France corporate onboarding: documents, risks and rules
For a French customer, a legal entity and its establishment can appear under related but different identifiers. Getting that distinction right helps connect the contract, operating address and corporate documents.
By Matthew Lee
For a French customer, a legal entity and its establishment can appear under related but different identifiers. Getting that distinction right helps connect the contract, operating address and corporate documents. The nine-digit SIREN anchors the legal unit; the fourteen-digit SIRET identifies an establishment. Once the entity is clear, the reviewer still needs evidence of current ownership, authority and the activity behind the proposed payments.
Which rules apply
For French professionals within scope, the AML/CFT provisions of the Code monétaire et financier require identification and verification of customers and beneficial owners, an understanding of the relationship and ongoing vigilance. RNE information and applicable RCS documents support company checks. Beneficial owner information has its own eligibility and access conditions; a public company search should not be presented as unrestricted access to the ownership register.
The duties follow the onboarding firm's location, regulatory status and service. An overseas firm applies its own relevant regime to this customer. Ordinary commercial counterparties can also use these records for risk assessment without having the same duties as regulated firms.
For EU members, Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 generally applies from 10 July 2027. It should not be treated as replacing the current national AML framework for a 2026 onboarding decision.
Documents commonly requested
The starting file should reflect the legal form and the proposed relationship. These records answer complementary questions:
| Evidence | What the reviewer looks for |
|---|---|
| RNE information and applicable current Kbis extract | SIREN, legal form, status, registered office and representation |
| Relevant establishment information | The SIRET and its link to the contracting legal unit |
| Current articles and relevant filed acts | Governance, share rights and subsequent corporate changes |
| Ownership records and a dated group chart | Immediate holdings, corporate layers and control arrangements |
| Permitted beneficial owner, identity and mandate evidence | Relevant individuals and authority for the proposed relationship |
| Available accounts and commercial records | Financial period, actual business and funding explanation |
Registry records establish facts within their stated scope. Current ownership records, identity evidence and mandates may need to come from the client or another permitted source. Keeping those origins visible helps explain differences and the extent of independent corroboration.
The risks behind the paperwork
An establishment event is not necessarily a company event. A secondary establishment can move or close while the legal unit continues. If an invoice shows a different SIRET or operating address from the corporate extract, compare the location's relationship to the same SIREN before concluding that the company is inconsistent. The contractual party still needs to be identified separately from the warehouse, shop or office that performs the service.
A director entry does not explain every delegated power. The current representation record helps identify who acts for the company, while articles and relevant acts explain its governance. An employee or group executive may need a specific delegation. Its scope and the grantor's authority should cover the proposed instruction. Keeping this evidence together avoids accepting an applicant merely because they appear in an older act or hold a senior title within the wider group.
Limited accounts disclosure needs interpretation. Available filings depend on the entity and applicable confidentiality or disclosure provisions. Missing public detail does not by itself establish that financial statements were never prepared. The reviewer needs to understand the filing position and request appropriate client-held evidence where turnover, liquidity or funding matters. Ownership evidence also has separate limits: historic formation acts may need current records to account for later transfers or changes in control.
The company's legal form determines the appropriate registration evidence; a Kbis should not be assumed to exist for every French business. For a regulated service, verify the licence holder and activity using the same legal identity. Contracts and invoices then help connect the registered business to its actual customers, counterparties and expected payment pattern.
How the Fill Easy email bot helps
An approved organisational sender can request available registry documents from agent@fill-easy.com, using prose, a table or an attached spreadsheet. Include the company identifier and required documents:
Please retrieve current RNE information, an applicable Kbis extract, relevant corporate acts and available accounts for [company name], SIREN [number], SIRET [number if relevant]. Reference: [case reference]. Please include a summary report and confirm availability, price and expected turnaround.
The agent replies with item statuses, asks for clarification where needed, and returns retrieved PDFs in the same thread. Results carry their source, retrieval time and request ID. An optional summary references the documents. Availability, price and expected turnaround are confirmed at acceptance.
This helps the team collect and reconcile the registry evidence. Client-held records and individual identity evidence still follow the appropriate process, while the reviewer resolves remaining gaps and makes the onboarding decision. See the Mailbox workflow for the email process.