Most countries in this directory regulate what the founder has to prove about an address. France goes a step further: the domiciliation provider itself has to be officially licensed by the state before it can legally sell you one.
Non-resident founders can form a French company — most commonly an SAS or SARL — without living in France, but no registration at the Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS) can proceed without a valid siège social address on file first.
A French-registered entity gives founders a foothold in one of the EU's largest consumer and B2B markets, with the administrative and banking infrastructure that comes with it.
The siège social address is published on the public RCS record. A commercial domiciliation address absorbs that exposure instead of a founder's personal residence.
A traditional French commercial lease (bail commercial) carries long minimum terms and real financial commitment — domiciliation exists specifically as the lighter-weight, faster-to-exit alternative for a company that isn't ready to sign one.
Article L123-11-3 of the Code de commerce doesn't just regulate your address — it regulates who's allowed to sell you one.
Any company offering domiciliation services — providing a siège social, commercial address, or postal address to other businesses — must first obtain a prefectural licence (agrément préfectoral) from the préfecture of the department where the domiciliation company itself is based. This licence, valid for six years, is granted only after the authorities verify the premises' ownership and configuration and the good standing (honorabilité) of the provider's own directors. Operating without one carries penalties of up to six months' imprisonment and a €7,500 fine — a licensing burden placed on the provider, not the client company.
The contract between a domiciliation provider and the company being domiciled must run a minimum of three months, automatically renewable, and must state the provider's agrément number directly in the contract — giving any company (or authority) an easy way to verify the provider is genuinely licensed rather than operating informally.
A licensed domiciliation provider must make available a room capable of ensuring confidentiality and allowing the domiciled company's governing bodies to meet regularly, and to keep, preserve, and consult the books, registers, and documents the law requires — a materially higher bar than a bare mail-forwarding address.
| Licensed domiciliation provider | Director's home address |
|---|---|
| Provider must hold a valid agrément préfectoral | No licence needed — this is a separate legal option entirely |
| Contract minimum 3 months, agrément number stated | No contract required — the director simply declares their own address |
| Suited to companies wanting a commercial, non-residential image | Can be used without time limit since the 2005-882 law, unless a lease or co-ownership rule forbids it |
Paris carries a specific procedural quirk worth knowing before you pick a provider elsewhere.
The default choice for most foreign-founded companies — but note the agrément here is granted by the Préfet de Police rather than a standard departmental préfecture, a procedural difference specific to the capital.
A common lower-cost alternative with a strong regional business ecosystem, particularly for industrial and logistics-adjacent companies.
Increasingly chosen by companies with Mediterranean or North African trade links, given the city's port and logistics infrastructure.
We only list a provider once we have a confirmed partnership — no placeholder links.
We haven't finalized a partnership with a provider serving France yet, so rather than point you to a dead link, we're leaving this section empty until one is confirmed. Before signing with any provider, verify their agrément préfectoral number directly — it's a straightforward way to confirm they're genuinely licensed rather than operating informally. Providers with live, working links are currently on our United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and Australia guides.
Wherever you end up incorporating, you'll eventually need a bank account — Dukascopy Bank accepts international clients for a multi-currency account without requiring you to be physically present in Switzerland.
Dukascopy Bank SA is regulated by FINMA (the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority), and deposits are protected under Swiss depositor protection up to CHF 100,000. This is a banking product, not a virtual address service — review account fees, minimums, and suitability for your situation independently before opening an account. vaddress.net may earn a referral commission if you sign up through this link.
Every domiciliation contract must state the provider's agrément préfectoral number directly. A legitimate provider will produce this without hesitation — treat any hesitation as a red flag.
Yes — a company's legal representative can install the siège social at their own home address without time limit since the 2005-882 law, unless a lease clause or co-ownership rule specifically forbids it.
The provider itself faces penalties of up to six months' imprisonment and a €7,500 fine for operating without an agrément. As the client company, you'd also risk your RCS registration being challenged if the underlying address isn't properly licensed.
No — French law requires genuine premises capable of holding meetings and storing statutory documents, which a P.O. box cannot satisfy under any domiciliation arrangement.
Yes — domiciliation contracts are required to run a minimum of three months and renew by tacit reconduction unless either party ends the arrangement.