Are you an international company wishing to start up its commercial activity in France? Then you will no doubt be preparing to hire your first employees in France. Here is an overview of the different steps you will need to follow!

To open an establishment in France or not?

Are you planning to open an office or business premises in France? Or are you starting up your business without a permanent location? This question is important because it will determine the process you will need to follow to create your business. In fact, depending on whether or not you have an establishment in France, the formalities may differ. If you’re not sure whether you have an establishment in France, we recommend applying for a rescript fiscal or tax ruling.

Starting your business in France with an establishment

If you choose to open an establishment in France, you will first need to register your international company in France using the M0 form. This registration will enable you to register your company with the Center for Business Formalities (Centre de formalités des entreprises or CFE), which will then send your details to the various French social organizations: the URSSAF, the tax authorities, INSEE and the clerk’s office of the commercial court (greffe du tribunal de commerce). With the recently introduced guichet unique or one-stop service you can complete your procedures online: it is planned for this new service to gradually replace the M0 form.

Starting your business in France without an establishment

If you prefer to start your business without having a permanent establishment in France, in this case you can use the services of theTitre firmes étrangères (TFE) or Foreign Companies Service. This organization is responsible for collecting and sending all the information required for your declarations to the various French organizations.

Once your employee has been declared to the various social organizations, you will need to complete a series of procedures.

And for your new employees, don’t forget to:
– Draw up your employment contract,
– Complete the mandatory pre-employment declaration (DPAE) before hiring any staff. Good to know: for VSEs, you can use the Titre emploi-service entreprise (Tese) or Company Employment Form to replace the DPAE.
– Take out a compulsory supplementary health , death & disability and pension plan,
– Arrange a medical examination for your new employees,
– Declare their salaries to pay the mandatory contributions.