Before registering a business, every founder runs into the same question: which form should it take? The legal structure of a business is more than a box on the registration form. It decides what you risk on your personal assets, the manager’s social cover, how profits are taxed and how much time goes into management obligations every year.
This guide reviews the forms that the French administration presents to people starting a commercial or craft business, from the sole proprietorship to the public limited company, with the amounts published for 2026. It ends with a five-step method and the business accounts open to each form.
Key points at a glance:
- The first choice is between the sole proprietorship (entreprise individuelle), with or without the micro-enterprise scheme, and the company, which is a separate legal person.
- On your own, you can operate as an EI, an EURL or a SASU; with partners, you need a company: an SARL, SAS, SA or SNC in particular.
- The sole trader’s business assets are separate from their personal assets; in an SARL, an SAS or an SA, partners risk only their contributions, while SNC partners answer for debts with their own property.
- Depending on the form and their share of the capital, the manager comes under the social security scheme for the self-employed or under the general scheme as an assimilé salarié.
- Profits bear income tax or corporate tax, and the legal structure determines which options are open.
Sole proprietorship or company: the first choice
Every business creation starts with a choice between two paths. The sole proprietorship (EI) does not create a separate legal person: the business is run in your own name, with no articles to draft, no share capital to pay in and no legal notice to publish. The entrepreneur’s business assets are automatically separated from their personal assets. The micro-entrepreneur is a sole trader who has opted for the simplified micro-enterprise scheme: it is not a separate legal form.
A company, by contrast, is a legal person with its own articles, capital and accounts. This legal structure brings more formality to the business: the annual accounts, meaning the balance sheet, the income statement and the notes, are approved by the partners’ meeting within six months of the year end and then filed with the commercial court registry. In an EI, the books are kept by the business owner alone, with no approval and no filing at the registry.
Comparison table of legal structures
To compare the legal structures of businesses, Service Public publishes a comparison table of the different legal forms open to a commercial or craft business. Here are the essentials, reworded form by form:
| Form | Partners | Capital | Liability | Tax on profits | Manager’s social scheme |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EI, including micro-entrepreneur | The entrepreneur alone | No capital | Limited to business assets | IR (micro or real), corporate tax option | Self-employed, or micro-social |
| EURL | 1 | No minimum; at least 20% of cash contributions paid at setup | Limited to contributions | IR, corporate tax option | Partner manager: self-employed |
| SARL | 2 to 100 | No minimum; at least 20% paid at setup | Limited to contributions | IS, income tax option | Majority manager: self-employed; minority: assimilé salarié |
| SASU | 1 | No minimum; at least 50% paid at setup | Limited to contributions | IS, income tax option | Paid president: assimilé salarié |
| SAS | At least 2 | No minimum; at least 50% paid at setup | Limited to contributions | IS, income tax option | President: assimilé salarié |
| SA | At least 2 (7 if listed) | €37,000 minimum; at least 50% paid | Limited to contributions | IS, income tax option | Chair and chief executive: assimilés salariés |
| SNC | At least 2 | No minimum | Joint and unlimited | IR, corporate tax option | Partners: self-employed |
Two rows call for a careful read. In a general partnership (société en nom collectif), each partner answers for the company’s debts jointly and without limit: a creditor can claim the whole debt from them if the company does not pay. The SA, for its part, requires capital of at least €37,000, at least half of the cash contributions being paid at setup. Among the legal forms of businesses shown here, the EI, the EURL and the SASU are the only ones open to a person starting out without a partner.
Liability and protection of personal assets
Protecting personal property often comes first among the criteria. In a sole proprietorship, the entrepreneur has business assets distinct from their personal assets, with no particular step to take. This separation has exceptions: in the event of fraud or serious breaches, in particular, the tax authorities and social security bodies can claim what they are owed from both sets of assets.
