Administrative procedures must be carried out at each stage of a company's life. These are normally carried out via various organizations such as the CFE (business formalities centers) and the registry of the commercial courts. However, this will no longer be the case from the start of 2023. All legal and economic formalities for companies will be carried out online via the single window from this date. This applies to all companies, regardless of their sector of activity or legal form.
The single window is actually a secure internet portal launched in January 2022 by the French government to facilitate administrative procedures for French people. It was established as part of Law No. 2019-486 of May 22, 2019 relating to the growth and transformation of companies (PACTE Law). This law provides for the establishment of a single digital body that will replace the 6 CFE networks through which companies usually carry out their procedures.
The single window will meet two main objectives. The first is to group all the administrative procedures of companies in one place. The second objective is the digitization of all paper procedures. The INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property) is the operator designated by the government to manage this new platform.
With the creation of the single window, the 3 million formalities that are carried out each year in France will now be completed exclusively online on this new portal. It is possible to use the single window for company creation declarations. Before that, you must complete all the procedures essential to creating a company. These are:
- drafting the articles of association,
- the choice of legal structure,
- the deposit of capital contributions,
- domiciliation and the publication of an incorporation notice in a JAL (Journal d'Annonces Légales - legal announcement journal).
If you want to register your company's official address in France, you can count on us. We offer customized support and tell you everything you need to know about tax domiciliation and taxes to successfully set up your business. Any changes and updates must also be declared on the single online portal.
Companies wishing to declare a change (change of company director, modification of articles of association, change of registered office, etc.) must also go through the single window. The latter is also indicated for filing your company's annual accounts or a declaration of cessation of activity.
The single window created to centralize all administrative procedures for businesses has several advantages. The establishment of a single site simplifies the procedure, which is quite complex and time-consuming for companies. In fact, 70% of business formalities are done in paper format. This represents a total of 35 tons of paper per year. With the creation of the single window, an online form is made available to companies.
This form allows you to complete all the main procedures and is tailored to the applicant's situation (nature of the company and type of formalities to be completed). It provides information on the supporting documents to be provided in digital form. This means you no longer have to sort through the 56 Cerfa forms or first identify the organization that will process your application. Similarly, you will no longer have to travel to a CFE to submit your application. This secure portal also allows you to easily track and manage created procedures from the dashboards.
The single site enables you to provide the additional documents requested by the competent authorities (chambers of trades and crafts, Insee, registry, social and tax services, etc.). Thanks to the one-stop shop, you also have visibility on the progress of the application with the various social organisations.
Written by our expert Editorial staff
December 22, 2022
