Company registration in France: SARL or SAS

The French government does not impose any nationality or identity restrictions on foreigners registering a French company and does not require EU residency as a nominee director.

At least one shareholder is required to register a French company. This can be a natural person or a company. The French government does not have any requirements or restrictions on the nationality or legal domicile of the shareholders of a French company.

Legally speaking, both SAS and SARL companies are private limited liability companies. However, a SAS company is more flexible in terms of its articles of association than a SARL company, which makes it ideal for public companies.
However, the registration of a SAS company requires a capital verification, which makes the pre-registration process more cumbersome, whereas the registration of a SARL company does not.
However, the French tax office levies an annual social security tax on shareholders holding 51% or more of the shares of a SARL company (see above for a description of the types of SARL companies and how to avoid paying the social security tax), whereas a SAS company is not subject to the social security tax even if there is only one shareholder holding the shares of the company.

For a French SARL, the paid-up (released) portion of the cash share capital must be at least 50% of the share capital at incorporation. Any remaining unpaid portion treated as a contribution in kind triggers the mandatory appointment of a contributions auditor (commissaire aux apports). Where a notary handles the capital verification, 100% cash paid-up is required.

Yes, the registered capital must be transferred from a bank account in the name of the shareholders in proportion to their shareholding to the company's provisional capitalization account.

The company's registered capital must be used for the company's day-to-day operating costs, such as paying for goodscosts, to pay accountants, to pay for the services of TKEG Expat.

No. For company-registration purposes a utility bill must be used as proof of address rather than a bank statement. (Note: for bank-account opening, bank statements are accepted as proof of address.)

France requires a sworn/certified translation produced by a sworn translator registered in France. Ordinary translations, or translations produced by a translator not registered in France, are not accepted and may be rejected. A France-registered sworn-translation service is needed where foreign documents (e.g. proof of address used in incorporation or amendments) must be filed.

A KBIS extract must be dated within the last 3 months at the time of submission. A KBIS older than 3 months is generally rejected by the French registry/authority.

Any individual holding more than 25% of the company must be declared as a beneficial owner (UBO). This is assessed by tracing the ownership chain through to the ultimate individual — including through a listed parent company. If a new financial report later shows that an individual crosses the 25% threshold, the UBO declaration must be corrected and supplementary supporting materials may be required.