What formalities must you follow to hire in France?

Do you intend to open an office or commercial premises in France, or to start your activity without a fixed place of business? This question is decisive: depending on whether or not you have an establishment in France, the formalities differ. If you are not certain that you hold a permanent establishment in the tax sense, we recommend requesting a tax ruling (rescrit fiscal) from the authorities.

If you open an establishment (subsidiary, branch), you must first register your company. Since 1 January 2023, this formality is completed online on the One-Stop Shop for business formalities, managed by INPI. It has replaced the former paper M0 form and the Business Formalities Centres (CFE), which are now abolished.

The information is then automatically transmitted to the various bodies: URSSAF, the tax services, INSEE and the commercial court registry. You obtain your SIREN/SIRET number and your Kbis extract. For the details of this process, see our dedicated article: Registering your foreign company via the One-Stop Shop.

If you employ staff in France without holding an establishment there, your point of contact is the Urssaf Foreign Firms service (based in Alsace, formerly the CNFE). To simplify your declarations, you can join the Foreign Firms Scheme (TFE) free of charge, reserved for companies with fewer than 20 employees and no establishment in France.

Once your company is registered, each recruitment involves a series of steps that should not be overlooked:

• Drawing up a suitable employment contract (permanent, fixed-term and so on) that complies with your collective bargaining agreement.
• Completing the pre-hire declaration (DPAE), mandatory before the employee starts, with URSSAF.
• Arranging the new employee’s information and prevention medical visit with the occupational health service.
• Taking out the compulsory benefits: group health insurance, death and disability cover (compulsory for managerial staff) and, where applicable, a supplementary pension.
• Declaring salaries and paying social contributions via the DSN (Nominative Social Declaration).

Good to know: for VSEs with fewer than 20 employees, the Business Employment Service Voucher (Tese) from Urssaf makes it possible to combine, in a single step, the DPAE, the social component serving as a simplified contract, the payslips and the monthly DSN. New feature: since 1 January 2026, it is possible to use the Tese for only some of your employees, while entrusting the others to a third-party declarant (for example a chartered accountant).

Beyond the declaration procedures, an employer in France has specific obligations regarding its employees’ social protection. Group health insurance has been compulsory since 2016, death and disability cover is compulsory for managerial staff, and other benefits may be required depending on your collective bargaining agreement.

• What is the first formality for hiring in France?
  Before any recruitment, the company must be registered: via INPI’s One-Stop Shop if it has an establishment in France, or via the Urssaf Foreign Firms service if it does not.

• Is the DPAE mandatory?
  Yes. The pre-hire declaration must be completed with URSSAF before the employee starts.

• What is the Tese and who can use it?
  The Business Employment Service Voucher is a free Urssaf service for companies with fewer than 20 employees. It combines the DPAE, the simplified contract, payroll and the DSN. Since 2026, it can concern only some of the employees.

• What insurance must the employer take out?
  Group health insurance (compulsory since 2016), death and disability cover (compulsory for managerial staff) and, depending on the collective bargaining agreement, other benefits.

• Can a foreign company without an establishment hire in France?
  Yes, by registering with the Urssaf Foreign Firms service and, if it has fewer than 20 employees, by joining the TFE.