Business · French law
Dormant French companies: duties during inactivity
Dormancy pauses a French company’s activity without dissolving it. Registration, continuing accounting and social obligations, and contracts do not automatically disappear. The company framework differs from the sole-trader regime and has a two-year horizon. Insolvency requires a different procedural assessment. Temporary inactivity is therefore not a universal solution to financial distress or a promise of zero continuing costs.
Informational guide. An independent qualified legal review has not been completed.
What you leave withA timeline of continuing obligations and contracts during inactivity.
Start with the practical sectionJulie by AlphaDeep
Does the sole-trader one-year rule apply to a company?
No. This guide concerns a company with a two-year reference. A sole trader’s temporary cessation needs its own regime.
Read the referencesConsidering company dormancy? We can organise the formalities and obligations that continue during inactivity.
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Is the company pausing or ending permanently?
Company dormancy pauses activity without dissolution. Registration and obligations continue; it is neither definitive closure nor debt cancellation.
Identify the legal person and proposed pause, return or other outcome. A sole trader’s temporary cessation has a different framework despite similar everyday wording.
| Project | What changes | What not to assume |
|---|---|---|
| Company dormancy | Activity temporarily stops | The legal person disappears |
| Resumption | Return with the appropriate formality | One invoice records resumption |
| Definitive cessation | Different decision and procedure | Dormancy alone closes the company |
References : Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
Who decides and which filing should be prepared?
Read decision-making and powers against the company form and constitutional documents. A legal-person modifying registration is requested within one month of the relevant event under the register framework.
Prepare the decision, temporary-cessation date and filing details. No sales does not prove that dormancy was registered.
References : Code de commerce · R123-66 · Code de commerce · R123-69 · Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
What does the two-year horizon mean?
The company guide uses a two-year maximum. The registry may pursue ex-officio removal after two years from the cessation entry without registered resumption.
Do not confuse that reference with the one-year period in certain sole-trader frameworks. It does not mean automatic judicial liquidation at the second anniversary.
References : Code de commerce · R123-130 · Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
Which accounting duties continue?
Annual accounts, approval and filing remain matters to address during dormancy. Commercial inactivity does not remove every accounting duty.
Certain qualifying micro legal persons without employees have prescribed simplifications. Check their conditions rather than copying a general sole-trader exemption.
References : Code de commerce · L123-28-2 · Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
Which contracts and social charges still need review?
Leases, subscriptions, employment contracts and other commitments do not disappear when activity stops. Read their terms and relevant rules separately.
Examine the director’s social status and contributions too: the guide distinguishes self-employed and employee-equivalent positions. Zero turnover alone does not decide every continuing duty.
References : Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
What happens to three monthly contracts when activity pauses?
The three fictional monthly charges of €120, €80 and €50 total €250 a month and €3,000 over twelve months. That is an inventory of stated contracts, not new debt created by dormancy.
Read termination, suspension and expiry terms. Do not include assumed savings before supporting contractual terms or a decision establishes them.
Fictional example: three contracts still state €120,€80 and €50 monthly during inactivity. The raw total is €250 monthly or €3,000 over twelve months. Their terms and continuing duties must be reviewed; dormancy does not erase them.
References : Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
How can restart or another outcome be organised?
Resumption or another outcome requires checking formalities and register status. Connect the calendar with the company’s decision, not simply the next order date.
After ex-officio removal, the framework provides conditional regularisation and reversal routes. This guide promises no formality-free reactivation.
References : Code de commerce · R123-130 · Code de commerce · R123-138 · Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
Why does cash distress need a separate check?
Cash difficulties, particularly possible cessation of payments, need separate examination. Dormancy is not a way around appropriate proceedings or creditor rights.
Prepare known commitments, assets and maturities for professional discussion. A commercial-pause file does not replace solvency analysis.
References : Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
What else should you check?
Does the sole-trader one-year rule apply to a company?
No. This guide concerns a company with a two-year reference. A sole trader’s temporary cessation needs its own regime.
References : Code de commerce · R123-130 · Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
Do employees and a lease disappear when activity stops?
No. Dormancy does not automatically terminate employment contracts or the lease. Continuation, change or ending follow applicable terms and rules.
References : Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
Do annual accounts cease to be required?
No. Annual duties continue within the applicable framework, with conditional simplifications where available. Dormancy is not a general accounting exemption.
References : Code de commerce · L123-28-2 · Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
Does two-year dormancy automatically liquidate the company?
No. Possible registry removal differs from automatic liquidation. Decisions and regularisation routes have their own framework.
References : Code de commerce · R123-130 · Code de commerce · R123-138 · Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
Does dormancy always remove CFE liability?
No. Check tax status, period and conditions. Do not infer CFE exemption solely from dormancy or zero turnover.
References : Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société
Which sources support this page?
Official texts remain in French. The explanations above describe French law. A source check records a reading date; it is not qualified legal review.
- Code de commerce · R123-66Source checked : · Version from 2023-01-01
- Code de commerce · R123-69Source checked : · Version from 2023-06-04
- Code de commerce · R123-130Source checked : · Version from 2012-09-01
- Code de commerce · R123-138Source checked : · Version from 2012-09-01
- Code de commerce · L123-28-2Source checked : · Version from 2015-08-08
- Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une sociétéSource checked :
- Service Public · mise en sommeil d’une société (version anglaise)Source checked :