A legal notice is a compulsory administrative formality that must be carried out when a company is set up, or when its registered office is transferred. The information that must be included in the legal announcement varies according to the legal form of the company. So it's essential to know your project inside out.
This step takes place after you've signed the previously drafted articles of association, and just before you submit your business start-up file to the Centre de Formalité des Entreprises (CFE). This is the penultimate step before registering your company.
Today, focus on the legal announcement!
First things first: who is required to publish legal notices? Not all legal forms are required to publish legal notices.
Certain structures are therefore required to produce a legal announcement for each event affecting the company.
They include :
- SARL or Limited Liability Company
-
SAS or Simplified Joint Stock Company
- Public limited companies
- SCI or Société Civile Immobilière
Legal announcements must be produced to meet a real need for transparency and security on the part of companies in their dealings with the authorities.
For this reason, the various legal forms mentioned above will have to publish several legal notices throughout their life.
These announcements must be made on different occasions:
- Starting a business
- Dissolution of the structure
- Change of manager
- Transfer of registered office
Once the legal announcement has been made, you will receive two documents that will be useful for the file you need to submit to the CFE: a certificate of publication and a copy of the legal announcement newspaper.
But which newspapers to advertise in?
Not just any newspaper can publish legal content such as a legal announcement.
These include daily newspapers such as Le Parisien and La Dépêche du Midi, as well as national newspapers such as La Croix and weeklies such as Les Echos.
The complete list of newspapers authorized to publish legal notices is updated each year by prefectoral decree.
Journaux d'Annonces Légales or JALs
The eligibility criteria for JAL positions are as follows:
- The need to be a legal, technical or general news magazine
- An obligation to appear at least once a week
- Having a CPPAP joint commission number
- Regular distribution by subscription or direct sale at newsstands and press houses
- At least 6 months' seniority
- Be published in the company's department of reference or have an edition in that department
- Reach a minimum distribution level set by the prefecture.
The choice of a particular newspaper may be anecdotal, or it may be of genuine interest, depending on certain needs. A daily newspaper will enable you to get published quickly if your deadline is near.
On the other hand, if you're not pressed for time, some legal announcement sites can offer a comparison to help you get the best deal.
The only real constraint that must be respected is that of the department.
The JAL you choose must be authorized in the department corresponding to your head office.
The final question to be answered is cost.
- This cost varies according to the JAL chosen.
- The length of the ad can also have an impact on the price.
To give you an idea, the cost of a publication will be around €125 to €225, without taking potential charges into account.
It therefore makes sense to carry out a comparative study of the different rates charged by JALs to avoid overpriced publications.
In conclusion, this formality, which is mandatory for certain legal forms, can be relatively costly.
If it's compulsory when you set up your company, it' s also compulsory when you transfer your registered office.
So, even if it means delaying the launch of your business, it's a good idea to take a little time to carefully determine your company's address.
Written by our expert Quentin Moyon
April 18, 2018
