion, and money-laundering charges in any reputable jurisdiction.
Engaging us for your French shelf SAS purchase covers the following deliverables under one fixed-fee proposal:
The deliverable scope is identical regardless of whether you are based in the EU, the US, the UK, the Middle East, or APAC — we operate the same fixed-fee model globally for French corporate setup. Optional add-ons (virtual office, accounting retainer, payroll, sector licences, transfer-pricing documentation) are quoted line-item separately so there is no scope creep on the headline incorporation or transfer fee.