Change of SIREN / SIRET following a head office transfer

In the middle of transferring your head office? Find out more about the administrative consequences.

Transferring your registered office: what does it involve?

In the life of a company, it can happen that you are obliged to transfer your registered office after a few years or even a few months.

For example, if you choose to domicile your company at your principal residence, all you have to do is move and the transfer of your registered office becomes compulsory.

Similarly, if you choose to set up your business in an incubator or co-working space, the growth of your business may lead you to move to larger premises better suited to your needs.

Finally, if you want to expand your market and relocate your business abroad, relocation is also a sine qua non.

Be warned, however, that this transfer involves a number of administrative formalities, notably with the commercial court clerk's office.

So, as the head of your company, within a month of making your decision, you should give public notice of the forthcoming transfer. Your company's articles of association will then need to be amended to reflect the new address.

Please note that decision-making procedures differ depending on the type of company you run. For example, in the case of a SARL, the decision must be taken at a General Meeting, as is the case for a SA. However, in the case of a SAS, no collective decision is expressly required.

PS: to find out more about the differences between SIRET and SIREN, we invite you to read our article on the subject!

Does the SIREN change during a transfer?

In a nutshell, the SIREN is the unique administrative identification number of a legal unit, whether an individual or a legal entity.

This SIREN enables you to find out all the financial and legal information about a company, thanks to the many search platforms available on the Internet. It is listed in INSEE's Sirene database. This number is made up of nine digits, one of which is used to check the validity of the number.

Insofar as the SIREN determines the composition of several numbers relating to administrative formalities, such as the RCS (Registre des commerces et des sociétés) registration number or the intra-Community market operator number(VAT), the SIREN is invariable throughout the life of your company, whatever its geographical location. This avoids an escalation in the number of administrative procedures involved in transferring your registered office.

Does the SIRET change during a transfer?

The SIRET is the unique identification number relating to the geographical location of an establishment where the company's activity is present.

This means that if the company has several establishments, each one will have a different SIRET.

The SIRET itself must be modified when transferring a head office, as it includes an NIC (Numéro Interne au Classification) which characterizes the exact geographical location of the premises where the business is carried out. It must therefore be modified to reflect the new address, and this can be done directly with INSEE.

Don't forget this important step. The SIRET is essential to the management of your company, as it must appear on many documents, such as employee pay slips.

Do I need to issue a new Kbis certificate after changing my address?

Insofar as the Kbis extract represents an identity card for the company, it will need to be amended in the event of a head office transfer that will change the company'sregistered address. To do this, you'll need to provide the RCS with an extract from your Kbis showing your old registered office address, dated within the last three months.

Transferring a registered office involves a number of administrative formalities, so don't forget to change your SIRET and Kbis registration numbers!