In an SAS, an SARL or an SA, the limited liability of partners stops at the amount of their contributions to the capital. The manager can still be held personally liable for mismanagement or if they have given a personal guarantee. Conversely, an SNC partner, like the general partner of an SCS or an SCA, answers for the company’s debts jointly and without limit. Bpifrance Création presents SNCs and civil companies as riskier for the partners’ property, since their liability is unlimited there.
Social security: self-employed or assimilé salarié
The legal structure of a business also determines its manager’s social protection. The micro-entrepreneur comes under the micro-social scheme: social contributions are calculated on the turnover collected, at 12.3% for the sale of goods, 21.2% for commercial or craft services and 25.6% for non-regulated liberal professions outside the Cipav in 2026. If turnover is zero, no contributions are due, unless the minimum contributions option has been chosen.
Outside the micro-enterprise, the sole trader is affiliated to the social security scheme for the self-employed, which is part of the general scheme, as are the majority partner-manager of an SARL, the partner-manager of an EURL and the partner of an SNC. For the first two years, when no professional income is known yet, their provisional contributions are based on a flat base equal to 19% of the annual social security ceiling, or €9,131 in 2026. No contributions are paid for the 90 days after the business starts.
The president of an SAS or SASU, the chair and chief executive of an SA, and the minority or non-partner manager of an SARL are treated as employees (assimilés salariés) and contribute to the general scheme. Their social charges come to about 60% of gross pay and are declared every month. With no pay, no contributions are due.
Worth remembering: the legal form decides which fund the manager belongs to. As self-employed, they contribute on their professional income, with a flat base at the start; as an assimilé salarié, they contribute on their pay and owe nothing if they draw no pay.
Tax on profits: income tax or corporate tax
Three tax regimes exist side by side. The micro-fiscal regime is open to the sole proprietorship and, under conditions, to the EURL whose single partner, a natural person, is also its manager. It applies to 2026 income if turnover excluding VAT in 2025 or 2024 did not exceed €203,100 for a commercial or accommodation business, and €83,600 for services and liberal activities. These ceilings also decide whether the business stays in the micro-enterprise scheme.
The real income tax regime remains open to the EI and the EURL. In the SARL, the SAS, the SASU or the SA, it applies only by option, under conditions, and for five financial years at most. Corporate tax (IS) can apply to every form, including the sole proprietorship by option. Its rate is 15% up to €42,500 of profit, under conditions, and 25% above. Dividends paid by a company subject to corporate tax then bear, in 2026, the 31.4% flat tax, unless the progressive scale is chosen. This taxation of distributed income weighs in the choice between salary and dividends.
Setup costs and day-to-day management
The sole proprietorship remains the quickest and cheapest form to set up, as it needs no articles, no capital and no legal notice. Creating an EI that runs a commercial business costs €21.74, and opting for the micro-enterprise scheme involves no setup fee.
For a company, the registration formality on the business formalities one-stop shop (guichet des formalités des entreprises) costs €33.83. Added to this are the mandatory beneficial ownership declaration, at €19.33, and publication in a legal notices journal, whose price is worked out with an official simulator. Once the business is running, the micro-entrepreneur keeps simplified books: they declare turnover every month or every quarter and keep an up-to-date record of receipts.
How to choose a legal structure in 5 steps
To work out which legal structure to choose, it is better to follow a set order than to start from the form most common around you. Each one takes up a criterion covered above and is settled before moving to the next. Five steps are enough:
On your own, the range is limited to the EI, with or without the micro-enterprise scheme, the EURL and the SASU. As soon as several people join forces, the choice of legal structure is made among companies: SARL, SAS, SA or SNC.
List the project’s commitments: stock, loan, premises, hiring. The heavier they are, the more the protection offered by the form matters. In an SAS, an SARL, an SA or an EURL, a personal guarantee given by the manager still commits their own property.
Project turnover for the first two years: below €83,600 of services or €203,100 of sales, the micro-enterprise remains possible. Also decide how you plan to pay yourself: self-employed income, salary or dividends.
