Association bylaws: template and filing 2026

Quick answer. The bylaws of a French 1901 association are drafted in French, dated and signed by at least two officers, then filed with the associations registry of the prefecture. The receipt, bearing the RNA number starting with W, is issued within 5 working days; publication in the Official Journal has been free since 1 January 2020.

Setting up an association seems simple, and the law of 1 July 1901 was designed precisely for that. But poorly calibrated bylaws are paid for later: a grant refused, a bank account blocked, an activity reclassified as commercial for tax purposes, or a general meeting voided for lack of a planned quorum. Bylaws are not a formality, they are the rules of the game that will bind members throughout the life of the structure.

At Hayot Expertise, we regularly support founders of sports, cultural or employer associations who discover, two years on, that their bylaws provided neither for the handling of surpluses nor for the conditions for removing a member. This article sets out the drafting method, the mandatory clauses, the filing route and the amendments to anticipate.

An association may exist without any declaration: this is the freedom principle of the 1901 law. But an undeclared association has no legal personality. It cannot open a bank account in its name, receive a grant, accept a donation, bring legal action or acquire property.

Legal personality is acquired through declaration to the associations registry and publication in the Official Journal. It is this publication that makes the association enforceable against third parties. Until it occurs, the officers bear personal liability for acts carried out in the name of the project.

The bylaws are the founding contract between members. Their quality conditions the legal security of every decision later voted. For structures carrying out an economic activity, they also interact with the VAT regime applicable to commercial activities and, in some cases, with corporate income tax.

The bylaws of a 1901 association must be drafted in French, dated and signed by at least two persons holding management duties. Beyond this formal requirement, certain clauses are expected so the structure operates without blind spots.

Our reading: the most neglected clause is the devolution of assets. An association cannot distribute its liquidation surplus to its members; net assets must go to another association or a non-profit structure. Vague drafting here can, on its own, sink an application for public-interest recognition.

Practical advice: never write volatile information into the bylaws. Membership fee amounts, the named list of members or the internal organisation of committees belong in internal rules, amendable without any filing formality. Locking everything into the bylaws means filing with the registry at every adjustment.

Creating a declared association follows a stable sequence. Here is the procedure we recommend to our founder clients.

1. Define the purpose. Word it broadly enough to cover your future projects, precisely enough to reassure funders and authorities. It conditions access to grants and the tax perimeter.
2. Draft the bylaws. Use the mandatory clauses from the table above, in French, dated and signed by at least two officers. Push operational detail into the internal rules.
3. Hold the founding general meeting. Convene the founding members, adopt the bylaws, appoint the officers and draw up signed minutes. This document is part of the file and the dated proof of the project's birth.
4. File the declaration. Submit it online on service-public.gouv.fr or via Cerfa form no. 13973 to the associations registry of the prefecture of the office, with the minutes and signed bylaws (PDF, 1.5 MB maximum per file).
5. Receive the receipt. The registry issues a receipt within 5 working days of a complete file, bearing the RNA number starting with W followed by 9 digits.
6. Check the JOAFE publication. The prefecture automatically forwards the publication to the Official Journal of associations and corporate foundations, free since 1 January 2020; it generally appears a few weeks after the declaration.

This logic of a complete file and dated documents echoes, in spirit, the formalities we follow to obtain a SIRET number when the association employs staff or receives public grants.

The declaration receipt is not a mere administrative confirmation: it bears the RNA number (National Register of Associations), the structure's unique identifier. It attests that the declaration has been received, but it is the JOAFE publication that opens full capacity.

The underestimated risk: confusing the receipt with publication. A cautious bank will open the account on presentation of the receipt and the bylaws, but some grants or agreements require proof of publication. Launching financial commitments between declaration and publication exposes the officers should a problem arise in the interval.

The life of an association calls for adjustments: change of office, broadening of purpose, governance overhaul, renewal of officers. Any amendment of the bylaws or any change of the persons in charge of administration must be reported to the associations registry within 3 months.

Certain amendments, in particular a change of name, purpose or office, trigger a new JOAFE publication. This is not a simple compliance step: a decision taken by undeclared officers may be challenged by a third party or the authorities.

In practice, we advise keeping a register of acts and aligning the filing calendar with that of the meetings. A newly elected but never declared officer cannot assert that capacity against a bank or a funder.

The ordinary regime does not apply everywhere or to every association.

• Alsace-Moselle (Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Moselle). Local law requires bylaws signed by at least 7 founding members and registration with the associations register of the judicial court, rather than a prefecture declaration.
• Employer association. From the first employee, the association enters the field of social and payroll obligations; the keeping and review of its accounts become a compliance matter, as for a company.
• Association with an economic activity. If the activity is profit-making, the association may become liable for commercial taxes. The non-profit analysis is conducted upstream, much as one would analyse the choice of share capital in a commercial company.
• Regulated activity. Sport, training, health, childcare: remember to check whether your activity is regulated before filing, as some require an approval distinct from the declaration.

Recently, the director of a cultural association consulted us after an operating grant was refused. The file was solid, but the statutory purpose, drafted in two lines at creation, did not cover the activity actually developed. The bylaws had to be amended, re-filed with the registry, and a new publication awaited, losing an entire funding cycle.

The lesson is constant in association creation files: founders pour their energy into the project and rush the bylaws. Yet the most frequent sticking points come from missing clauses, not badly written ones. Missing quorum, vague devolution of assets, an overly narrow purpose, forgotten removal conditions.

Our approach systematically links the bylaws to the planned trajectory: does the association intend to employ staff, receive donations giving rise to tax receipts, invoice services, bid for public contracts? Each ambition calls for a specific clause or tax vigilance. As chartered accountants registered with the Ordre, we work on the consistency between bylaws, governance and accounting obligations, alongside legal counsel when the situation requires.

For employer structures or those receiving public funds, we also set up the right tools early, for instance to equip the association's bookkeeping and trace every flow. This discipline mirrors the one we apply to any creation, whether an association, a company, or the single status of the individual entrepreneur.

Hayot Expertise tip. Draft your bylaws thinking of the association as it will be in three years, not just at launch. Provide for a broad purpose, clear governance and internal rules for the rest. Before filing, have the consistency between purpose, actual activity and tax regime reviewed: that is where future grant refusals are decided.