How to Check a SIRET Number for Free: Tools, Steps and Limits

To check a SIRET number for free, enter the 14-digit number on the Business Directory (annuaire-entreprises.data.gouv.fr): its active or closed status, address, APE code and directors appear with no account. Download the INSEE Sirene certificate for dated PDF proof, then cross-check the RNE (data.inpi.fr) and the BODACC for insolvency proceedings.

When you receive a quote, sign a contract, or onboard a new supplier in France, the first due-diligence step is to verify the counterparty's SIRET number. This 14-digit identifier is the cornerstone of French business registration. Checking it is free, takes under five minutes, and can prevent costly disputes, VAT recovery issues, or exposure to companies already under insolvency proceedings.

This guide explains what a SIRET number is, how to verify one using official free tools, what each tool actually discloses, how to handle sole traders and foreign companies, and : crucially : how to turn an ad-hoc check into a repeatable due-diligence process.

A SIRET number (Système d'Identification du Répertoire des Établissements) is a 14-digit code assigned by INSEE (France's national statistics institute) to each business establishment. It breaks down as follows:

A company has one SIREN but as many SIRETs as it has establishments. When a branch closes, its SIRET is deactivated while the company's SIREN may remain active. When you check a supplier invoice, the SIRET shown must match the issuing establishment : not just any establishment belonging to that company.

The APE/NAF code (4 digits + 1 letter) is assigned by INSEE at registration and indicates the principal declared activity. It is used for administrative purposes and as a rough indicator of the relevant collective bargaining agreement, though the actual agreement applicable depends on the real activity carried out.

Three official, free tools cover the full verification:

Step 1 : Search the Business Directory (Annuaire des entreprises)#

Go to annuaire-entreprises.data.gouv.fr. This portal aggregates data from INSEE, the DGFiP (tax authority), and the INPI (intellectual property and business register institute). Enter the 14-digit SIRET or the company name and confirm the following:

• Administrative status: "en activité" (active) or "fermé" / "cessé" (closed).
• Registered address of the establishment.
• APE/NAF activity code.
• Declared directors (gérant, président, etc.).

Step 2 : Download the official Sirene registration certificate (INSEE)#

The avis de situation au répertoire Sirene (INSEE Sirene registration certificate) is a dated PDF document generated free of charge at avis-situation-sirene.insee.fr. Enter the SIREN or SIRET. The document states the company's registration status as of the generation date and serves as formal evidence of registration : the document to file in your supplier or client dossier.

Step 3 : Check the National Business Register (RNE / INPI)#

The RNE (Registre national des entreprises), managed by the INPI, became the central register for company filings on 1 January 2023 and notably absorbed the Répertoire des métiers. The RCS (Registre du commerce et des sociétés) was not abolished, however: it is maintained on an additional basis, so traders remain registered in both the RNE and the RCS. The portal data.inpi.fr provides access to:

• Filed articles of association and amendment deeds.
• Director history.
• Court proceedings: sauvegarde (creditor protection), redressement judiciaire (receivership), and liquidation judiciaire (winding-up).
• Beneficial ownership declarations (registre des bénéficiaires effectifs : RBE).

Cross-check the BODACC, then automate at scale#

For a material transaction, cross-check the RNE against the BODACC (Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales) at bodacc.fr: the court clerk transmits insolvency judgments to it within fifteen days of the decision (article R.621-8 of the Commercial Code), which helps you catch a very recent procedure the main directory has not yet reflected. One timing note: the old sirene.fr site closed on 2 December 2025, and the official entry point for Sirene data is now the Business Directory.

Verifying at volume or automating. If you need to screen many counterparties, two free public services cover the need without any private provider: the INSEE Sirene API and the Recherche d'entreprises API (INSEE, INPI and DGFiP data, roughly 25 million companies and 36 million establishments, updated daily), distributed through data.gouv.fr and api.gouv.fr. To validate an intra-EU VAT number, use the European Commission's VIES service (ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies), free and registration-free across the 27 member states.

The three official portals together give you a substantial picture of a company's administrative standing, but each has a distinct scope. Understanding what each source covers : and what it does not : helps you calibrate the depth of verification to the size and sensitivity of the transaction.

A few practical points about this data:

Annual accounts. Many SMEs and micro-enterprises are not required to publish their accounts publicly, or have exercised the confidentiality option available to small companies. The absence of filed accounts on the RNE therefore does not necessarily signal a problem : but its presence gives you a meaningful financial snapshot you would not otherwise have.

Director information. The Business Directory draws from the RNE and may lag by a few days when a change of director has only recently been filed. For any transaction where signing authority matters : a significant contract, a property lease, a loan guarantee : always confirm against the RNE directly and request a copy of the relevant board resolution or delegation of authority.

Court proceedings. Insolvency procedures are registered at the commercial court (tribunal de commerce) and then transmitted to the RNE. There is typically a short delay between the court judgment and its appearance in the public register. This lag means that a company can be subject to a judicial reorganisation order that has not yet appeared on data.inpi.fr. For high-value transactions, you may also consult the BODACC (Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales) at www.bodacc.fr to cross-check recent announcements.

Sole traders and micro-entrepreneurs#

Self-employed individuals operating under the micro-entrepreneur regime (formerly auto-entrepreneur) receive a SIRET through the same centralised INPI registration portal. The verification process is identical to that for limited companies. Search by SIRET or full name on the Business Directory.

