France company search: Infogreffe (infogreffe.fr)

TL;DR. France’s commercial-court extract (Kbis) is issued through Infogreffe. https://www.infogreffe.fr carries a public search, Rechercher une entreprise, with a Kbis ordering page at https://www.infogreffe.fr/kbis-documents. https://data.inpi.fr, titled Accueil - Data INPI, adds a search form and an Accès aux API section. https://www.sirene.fr no longer resolves, and https://portail-api.insee.fr/ builds itself in the browser. The BODACC gazette at https://www.bodacc.fr, titled Accueil - bodacc.fr, names an API on its home page. No prices, payment methods or turnaround times are published on the Infogreffe pages, so costs in this guide read unknown rather than free; confirm at source.

What is the official France business registry?

France’s commercial register system is operated by the commercial courts (Tribunaux de Commerce) through their registrars (Greffes). The practical access point for foreign compliance buyers is Infogreffe (https://www.infogreffe.fr), the shared information system operated as a Groupement d’Interet Economique (GIE) by the Greffes des Tribunaux de Commerce. That host carries a public search, Rechercher une entreprise, and a Kbis ordering page at https://www.infogreffe.fr/kbis-documents. Infogreffe is the named source of the Extrait Kbis. No price, payment method or turnaround is published on those pages; confirm at source.

Three registries serve distinct purposes:

• Infogreffe / Registre du Commerce et des Societes (RCS): the commercial court register for companies whose activity is commercial. All Societes Anonymes (SA), Societes a Responsabilite Limitee (SARL), Societes par Actions Simplifiees (SAS/SASU), and similar commercial forms are registered here. The RCS registration number is the identifier used in commercial law.

• INSEE Sirene: maintained by the Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques. https://www.sirene.fr no longer resolves. https://www.insee.fr/fr/accueil is online, but carries no Sirene search form, so whether a SIREN/SIRET lookup is free could not be confirmed; confirm at source.

• RNE (Registre National des Entreprises): launched by INPI in January 2023. https://data.inpi.fr, titled Accueil - Data INPI, carries a search form and an Accès aux API section. What a paid extract contains, and how quickly it arrives, is not stated on that page; confirm at source.

For compliance and due diligence purposes, the Kbis from Infogreffe remains the named primary document. Its contents and tariffs are not published on the Infogreffe search or Kbis pages; confirm at source.

What can you search?

INSEE Sirene:

https://www.sirene.fr no longer resolves. The fields a Sirene search returns (SIREN/SIRET, legal name, address, APE), and whether it is free, are not confirmed here; confirm at source.

Infogreffe / RCS:

https://www.infogreffe.fr carries a public search, Rechercher une entreprise, and https://www.infogreffe.fr/kbis-documents is the Kbis ordering page. What a search returns, what a paid Kbis officer table contains, and how quickly it is delivered are not stated on those pages; confirm at source.

RNE via INPI:

https://data.inpi.fr, titled Accueil - Data INPI, carries a search form and an Accès aux API section. How quickly a completed RNE extract is delivered is not stated there; confirm at source.

BODACC:

• The official gazette at https://www.bodacc.fr, titled Accueil - bodacc.fr, names Annonces commerciales, API, and Donnees ouvertes et API on its home page. The insolvency search behind that page, and how fast it returns, are not covered here; confirm at source.

How much does it cost?

No fee figures are published on the Infogreffe pages, neither on the home search Rechercher une entreprise nor on /kbis-documents. sirene.fr no longer resolves, and data.inpi.fr (Accueil - Data INPI) publishes no tariffs. The table above therefore reads unknown rather than free, and payment methods and turnaround are not published either; confirm at source.

Do you need a local account or ID?

No. Infogreffe carries a public search form (Rechercher une entreprise) that loads without a login. An optional Infogreffe account for purchase history has been reported; confirm at source. Which payment methods are accepted is not stated on that page.

https://www.insee.fr/fr/accueil is online, but whether a Sirene bulk download is available without registration is not stated there; confirm at source.

Is the website in English?

No. The Infogreffe interface is French (Rechercher une entreprise). sirene.fr no longer resolves, and data.inpi.fr, titled Accueil - Data INPI, is also in French.

The Kbis document itself is in French. Purpose clauses and officer titles use French legal terminology (gerant, president, directeur general, commissaire aux comptes, etc.).

