Minor micro-enterprise in France: what is actually possible in 2026?

Parents of entrepreneurial teenagers and young people themselves regularly ask the same question: can a minor start a micro-enterprise in France? The question sounds simple. The legal answer is not. It turns on one pivotal concept that French law draws sharply: emancipation.

France's micro-enterprise regime — the simplified sole-trader scheme that combines registration, social contributions, and tax into one streamlined system — is a form of entreprise individuelle (EI), meaning a sole proprietorship. The Civil Code sets clear capacity rules for who can create an EI. Those rules apply regardless of how straightforward the registration portal looks, and neither the URSSAF nor the INPI single-window can waive them.

Direct answer: a non-emancipated minor cannot create a micro-enterprise — French law prohibits it. An emancipated minor aged 16 or over can. The alternative for a non-emancipated minor is a single-member company (EURL or SASU) with written parental authorisation. A court authorisation is also required if the activity is commercial in nature.

Yes, but only if the minor is emancipated under French law. No, if the minor is not emancipated — and this distinction is absolute, not a matter of degree.

The micro-enterprise (auto-entrepreneur) regime is legally a mode of operating as a sole trader. A non-emancipated minor lacks the legal capacity to create a sole proprietorship. This is not an administrative technicality that can be worked around with a parental consent letter: it is a statutory incapacity established by the Civil Code, article 388-1-2. An application submitted through the INPI single-window platform on behalf of a non-emancipated minor will be rejected.

An emancipated minor, on the other hand, has full legal capacity for civil matters and can create an EI from the age of 16. Additional court authorisation is required specifically to engage in commercial activities (see below).

The answer depends on the minor's legal status, not simply their age:

• Emancipated minor: from age 16, can create an EI and therefore use the micro-enterprise regime. For commercial activities specifically, a judicial authorisation to trade is required — granted at the time of emancipation by the guardianship judge, or later by the presiding judge of the court.
• Non-emancipated minor: no age is sufficient. Even at 17 years and 11 months, without emancipation, the micro-enterprise regime is closed. The only available path is a single-member company (EURL or SASU), not a sole proprietorship.
• Adult (18 and over): full access to the micro-enterprise regime under standard conditions.

Emancipation in France is obtained by court decision before the guardianship judge, on application by both parents or one of them (the minor being heard), or automatically upon marriage (rare in practice, and subject to a dispensation below age 18). It does not happen automatically at age 16: it requires an individual judicial ruling.

No. This is the single most important rule to retain, and the most frequently misunderstood.

A non-emancipated minor cannot:

• create a sole proprietorship (entreprise individuelle);
• register under the micro-enterprise (auto-entrepreneur) scheme;
• be a trader (commerçant).

A non-emancipated minor can:

• hold shares in a company as a partner or shareholder;
• create and manage an EURL (single-member limited liability company) or a SASU (single-member simplified joint-stock company), with written authorisation from both parents;
• prepare a project in advance to register once emancipated or upon reaching the age of majority.

The distinction between "holding shares in a company" and "operating as a sole trader" is fundamental in French law. A minor can own shares in a company; a minor cannot be the sole operator of an EI. The micro-enterprise, being an EI, is therefore closed to any non-emancipated minor.

For a non-emancipated minor wishing to create an EURL or SASU, the requirements under the Civil Code (art. 388-1-2) are as follows:

Parental authorisation for administrative acts

• Both parents must give their agreement: a written signed declaration by both parents, or a notarial deed.
• This authorisation covers ordinary administrative acts: signing standard service contracts, opening a professional bank account, issuing invoices.
• It must explicitly list the acts authorised.

Disposal acts: prohibited for the minor, reserved to parents

• Purchase or sale of a business (fonds de commerce).
• Professional bank borrowing.
• Creation of guarantees or security interests.
• These acts require the parents (as legal representatives) to act, and in some cases a guardianship court authorisation.

For commercial activities

• If the activity is commercial in nature, a specific judicial authorisation to trade is required — even for an emancipated minor. Without this authorisation, the minor cannot engage in commercial activities, whether as a sole trader or as director of a commercial company.

Situation: Tom, 16, is in his final year of secondary school and offers web development and graphic design services to small businesses. He already has three clients and wants to invoice them legally.

Scenario 1 — Tom is not emancipated. The micro-enterprise is closed to him. He cannot register as a sole trader. However, his parents can authorise him to create a SASU of which he would be the president. Written authorisation from both parents is required, listing the acts he is authorised to perform. Ordinary acts — signing a service contract, issuing invoices, opening a professional bank account — are covered. To borrow money or sell assets, his parents would need to intervene as legal representatives.

Tax treatment of the SASU: corporation tax (IS) by default, with a reduced rate of 15% on the first 42,500 euros of profit (subject to conditions). Tom's salary as president is taxed as employment income — within the family tax household if he remains attached to it.

