The address of the registered office of an SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is often more important than we imagine. Why is that? It's the company's legal domicile, its nationality, and therefore the applicable law in the event of disputes.

It also enables you to quickly find out which courts are competent to deal with any disputes. This address can be found everywhere: on official correspondence, invoices, delivery notes, order forms, online directories, business cards, social networks and so on. It's also the official address where associates meet to take strategic decisions at general meetings.

In other words, it's an important choice for improving the company's image to all its stakeholders, as well as its operational performance. Would you like to change the registered office address of your SAS?

Let's take a step-by-step look at the procedure.

Personal home, business premises or domiciliation company: how to choose the address for your head office?

Every entrepreneur is free to choose his or her registered address from among several alternatives:

  • Choose your personal address: This requires you to publicly disclose your personal address on all your official paper and online documents.
  • Renting commercial premises: Guarantees and deposits are required to sign the rental contract. What's more, paying a monthly rent is often a burden for many small businesses.
  • Using a domiciliation company : This is the best, simplest and cheapest way to benefit from a prestigious address, useful services to lighten your day-to-day life and tax breaks.

Step #1: Formalize the decision to change your registered office address and amend your articles of association

To formalize your wish to change the address of your registered office, please refer to the conditions specified in your company's articles of association.

In most SASs, it is the responsibility of the Chairman or the sole shareholder.

The modification of bylaws is strictly regulated by law. To do so, you need to fill in the CERFA M2 form, dated, signed and certified by the competent person. You then need to replace the old wording with that approved by the competent body and transcribed verbatim in the minutes.

Step #2: Publish a legal notice in an approved newspaper

The next step is to legally publicize your decision. You are required to publish an announcement in a legal gazette mentioning your change of registered office.

If your new head office remains under the jurisdiction of the same commercial court, a single legal announcement in an approved newspaper in your département will suffice.

If your new address is located in a département under the jurisdiction of a different commercial court, you will need to publish two advertisements: the first in a newspaper approved by the former commercial court, the second in the newspaper under the jurisdiction of the new commercial court.

This publication must be made within one month of the date of the deed formalizing the transfer of the registered office.

Step #3: Register the change of registered office with the authorities

The final step is to register the change of registered office with the relevant public authorities. Send your complete file to the appropriate CFE (Centre de Formalités des Entreprises). This must include the following documents:

  • CERFA M2 form, duly completed and signed in 3 copies
  • Updated and certified articles of association
  • If the jurisdiction of your SAS has changed, you'll need a list of the former registered offices, certified as true.
  • Certificate of publication in the legal gazette
  • Proof of occupancy of the new premises

Many SAS managers opt for the services of a domiciliation company to help them with their business.

In fact, they provide administrative and legal assistance to make their daily lives easier.

They also enable you to benefit froma prestigious address, a host of essential day-to-day services, and to tax savings. This solution enables SAS managers to focus on what's most important: growing their business!