One caveat worth noting: the SIRET confirms registration status but does not show whether the individual has exceeded the revenue thresholds for the micro-BIC or micro-BNC tax regime : a point that can change during the year without immediate update to the register. If you are relying on VAT exemption from a micro-entrepreneur supplier, ask them to confirm their VAT status in writing; a change in regime partway through the year can affect your own input tax position.

Artisans registered in the Répertoire des métiers are also visible via the same tools following the RNE merger of 1 January 2023. There is no longer a separate artisan register to consult.

Foreign companies operating in France#

Companies incorporated abroad and not registered in France do not have a SIRET. If they have a permanent establishment or a registered branch in France, that entity will have its own SIRET and can be verified in the normal way.

For a European company with no French registration, use the Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS), accessible via the European e-Justice portal at e-justice.europa.eu. BRIS interconnects the commercial registers of EU member states and allows you to retrieve basic registration data, directors, and filing history directly from the national register of the country of incorporation. The depth of information available varies by member state.

For companies incorporated outside the EU, verification depends on the jurisdiction. Some countries maintain public registers accessible online (Companies House in the UK, for instance); others require in-country searches or the assistance of a local correspondent. In these cases, requesting a certified copy of the certificate of incorporation and recent constitutional documents from the counterparty is standard practice.

No. An active SIRET confirms only that the establishment is registered in the INSEE directory and has not been deactivated. It does not indicate:

• The company's financial health or solvency.
• Whether trading activity is genuinely ongoing.
• Whether the signatory has authority to bind the company.
• The absence of insolvency proceedings (which may have been filed but not yet reflected in the directory).
• The holding of required professional licences or sector-specific approvals.

An illustrative example, based on situations we commonly see in client files. Picture a construction SME that engages a subcontractor whose SIRET shows as active on the Business Directory. The contract is signed and the first instalment paid. Three weeks later, the subcontractor enters judicial liquidation, a procedure that had in fact been filed at the commercial court ten days before the contract but had not yet appeared on the RNE at the time of the check. The clerk transmits insolvency notices to the BODACC within fifteen days of the judgment (article R.621-8 of the Commercial Code); cross-checking the BODACC alongside the RNE therefore widens the net for very recent procedures, even if a judgment filed only days earlier may not be published yet. In that scenario the buyer risks losing the advance payment and facing a delay claim from its own client. The lesson: for transactions above a few thousand euros, the SIRET check alone is not sufficient, and the depth of verification should match the amount at stake.

In practice, a thorough supplier or client onboarding process should also include:

• Reviewing filed annual accounts on data.inpi.fr for companies required to publish them.
• Confirming signing authority via the articles of association or a board resolution.
• Checking the beneficial ownership declaration (RBE) to identify the individuals who ultimately control the entity.
• For regulated sectors (financial services, construction, energy efficiency works, healthcare, etc.): verifying the relevant professional authorisation with the competent regulator : Qualibat, RGE, AMF, ACPR, or equivalent.

A one-off SIRET check at onboarding is a good start. A documented, repeatable process is what genuinely reduces risk over time. Here is a practical framework that works for SMEs, startups, and professional practices alike.

At first contact (before any payment or binding commitment):

1. Search the Business Directory and note the status, address, APE code, and directors.
2. Download the Sirene registration certificate and save it in the supplier or client file with the date of the check.
3. For transactions above a material threshold (which your firm should define : commonly somewhere in the range of 5,000 to 10,000 euros), check the RNE for court proceedings and the BODACC for recent notices.
4. Confirm that the SIRET on the invoice or quote matches the establishment you verified : not a different establishment of the same group.

Annually for strategic partners:

Repeat steps 1 and 2 for any supplier or client that represents a significant share of your revenue or expenditure. Companies can change status, directors, or address between the time you onboarded them and the time you are renewing a major contract.

On any significant contractual event:

Whenever a partner proposes a change of terms, a new signatory, or a material increase in transaction volume, re-run the full check. Changes of director are a common moment when signing authority issues arise and when financial difficulties may not yet be publicly visible.

Document everything. In a tax audit or a commercial dispute, the question is not just what you found but when you found it and whether you acted on it. A simple folder structure : one subfolder per supplier or client, named with the date of each check : is sufficient for most SMEs. This approach fits naturally within the wider KYC (Know Your Customer / Know Your Supplier) framework that financial institutions and regulated businesses are already required to maintain, and that any well-run SME should adopt proportionately.

Use this cadence to keep the depth of verification proportionate to the moment and the amount at stake:

One folder per supplier and client, each check time-stamped, is enough to evidence reasonable due diligence in a dispute or a tax audit.

A SIRET that returns no result or displays a "cessé" (ceased) status is a significant warning sign before any payment or contractual commitment:

• Request a recently dated Sirene registration certificate (less than three months old) from your counterparty.
• Check whether the business may continue under a different SIRET (new establishment, structural reorganisation).
• Verify that the SIREN itself remains active even if one establishment has closed.
• If uncertainty persists, seek advice from an accountant or lawyer before proceeding.

Checking a SIRET at onboarding is sound practice. Archiving the proof is essential. In a dispute, a tax audit, or a client investigation, you need documentary evidence that you carried out reasonable due diligence when the commercial relationship began.

Our recommendation: maintain a supplier file and a client file that include, for each new partner, a dated Sirene registration certificate obtained on the day of the first order or contract. Renew this check annually for strategic partners. This preventive verification logic integrates naturally into a KYC process scaled to the needs of SMEs and startups.

Up to date as of 18 July 2026. This article is for information only and does not replace personalised professional advice. For your specific situation, consult a registered chartered accountant (expert-comptable inscrit à l'Ordre).