Scenario 2 — Tom obtains emancipation. He can now create a micro-enterprise under the BNC (non-commercial profits) regime for service activities. The 2026 micro threshold for service activities is 83,600 euros. The flat-rate deduction is 34%. Social contributions are paid at URSSAF micro rates. His income is declared either on his own tax return or within the family household if he chooses to remain attached.

Emancipation is not a trivial step: it is a judicial decision that substantially alters the minor's civil status and should be weighed carefully as a family.

1. Determine the minor's status: emancipated or not? If not, the micro-enterprise and any sole-trader registration are excluded.
2. Identify the nature of the activity: liberal (service-based), craft, or commercial? Commercial activity requires additional judicial authorisation even for an emancipated minor.
3. Check whether the activity is regulated: some professions require a qualification, registration with a professional body, or an administrative licence.
4. Choose the legal structure: micro-enterprise (emancipated minor only) or EURL/SASU (non-emancipated minor, with parental authorisation).
5. Prepare the authorisations: for a non-emancipated minor, draft the written declaration signed by both parents, or consult a notary.
6. File the registration documents: through the INPI single-window platform (formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr), mandatory since 1 January 2023.
7. Open a professional bank account: mandatory for SASU/EURL; strongly recommended for the micro-enterprise.
8. Clarify the tax household: a minor's income is in principle included in the parents' tax household if the minor remains attached to it. A separate return is possible but not automatic.
9. Register with URSSAF: for the micro-enterprise, declare the start of activity online and choose options (liberatory withholding tax if eligible based on N-2 household income).
10. Take out professional insurance if the activity requires it (professional liability coverage).

This point is consistently underestimated in early conversations. The tax position of a minor entrepreneur depends on two questions: is the minor attached to the parents' tax household? What legal structure has been chosen?

Minor attached to the parental tax household (most common situation) The minor's professional income — profits from the micro-enterprise, salary from the SASU — is added to the household income and taxed at the parents' marginal rate. This can have a significant impact if the parents are in a high income-tax bracket. In exchange, the attachment provides an additional half-share for the parents' tax calculation.

Minor with a separate tax return Possible, but rarely advantageous in the early years if income is modest. Must be assessed case by case.

SASU or EURL taxed under corporation tax (IS) The company pays IS on its profits. Income paid to the minor (salary, dividends) is taxed according to its nature in the relevant tax household. Note that the flat tax (PFU) on dividends increased to 31.4% from 1 January 2026 (up from 30%), following a 1.4-point rise in social levies under the 2026 Social Security Finance Act.

When a parent contacts us about their child's entrepreneurial project, the opening request is almost always: "I want them to open a micro-enterprise." Our first two questions are always the same: is the child emancipated? Is the activity commercial in nature?

In the majority of cases we handle, the minor is not emancipated, and the activity — even if it appears "digital" or "creative" — may have a commercial dimension (product resale, affiliate marketing, dropshipping). In those situations, the micro-enterprise is doubly closed: by the minor's legal status and by the nature of the activity.

The structure we most often recommend in this scenario is the SASU: a clear social security regime (the president is treated as an employed director, with no contributions if no salary is paid), IS with the reduced rate potentially applicable, and transparent governance. The EURL is an alternative when parents prefer the self-employed (TNS) social regime and the default income tax transparency.

In all cases, we draft with the family a document precisely listing the acts the minor is authorised to perform, to avoid any subsequent dispute about the scope of the minor's commitments.

The underestimated risk: many platforms — Fiverr, Malt, affiliate networks, online marketplaces — technically allow a minor to register and receive payments without formal registration. This is not without consequence. Undeclared income, even modest, can generate an URSSAF reassessment or an irregular tax situation. Regularisation is possible but must be anticipated proactively.

ACRE for an emancipated minor: if an emancipated minor creates a micro-enterprise, they may qualify for ACRE (partial social contribution exemption in the early period of activity). The exact reduced rates vary by profile and creation date — verify directly with URSSAF.

2026 micro thresholds (triennial uprating): for a BNC micro-enterprise (graphic design, web development, consulting, etc.), the 2026 turnover threshold is now 83,600 euros (up from 77,700 euros for 2023-2025). The flat-rate deduction remains 34%. Source: entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr.

Scope note: this article sets out the general legal framework as at 29 May 2026. Each situation — depending on the minor's age, emancipation status, the nature of the activity, and the family's tax position — requires individual analysis. This article does not replace advice from a chartered accountant (expert-comptable) or a qualified legal adviser.

Sources: Entreprendre.service-public.fr — From what age can you create a business; Can a minor be a partner in a company; Who can become a trader; INPI single-window registration; New 2026-2028 micro thresholds. Updated 29 May 2026.