Domiciliation of the registered office: what does the law say?

Would you like to become an entrepreneur? Whatever legal form you wish to adopt, there is one common step you must take: registering your head office.

The registered office is obtained when you choose the address for your company's registered office. A company's registered office is its "legal domicile". It is this domicile that will determine the nationality of the company , and therefore the law to which it will be subject.

But the registered office also refers to the company's administrative address. This address is used on various official documents such as letters, invoices and the Kbis certificate.

It has a dual legal and practical interest. The head office is of strategic interest, representing your company's showcase: it must therefore be chosen with care.

But where should you domicile your head office, and what does the law say on the subject? Here's how!

Where can you legally domicile your business?

While registering your company is a compulsory step, the choice of the type of registration is left to the entrepreneur.

This can be the place where the business is based, or a completely different address, depending on the company's needs. Your company can be domiciled at any of the following locations:

• At the domicile of the company's legal representative
• In a business incubator
• In commercial premises
• Via a domiciliation company

But in order to choose the best type of domiciliation for your company, it is necessary to take into account the specific rules that characterize them.

What are the special rules to bear in mind? 

Each type of domiciliation must comply with a certain number of rules:

• Domiciliation at home : the most economical option is often to domicile your company at your own home. Law no. 2005882 of August 2, 2005 provides this option for sole traders. This option requires few administrative formalities. However, the entrepreneur must ensure that he has the right to domicile his company in his own home. You need to be certain that there areno legal or contractual provisions preventing you from domiciling your company. Even if this is the case, it is generally sufficient to inform the lessor or the co-ownership association, which means that you can domicile your company at home for a maximum of 5 years. This is simpler for sole traders, who can domicile their business more easily.
• In a business incubator: this can be an interesting choice for a young company with the ambition to grow rapidly. Indeed, this option enables the structure to be supported by specialists, but also to share the same working environment as other entrepreneurs, thus promoting the sharing of experience or complementary skills.
• In commercial premises : Entrepreneurs can also decide to domicile their business in commercial premises specifically dedicated to their activity. This solution obviously enables a better separation of private and professional life. It is, however, a more costly solution.
• Via a domiciliation company: this last solution has a number of significant advantages. Firstly, it offers the possibility of giving your company a more serious and ambitious image by choosing a head office address from a range of addresses. In this sense, the domiciliation address will be a "real shop window". It's also an effective way of separating your personal and professional lives, without having to pay costs as high as those of a commercial lease. Finally, certain services are also available (mail forwarding, secretarial services, telephone lines, etc.).

What are the prohibitions?

You need to be aware that there are certain prohibitions on domiciling a company, depending on its legal form. Here are just a few of them.

First of all, with regard to domiciling a company at home, it is forbidden for a person to domicile his or her company in a place that does not correspond to his or her main residence. Therefore, domiciliation with a third party must take this into account.

But it's also important to note that since the Dutreil Law of August 1, 2003, sole proprietorships can no longer domicile their structure via a company domiciliation agency. For other legal forms, this is totally legal.

There are a number of prohibitions, so it's a good idea to get all the information you need, depending on the nature of your project.

In conclusion, while domiciliation is a compulsory step for any company, the type of domiciliation can vary greatly from one company to another, depending on a number of factors : budget, nature of the business, management's wishes...

This means that any move to a new address must be preceded by a thorough analysis and definition of your project.