To check a French company before you pay it, take the 9-digit SIREN number from the invoice or quote, look it up in the French business register (INSEE’s Sirene), and confirm that the last nine digits of its French VAT number are that same SIREN. Then check BODACC for insolvency notices, because “active” in Sirene does not mean the company is out of trouble. You can search any French company free on CheckBiz; a full report with identity, status, VAT and sanctions costs €1.99, paid once, no account.
- The three numbers on a French invoice
- Step 1: Look up the SIREN in Sirene
- Step 2: Match the VAT number to the SIREN
- Step 3: Check BODACC for insolvency proceedings
- What to do before you pay
- What the CheckBiz report shows for France
- FAQ
The three numbers on a French invoice
French companies put several identifiers on their paperwork, and suppliers who want to confuse you rely on buyers mixing them up.
| Number | Length | What it identifies | Where to check it |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIREN | 9 digits | The legal entity (the company itself) | Sirene (INSEE) |
| SIRET | 14 digits | One establishment of that company: the SIREN + a 5-digit site number | Sirene (INSEE) |
| VAT number (TVA intracommunautaire) | FR + 2 check characters + the 9-digit SIREN | The company’s EU VAT registration | VIES (European Commission) |
The SIRET always starts with the SIREN. One of Carrefour’s SIRETs is 652 014 051 00732: the first nine digits (652 014 051) are the company, the last five (00732) are one site. If an invoice shows a SIRET whose first nine digits are not the SIREN elsewhere on the same invoice, something is wrong.
Step 1: Look up the SIREN in Sirene
Sirene is the official French register of companies and establishments, run by INSEE. A lookup on the SIREN gives you:
- Legal name — compare it letter for letter with the name on the invoice.
- Legal form as a code and a label. Code 5599, for example, is a société anonyme à conseil d’administration (a public limited company with a board).
- Status of the legal entity: active or closed (cessée).
- Activity code (NAF) — does the business match what they are selling you?
- Date of registration — a company registered last month that wants payment in advance deserves extra questions.
- Establishments — how many sites the company has, and how many are still open.
Trap: a closed establishment is not a closed company. Carrefour’s legal entity lists 7 establishments, of which 1 is active. That is normal for a company that has moved or merged sites. What matters is the status of the legal entity (the SIREN), not of an old address. The reverse matters too: if the SIRET on your invoice points to a closed establishment, ask why you are being invoiced from an address the register says is shut.
Trap: not every entry shows a name. Individuals running a business in France can ask INSEE not to publish their details. A lookup can then confirm that the number exists but not who is behind it. For a first order from a sole trader, ask for their Kbis extract or the registration certificate and compare it with the invoice.
Step 2: Match the VAT number to the SIREN
The French VAT number is built from the SIREN: FR, then two check characters, then the nine digits of the SIREN. That makes the first check free and instant: the last nine digits of the VAT number must be the SIREN of the company named on the invoice.
Then confirm the full number in VIES, the European Commission’s VAT register.
What a valid VIES answer does not prove: that the company you are talking to is the company that owns the number. Scammers copy real VAT numbers onto fake invoices. That is why the name, address and bank details on the invoice have to match the register, not just the number. What an EU VAT number check proves, and what it doesn’t goes through this in detail.
Step 3: Check BODACC for insolvency proceedings
This is the step most buyers skip, and it is the one that is specific to France.
BODACC (Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales) is the official journal where French commercial courts publish their judgments: safeguard proceedings (sauvegarde), receivership (redressement judiciaire), liquidation (liquidation judiciaire), sales of businesses and filed accounts.
Trap: “active” in Sirene does not mean “no court proceedings”. A company under a court-supervised plan keeps trading, so Sirene keeps it active. Casino Guichard-Perrachon, the listed French retailer, shows as active in Sirene. BODACC shows that the Paris commercial court opened accelerated safeguard proceedings on 25 October 2023, adopted a four-year safeguard plan on 26 February 2024, and published a notice on 5 August 2026 that the statement of creditors’ claims had been filed.
None of that makes it wrong to do business with a company in a court plan. But if you are about to pay a large deposit, you want to know, and Sirene alone will not tell you.
Two things to know when reading BODACC:
- Search on the SIREN, not the name. Company names repeat; the SIREN does not.
- No notices is not proof of anything. BODACC only lists what courts and registries publish. An empty result does not mean the company is healthy, and it does not mean it is closed.
What to do before you pay
- Ask for the SIREN if it is not on the invoice. A French company that will not give you its SIREN is a reason to stop.
- Look it up and compare name, address and status with the invoice.
- Check that the last nine digits of the VAT number are the SIREN, then confirm the number in VIES.
- Search BODACC on the SIREN for procédures collectives.
- If the bank account is not in France, or has changed since the last invoice, call the company on a phone number you found yourself, not the one in the email.
Search a French company free on CheckBiz
What the CheckBiz report shows for France
For France, the €1.99 report carries identity and status from the official register, a VAT check against VIES, and sanctions screening against public EU and international lists. Filings, LEI, ownership and financials vary: the report shows what the registry published for that company and marks the rest as unavailable. See country coverage for every country, and how it works for what a report contains.
The report does not replace a BODACC search for insolvency notices; do that yourself, it takes a minute and it is free.
This guide is part of a series on checking a company in another EU country. For the four checks that work in any country, read How to verify a company in Europe before you pay it. If something about the supplier already feels off, Supplier scam red flags you can check in the company register before you pay lists what to look for.
FAQ
What is a SIREN number?
The SIREN is the 9-digit number INSEE gives every French company when it is registered. It identifies the legal entity and never changes, even if the company moves or changes its name.
What is the difference between SIREN and SIRET?
The SIREN identifies the company. The SIRET (14 digits) identifies one of its establishments: it is the SIREN followed by a 5-digit site number. A company has one SIREN and can have many SIRETs.
How do I find a French company’s VAT number from its SIREN?
The French VAT number is FR, two check characters, then the 9-digit SIREN. The last nine digits of a genuine French VAT number are always the company’s SIREN. Confirm the full number in VIES.
Does “active” in the French register mean the company is financially sound?
No. A company in safeguard or receivership proceedings usually keeps trading and stays active in Sirene. Court proceedings are published in BODACC; search it on the SIREN.
Is it free to check a French company?
Yes. Sirene, VIES and BODACC are free to search. On CheckBiz, search is free and a full report with identity, status, VAT and sanctions screening costs €1.99, paid once without an account.
What should I do if the SIREN on the invoice doesn’t match the company name?
Don’t pay. Contact the company on a phone number you find yourself, not one given in the invoice or email, and ask them to confirm their SIREN and bank details.
Check a French company before you pay — search free on CheckBiz
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This content was generated with artificial intelligence.
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