Skip to main content

​
Overview

​
Identifiers

Collect two identifiers from each business customer in France and submit them as strings on the application body. Tax ID: Format: FR + 2-char check key (alpha/num) + 9-digit SIREN, e.g. FR12 345678901. Verified via VIES. Issued on Mémento Fiscal on VAT registration. Registration number: 9-digit unique entity number, permanent throughout company life. SIRET = SIREN + 5-digit NIC per establishment; SIREN is the primary KYB identifier.

​
Sector regulators

ACPR · AMF · Banque de France · ARCEP

​
How documents combine

For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.

​
Documents to collect

The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed. Not applicable in France: Governance Records. Skip these areas — no local artifact exists.

​
Collection notes

  • Legal Registration: Kbis issued by Greffe; RNE certificate free via INPI. Both reflect SIREN and current dirigeants. Kbis remains the standard artifact for commercial companies; RNE certificate now legally equivalent for KYB purposes.
  • Constitutive Documents: Notarised for SA; sous seing privé permitted for SAS/SARL. Filed with RNE at incorporation via guichet unique.
  • Tax Registration: Documents TVA intracommunautaire number. Non-VAT entities: use Avis de Situation SIRENE showing SIREN as fallback.
  • Operating Permit: France has no single national general trade permit; declaration via guichet unique (formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr) substitutes for the former CFE process. Some sectors (artisans, professions libérales) require additional qualification proof.
  • Sector-Specific License: ACPR (banking: CRD IV / CRR; PSPs: PSD2); AMF (MiFID II / MiFIR; AIFMD). Significant credit institutions: ECB is competent authority; ACPR acts as NCA.
  • Ownership Records: Bring statuts (all entity types). SA entities also provide registre des mouvements de titres; SARL entities provide registre des associés.
  • Signing Authority: Board/shareholder resolution (PV) required for non-routine acts; notarised POA for external mandataries.
  • Address: Conduit universal policy: lease (no time bound) OR utility bill OR bank statement, with utility/bank dated within 90 days. Same evidence satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
  • Good Standing: No standalone good-standing certificate is issued; a recently dated copy of the listed document evidences current standing. France is a subsumed-by-extract jurisdiction; a dated Extrait Kbis (issued within 90 days) issued by the Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce is the live source of truth for entity status and serves the certificate-of-good-standing function; no separate CoGS document exists

​
Person roles

When you submit a person on the application body, set their role to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.

​
Notes

  • Kbis vs. RNE certificate are not identical in legal standing. The Extrait Kbis remains the primary artifact for commercial entities (RCS-registered); the INPI RNE certificate has no autonomous legal validity for judicial proceedings but is accepted for KYB onboarding. Always collect Kbis for commercial companies (SARL, SAS, SA, SNC).
  • RNE phase-in teething issues (2023). The 2023 migration from multi-track CFE/RCS/SIRENE system to the unified guichet unique caused widespread data-sync delays; some companies received incorrect SIREN/SIRET updates or dual registrations. Verify SIREN status on both data.inpi.fr and annuaire-entreprises.data.gouv.fr for entities incorporated in 2023.
  • SAS president ≠ SARL gérant for signing-authority verification. In a SAS, the statuts may restrict the président’s powers — always check the statuts (not just the Kbis) for any limitations on the scope of authority before accepting a PV or POA.
  • Commissaire aux Comptes threshold. Not all SARL or SAS appoint a statutory auditor; mandatory only above two of: €5M balance sheet, €10M turnover, 50 employees (Art. D821-172, Décret n°2024-152 of 28 Feb 2024, eff. 2024-03-01). Absence of a CAC is normal for smaller entities and is not a KYB gap.