For the same income, compare the cost of the self-employed scheme with that of the assimilé salarié scheme, then income tax and corporate tax. Urssaf provides an online income simulator for the self-employed.
A company drafts its articles, publishes its legal notice and completes the registration formalities on the business formalities one-stop shop. The business account is then opened in the name of the registered business.
Which legal structure for your situation
There is no single answer to the question of which legal structure to choose for your business. Each form has its advantages and constraints, and a few profiles come up often:
When choosing your legal structure, these profiles do not replace a calculation on your own figures. A chartered accountant, a lawyer or a chamber of commerce or crafts can compare the options before registration, while a change is still at its simplest.
In short: the EI and the micro-enterprise suit a light start by one person; as soon as partners join, a company becomes necessary, and the SARL, the SAS or the SA then limit the partners’ risk to their contributions. The manager’s social scheme and taxation often make the difference between two similar forms.
A business account suited to each structure
Whatever the legal form of the business, its money is best handled through a dedicated account. Vivid, an electronic money institution, offers an online business account to two families of clients. Micro-entrepreneurs, sole traders and EIRLs have access to the plans for freelancers, while the EURL, SARL, SASU, SAS, SA and SNC come under the General Business plans. In both cases:
A company opens its account once registered: in France, Vivid does not offer an account for a company in formation. Each business makes its own application, and the Enterprise plans take over when the business grows and the business account has to serve a wider team.
Vivid at a glance: an online business account for every form, from the micro-enterprise to the SA, with unlimited French IBANs. Standard and Free Start have no monthly fee; the paid plans begin at €6.90 a month on annual billing.
Your structure chosen, open the business account
Micro-enterprise, EI or registered company: open a Vivid business account online with a French IBAN, on a plan with no monthly fee to get started.
Frequently asked questions
Which legal structure should I choose to start on my own?
On your own, you can operate as a sole proprietorship, with or without the micro-enterprise scheme, or set up an EURL or a SASU, the only two single-partner companies cited by Bpifrance Création. The EI is the simplest to set up; the EURL and the SASU place the business in a legal person.
Is the micro-enterprise a legal structure?
Not strictly speaking. The micro-enterprise is a simplified tax and social security scheme open to the sole trader. The legal form remains the sole proprietorship, with the same separation of business and personal assets.
Legal status and legal form: what is the difference?
In everyday use, the two phrases mean the same thing, and Service Public speaks of “statut (forme) juridique”. The word status is also used for the manager’s social situation, self-employed or assimilé salarié, which adds to the confusion.
Which structure best protects personal assets?
SARLs and capital companies such as the SAS or the SA limit the partners’ liability to their contributions: Bpifrance Création presents them as the most effective way to protect personal property. The sole trader also benefits from a separation of assets, with exceptions: waiver at the request of a business creditor, the tax and social security authorities’ lien for certain debts, fraud or serious breaches. The SNC offers no such protection.
Can you change your legal structure?
Yes. A company can be converted, for example from an SARL into an SAS or the other way round, and a sole proprietorship can become a company. For moving from a sole proprietorship to a company, Bpifrance Création notes that the formalities are more complex and more costly, hence the value of choosing carefully at creation.
How much does it cost to set up a company?
Allow €33.83 for registration on the business formalities one-stop shop and €19.33 for the beneficial ownership declaration, plus the price of the legal notice. By comparison, a commercial EI costs €21.74 to set up and a micro-enterprise nothing.
Can a company manager claim unemployment benefit?
Not for their corporate mandate. An assimilé salarié manager contributes to the general scheme without gaining unemployment insurance rights; they can take out complementary unemployment insurance. The EURL manager, who is self-employed, is not covered either.
This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax or social security advice. The rules and amounts cited are those published by Service Public and Bpifrance Création for 2026; the choice of a structure is worth confirming with a chartered accountant, a lawyer or a chamber of commerce or crafts. Payment services are provided by Vivid Money S.A., an electronic money institution authorised by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) in Luxembourg, whose French branch is supervised by the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR).