France participates in the EU Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS). How much English BRIS carries, and whether it substitutes for Infogreffe, is not covered here; confirm at source.

Foreign compliance buyers who do not read French can extract the key fields from a Kbis document with a translation tool. The document format is standardised and predictable. The fields for legal name, SIREN, registered address, legal form, share capital, and officer names are clearly labelled.

What’s the turnaround time?

Unknown. Infogreffe carries a public search, but no download timing for a Kbis PDF is published; confirm at source.

The Kbis reflects the state of the commercial court register at the time it is generated. Changes to company officers, registered address, or other registered details must be filed with the relevant commercial court and may take 1-3 business days to appear in the register after acceptance.

INSEE Sirene data is updated daily. Changes submitted by companies to the commercial courts or INSEE directly appear in the Sirene database within 24-72 hours.

RNE data via INPI is also updated daily, often faster than the legacy Infogreffe system for newly formed companies since January 2023, as the RNE is the primary registration point.

Is there an API?

No public Infogreffe API is documented. https://portail-api.insee.fr/ builds itself in the browser, so its API-key signup could not be read; confirm at source. The BODACC home page names an API, but that is the gazette, not Kbis retrieval.

What you legally cannot do

Infogreffe data and certified extracts are subject to the following restrictions:

• Redistribution of certified Kbis extracts as stand-alone documents outside their original context is not permitted. The Kbis carries a timestamp and issuing registrar’s certification; redistributing it as if freshly issued misrepresents the document’s status.
• Automated bulk querying of the Infogreffe portal is prohibited under its terms of use. The portal is designed for individual document requests, not systematic database harvesting.
• Misrepresenting data origin. Any commercial service using French registry data must clearly indicate the source and the date of the data extraction. Presenting Infogreffe data as independently obtained is not permitted.

INSEE Sirene open data is released under the etalab-2.0 open data licence, which permits commercial reuse provided the source (INSEE Sirene) is credited and the data is not presented as modified official data.

BODACC announcements are public record under the same etalab-2.0 terms. Commercial reuse is permitted with attribution.

Under GDPR and French RGPD implementation, officer and director names appearing in company records are personal data. Processing this data for compliance (AML, KYC, CDD) purposes is within the legitimate interest grounds, provided purpose is documented.

France is a FATF member. Its 2022 Mutual Evaluation rated the French AML framework as broadly effective. For current FATF status, see fatf-gafi.org.

Practical tips for foreign users

• SIREN is the primary identifier. The 9-digit SIREN number is stable across name changes, address changes, and legal form conversions. Always record it when starting a due diligence file. The SIRET adds the 5-digit establishment code; for a single-site company, the SIRET suffix is typically “00001” for the head office.
• SAS vs. SARL vs. SA structures differ in key ways. A Societe par Actions Simplifiee (SAS or its single-shareholder variant SASU) has highly flexible governance defined by its statuts. A SARL has a more rigid statutory framework. An SA must have a minimum share capital of EUR 37,000 and is subject to more onerous reporting requirements. The legal form on the Kbis determines what governance documents you need to request.
• President and Directeur General are different roles. In a French SAS, the president is the statutory representative. A directeur general (DG) can be appointed separately with delegated powers. Both can bind the company in third-party contracts. The Kbis lists all company officers with their titles.
• Objet social matters. The purpose clause (objet social) in a French company’s statuts limits the company’s permitted activities. An act outside the objet social can be challenged. For high-value transactions, check that the purpose clause covers the activity you are contracting for.
• BODACC insolvency check. https://www.bodacc.fr is online. The full-text insolvency search behind that home page, and how fast it returns, are not covered here; confirm at source.
• Check for recent officer changes. The date of the last amendment (date de derniere mise a jour) on the Kbis indicates when the record was last changed. A Kbis that has not been updated in several years may have outdated officer information; request a fresh one if the date matters.
• Kbis freshness rule. In French practice, a Kbis older than three months is routinely rejected by banks, notaries, and counterparties as evidence of company status. For compliance use, always generate a fresh Kbis at the time of the due diligence event, not from a stored copy.

Alternatives if you cannot access the registry directly

The French-only interface and the document format create friction for foreign compliance buyers, though legal access is unrestricted.

• Local data suppliers (see section below): Coface and Altares D&B both deliver English-language company reports covering the core registry data plus credit scoring and payment history.
• Sirene and BODACC: sirene.fr no longer resolves, the INSEE API portal builds itself in the browser, and the BODACC home page is online. Whether a Sirene lookup or a BODACC full-text search is free is not confirmed here; confirm at source.

