How to set up a SAS step by step: the complete 2026 procedure

Quick answer. To set up a SAS in 2026, gather at least two shareholders, draft and sign the articles of association, deposit the capital into a blocked account (at least half paid up), publish a legal notice, then file the registration on the single window. Budget 250 to 300 EUR of statutory fees and a few days to three weeks until the Kbis.

The simplified joint-stock company (SAS) appeals to multi-shareholder projects for one clear reason: governance flexibility. But that freedom cuts both ways. When several people put money and time into the same company, what really matters at incorporation is not the administrative paperwork, it is how power is shared and how future disagreements will be handled. This guide sets out the full procedure to set up your company with a chartered accountant, step by step, with the real 2026 costs and timelines.

We focus here on the multi-shareholder SAS. If you are on your own, you set up a SASU, with similar mechanics but without the shareholder-agreement dimension that drives the real difficulty of a SAS.

The SAS is governed by articles L227-1 and following of the French Commercial Code. It is formed with at least two shareholders (a single shareholder gives a SASU). Shareholders can be individuals or legal entities, French or foreign, which makes it well suited to holding or investor structures.

Its strengths for a collective project:

• Statutory freedom: governance, management bodies and decision rules are set freely in the articles.
• Limited liability to contributions: the shareholders' personal assets are in principle protected.
• Open capital: investor entry, BSPCE, preferred shares, all tools favoured by startups.

Share capital: no minimum, but a paying-up rule#

There is no legal minimum capital: a SAS can be set up with 1 EUR of capital. However, for cash contributions, at least half (50%) must be paid up at incorporation, with the balance within five years. Do not confuse this with the SARL, where the rule is one fifth (20%).

Our take. A symbolic 1 EUR capital is legally possible, but it is rarely a good signal. Capital acts as a credibility cushion with banks, suppliers and landlords. For a SAS that will hire, lease premises or seek financing, capital aligned with the start-up need is a management decision, not just a formality.

The articles are the founding act. They must include a core set of information: company name, purpose, registered office, amount and allocation of capital, identity of the president, collective decision rules. But for a multi-shareholder SAS, the real stakes lie in the shareholder clauses.

The three clauses to prioritise:

1. Approval clause: it subjects the entry of a new shareholder to the others' consent, so you do not end up partnered with a stranger after a transfer.
2. Pre-emption clause: it gives existing shareholders a priority right to buy back transferred shares, preserving the capital balance.
3. Lock-up clause: it prohibits the transfer of shares for a set period, useful to bind the founders over the early years.

The underestimated risk. In multi-shareholder incorporations, the sticking point rarely appears at the start, when everyone gets along, but two years later, when one shareholder wants to leave, stops contributing, or wants to sell to a third party. Articles drafted hastily, with no approval or pre-emption clause, then leave the company without a safety net. Rebuilding those rules afterwards requires unanimity, which is precisely what is missing during a conflict.

Do you need a contributions auditor?#

If shareholders contribute assets (equipment, goodwill, rights) rather than cash, a contributions auditor (commissaire aux apports) is required where a single contribution in kind exceeds 30,000 EUR or where the total value of contributions in kind exceeds half the capital. Plan for it: the appointment and the report extend the timeline.

Cash contributions are paid into a blocked account in the name of the company being formed. Four possible depositaries: a bank, a professional neobank, a notary or the Caisse des dépôts. The depositary issues a certificate of deposit of funds, an essential document for the next steps.

In practice, many founders pick a neobank for speed of opening. You can, for example, deposit the capital into a pro account such as Qonto, avoiding branch-appointment delays. A reminder: only half of the cash contributions must be paid at incorporation.

The incorporation must be made public through a legal notice in an authorised outlet in the registered-office department. Since 2021, the rate has been a flat fee per legal form. For a SAS in 2026, the flat fee is 199 EUR excl. VAT in mainland France (decree of 19 November 2025; higher rate in La Réunion and Mayotte). The outlet issues a publication certificate to attach to the file.

Since 1 January 2023, all incorporation formalities go through the single window for business formalities (formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr), run by INPI, which replaced the former CFE bodies. You file the complete, digitised application there.

Documents to provide#

Pre-filing checklist:

• Articles signed by all shareholders
• Certificate of deposit of funds obtained
• Valid, up-to-date proof of registered office
• Legal notice published and certificate received
• Beneficial owners declaration prepared
• President's ID and non-conviction declaration

The commercial court registry processes the file, registers the SAS at the trade and companies register (RCS) and issues the Kbis extract, the company's identity card. The SIREN and SIRET are assigned. Upon presentation of the Kbis, the depositary releases the funds to the company current account, which can begin trading.

Unavoidable statutory fees therefore come to around 250 to 300 EUR, excluding capital and fees. Key point: share capital is not an expense. It is a contribution that stays the property of the SAS and funds its launch.

The timeline runs from a few days to two or three weeks, depending on how complete the file is and the registry's workload. Files that drag are almost never blocked by the administration: it is the internal documents that are missing (incomplete proof of office, articles not signed by everyone, a last-minute disagreement over a clause).

2026 points of vigilance. Three pitfalls recur in SAS incorporations: a too-narrow corporate purpose that will later prevent a new activity without amending the articles; forgetting the beneficial owners declaration, which blocks registration; and a poorly calibrated paying-up of capital, the balance of contributions being callable within five years. Anticipate these three points before filing.

Setting up a SAS online via a platform is possible and cheap for a simple project. But the multi-shareholder SAS quickly outgrows the standard template: capital allocation, shareholder clauses, the president's remuneration trade-off, opening tax choices. We compare these in our article on creating online or with a chartered accountant.

The right benchmark: the more shareholders, contributions in kind, investors or governance stakes there are, the more tailored support makes sense. Our business-creation support covers the bespoke drafting of articles and the management of the timeline.

Think ahead too: a SAS evolves. You may need to increase a SAS's capital when investors arrive, or instead choose another form. If you are starting from an existing structure, see how to convert a SARL into a SAS.

Three shareholders launch. One contributes 60% of the capital in cash, the other two 20% each, one of them through equipment valued at 35,000 EUR. Two reflexes seem essential to us in this kind of file. First, the 35,000 EUR contribution in kind exceeds the 30,000 EUR threshold: a contributions auditor must be appointed, and the intervention planned upstream so it does not delay filing. Second, a pre-emption clause and a schedule for paying up the balance prevent a capital imbalance from turning into deadlock if one shareholder wants to exit. Nothing exceptional, but points to handle before signing, not after.