Business · French law
Professional recovery in France: the sole-trader file
French rétablissement professionnel concerns qualifying natural-person debtors in cessation of payments where reorganisation is manifestly impossible. Conditions address activity, employees, assets and earlier procedures, among other matters. Assets below the threshold are not enough. The court assesses the framework and effects, and not every debt is automatically erased. A preparation file should preserve every unresolved condition rather than predict an outcome.
Informational guide. An independent qualified legal review has not been completed.
What you leave withAn evidence inventory and unresolved conditions for professional assessment.
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Is the current asset limit still €5,000?
The verified current reference is realisable assets strictly below €15,000 within the prescribed perimeter. Do not reuse an older €5,000 figure as current.
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Which situation does professional recovery address?
Professional recovery concerns a natural-person debtor within statutory scope, in cessation of payments and with reorganisation manifestly impossible. It is not solvent-company closure.
This procedure without liquidation retains opening conditions and debt-erasure limits. A file enables examination; neither a form nor an asset total alone decides access.
References : Code de commerce · L645-1
Which conditions must be checked together?
Read conditions together, including no employees in the last six months, activity not ceased more than a year ago, realisable assets below the threshold and no pending employment-tribunal proceedings.
Prior procedures and the debtor’s actual position also matter. The consulted English guide has problematic cessation wording; the verified French provisions govern this page.
| Check | Framework reference | Useful evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Realisable assets | Strictly below €15,000 within statutory scope | Inventory and supporting records |
| Employees | None employed in the last six months | Employment history |
| Activity cessation | Not more than a year ago | Chronology and records |
| Employment tribunal | No pending proceedings within scope | Litigation position |
| History | Examine procedures and closures over five years | Earlier decisions |
References : Code de commerce · L645-1 · Code de commerce · R645-1 · Code de commerce · L645-2 · Code de commerce · L645-3
How should the relevant estates and assets be inventoried?
The inventory concerns realisable assets across relevant estates under the text, excluding legally unseizable assets. A professional bank balance does not describe that entire perimeter.
Separate ownership, realisable value and legal protection requiring review. Personal use alone is not a reason to exclude an asset.
References : Code de commerce · L645-1 · Code de commerce · R645-1 · Code de commerce · L645-9 · Code de commerce · L645-12
Which employee, cessation and previous-procedure facts matter?
Locate employment and cessation periods, any pending labour case and prior closure decisions. Specified liquidation-for-insufficient-assets or professional-recovery closures less than five years ago can bar opening.
No recollection is not proof of no history. Connect dates and relevant estates with actual decisions.
References : Code de commerce · L645-1 · Code de commerce · R645-1 · Code de commerce · L645-2 · Code de commerce · L645-3
Does a €14,000 inventory establish every procedural condition?
The fictional €11,000 and €3,000 assets total €14,000, assuming classification already completed. Being below the threshold establishes neither employment history, cessation timing nor other conditions.
Keep those questions open. A lower total replaces no judicial examination of assets, solvency or debts.
Fictional case: non-exempt realisable assets of €11,000 and €3,000 total €14,000. That is below €15,000, but employee history, cessation, other conditions and excluded debts remain unresolved. Addition cannot replace the court’s assessment.
References : Code de commerce · L645-1 · Code de commerce · R645-1
Which debts and creditors should be identified?
Closure does not erase every debt. Erasure concerns qualifying earlier debts under prescribed disclosure and creditor-information conditions, with exclusions.
Separate employee, maintenance and other excluded claims. A tax or social debt should not be marked erased merely because it appears in a worksheet.
References : Code de commerce · L645-11 · Code de commerce · L643-11
What does the court decide during the process?
The stated procedure opens for four months. The court checks conditions; known creditors are invited to supply claim information under statutory arrangements.
Payment relief or suspension requires its own decision. Four months is not a promise of erasure when a countdown expires.
References : Code de commerce · L645-4 · Code de commerce · L645-6 · Code de commerce · L645-8
Which effects must not be assumed before professional advice?
Bad faith, failed eligibility or incomplete inventories can alter the outcome, including liquidation where prescribed. Later-discovered omissions can revive creditor rights.
Have records examined before a binding decision. Julie can organise inventory and questions without predicting opening or debts ultimately erased.
References : Code de commerce · L645-9 · Code de commerce · L645-11 · Code de commerce · L645-12 · Code de commerce · L643-11
What else should you check?
Is the current asset limit still €5,000?
The verified current reference is realisable assets strictly below €15,000 within the prescribed perimeter. Do not reuse an older €5,000 figure as current.
References : Code de commerce · L645-1 · Code de commerce · R645-1
Do assets exactly equal to €15,000 satisfy that threshold?
No. The threshold is strictly below €15,000. Even a lower total does not satisfy all opening conditions.
References : Code de commerce · L645-1 · Code de commerce · R645-1
Does the procedure apply to a commercial company?
The mechanism concerns an in-scope natural person, not a commercial company as legal person. It does not replace company dissolution.
References : Code de commerce · L645-1
Does four months guarantee debt erasure?
No. Four months describes the opening period shown, not a guaranteed outcome. Examine conditions, creditors and exclusions.
References : Code de commerce · L645-4 · Code de commerce · L645-6 · Code de commerce · L645-8 · Code de commerce · L645-9 · Code de commerce · L645-11 · Code de commerce · L645-12 · Code de commerce · L643-11
Does every social, tax or employee debt disappear?
No. Erasure is conditional with exclusions, including specified employee and maintenance claims. Classify each debt; no category is erased by default.
References : Code de commerce · L645-11 · Code de commerce · L643-11
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 · L645-1Source checked : · Version from 2022-05-15
- Code de commerce · R645-1Source checked : · Version from 2021-10-01
- Code de commerce · L645-2Source checked : · Version from 2014-07-01
- Code de commerce · L645-3Source checked : · Version from 2019-05-24
- Code de commerce · L645-4Source checked : · Version from 2017-01-01
- Code de commerce · L645-6Source checked : · Version from 2014-07-01
- Code de commerce · L645-8Source checked : · Version from 2017-01-01
- Code de commerce · L645-9Source checked : · Version from 2019-05-24
- Code de commerce · L645-11Source checked : · Version from 2022-05-15
- Code de commerce · L645-12Source checked : · Version from 2014-07-01
- Code de commerce · L643-11Source checked : · Version from 2022-12-25
- Service Public · rétablissement professionnelSource checked :