Local data suppliers

If you need a packaged report rather than a raw Kbis extract, France has a set of established providers:

• Coface (coface.fr). International credit insurance specialist with strong French market roots, founded in 1946 and listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. Provides company financial health assessments, solvency monitoring, and credit risk scoring for French and international counterparties. Coverage spans 200 countries and 100,000 active clients. The French business information product draws on Infogreffe, Sirene, and proprietary payment behavior data.
• Altares D&B (altares.com). Exclusive D&B partner in France and Benelux, providing access to over 11 million French company profiles integrated with the D&B global network of 600 million entities. Products include compliance tools (indueD), beneficial ownership databases, payment performance intelligence, and API-based data blocks. The SIREN-to-D-U-N-S mapping makes Altares the bridge when a global D&B-based counterparty system needs French entity coverage.
• Creditsafe France (creditsafe.com/fr). International credit intelligence platform with localized French coverage. Provides solvency reports, KYC due diligence tools, payment ledger analytics, and multi-jurisdiction API coverage in a single integration. French-language and English-language report delivery. Covers over 430 million companies globally including the full French commercial register.

Use Infogreffe for the authoritative certified Kbis extract. Use a credit bureau when you need payment behavior, credit scoring, or litigation history layered on top of the official filing. Use Altares when you need D&B DUNS-integrated coverage across France and other markets.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access France’s official registry without a French identity?

Yes. Infogreffe carries a public search, Rechercher une entreprise, that loads without a login; which payment methods it accepts is not stated there. sirene.fr no longer resolves. data.inpi.fr (Accueil - Data INPI) and the BODACC home page are both online.

What is the difference between a SIREN and a SIRET number?

The SIREN (Systeme d’Identification du Repertoire des ENtreprises) is a 9-digit number that uniquely identifies a French legal entity. The SIRET (Systeme d’Identification du Repertoire des ETablissements) is 14 digits: the SIREN plus a 5-digit NIC code that identifies a specific establishment of that entity. A company with multiple offices or warehouses has one SIREN but multiple SIRETs. For due diligence on the legal entity, the SIREN is the primary identifier.

What is a Kbis and why is it required in French business practice?

The Extrait Kbis is the official certified extract of a company’s registration in the Registre du Commerce et des Societes (RCS), issued by the Greffe (registrar) of the relevant commercial court. It is the French equivalent of a certificate of incorporation combined with a current company status document. French law and commercial practice require a Kbis to open a bank account, sign a commercial lease, respond to a public tender, or demonstrate legal existence to a counterparty. A Kbis is dated at the moment of generation; a Kbis older than three months is often not accepted in practice.

Where do I find the beneficial owner (UBO) of a French company?

France implemented the EU beneficial ownership register under the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive. How the Register des Beneficiaires Effectifs (RBE) is reached through Infogreffe or the RNE is not stated on either the Infogreffe search page or data.inpi.fr; confirm at source.

How current is the French registry data?

The Kbis reflects the state of the commercial court register at the moment of generation. Changes must be filed with the court and typically appear within 1-3 business days. INSEE Sirene is updated daily. BODACC insolvency announcements are published within days of the court order. For compliance purposes, always generate a fresh Kbis rather than relying on one issued more than three months ago.

Is France on the FATF grey list?

No. France is a founding FATF member and a member of GAFI (the French acronym for FATF). France’s 2022 Mutual Evaluation found the AML framework broadly effective. France’s current listing is not restated here; it was not on the grey list as of May 2026. For current status, see fatf-gafi.org.

What is the APE code and why does it matter?

The APE (Activite Principale Exercee) code, drawn from the French NAF (Nomenclature d’Activites Francaises) classification, describes a company’s principal activity. It is assigned by INSEE when the company registers and appears on the Kbis. The APE code determines the applicable collective labor agreement (convention collective), affects VAT treatment in some sectors, and is used in risk scoring models. An APE code that does not match the company’s actual activity can be a due diligence flag worth investigating.

Last verified: 2026-09-03. Sources: Infogreffe (home search Rechercher une entreprise, and /kbis-documents); data.inpi.fr, titled Accueil - Data INPI, with its search form and Accès aux API section; sirene.fr, which no longer resolves; and bodacc.fr. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.