Putting a company on hiatus: what to do in 2026?

Updated March 2026 - Putting a company into hibernation allows the activity to be temporarily suspended without dissolving or deregistering the company. This is a useful solution when a project is on pause, a manager wants to freeze a structure or a reorientation is underway. On the other hand, the company does not become "invisible": it retains its registration and continues to bear certain obligations.

According to Entreprendre.Service-Public, shelving is possible as long as the company does not experience financial difficulties leading to cessation of payments.

It can be used to:

• temporarily suspend operation;
• maintain a structure while waiting for a recovery;
• avoid immediate dissolution.

To go deeper into the logic of pausing or reordering, also see our article capital reduction not motivated by losses, our guide URSSAF control and our folder payroll outsourcing.

The key rule is simple: the company must declare the temporary cessation of activity on the one-stop shop within one month from the decision to suspend.

In practice, it is necessary:

• formalize the decision;
• make the déclaration at the formalities counter;
• attach the requested supporting documents.

Entreprendre.Service-Public indicates that dormancy is in principle limited to 2 years maximum.

At the end of this period, you must choose:

• either resumption of activity;
• or the dissolution of the company.

Putting it to sleep does not make all administrative matters disappear.

Service-Public recalls in particular:

• in VAT, the company is exempt from déclaration and payment during inactivity;
• at IS, a déclaration of results with the mention "none" remains necessary;
• in terms of CFE, the suspension of activity is assimilated to a cessation of activity after 12 consecutive months, with effects on taxation;
• any employee contributions remain due;
• for the manager in the general scheme, the level of contributions depends on the rémunération maintained or not.

Hayot Expertise Advice: putting it to sleep is not a complete suspension. If accounting, déclarations and payroll are not properly processed during inactivity, the company quickly accumulates administrative irritants which will emerge upon resumption or dissolution.

• believe that a dormant company no longer has any obligations;
• forget the déclaration within one month;
• allow payroll or flows to remain without review;
• confuse dormancy and definitive closure.

We can secure the dormant formality, the accounting déclarations and the recovery or closure plan depending on your scenario.

Secure your corporate and accounting formalities

Hiatus is especially useful for companies that still have asset value, a brand, a contract or a project to relaunch later. It is more delicate if the structure has very few assets and very few prospects, because the administrative cost can quickly outweigh the value of pausing.

• check the contracts that had been paused;
• update insurance and subscriptions;
• review tax obligations that become active again;
• inform the accounting firm of the restart;
• plan the exact date activity resumes.

The most common one is thinking that hiatus erases every obligation. Another is leaving it running without oversight, then discovering at restart that filings are late. The management is light, but it still has to be real.

<details> <summary>Can a company on hiatus sign new contracts?</summary> In principle, no if it no longer has effective activity. Before signing anything, you have to check that the move is actually compatible with hiatus. </details> <details> <summary>Should banks and partners be informed?</summary> Yes, if accounts, payment tools or contracts remain open. That avoids unnecessary flows and later misunderstandings. </details>

The biggest advantage of a well-managed hiatus is the exit. Before suspending activity, you should already know who will approve the restart, which formalities will be filed and which contracts will be reactivated. Without an exit calendar, the pause turns into friction.

<details> <summary>Can you restart overnight?</summary> Sometimes yes, but only if contracts, tools and obligations were anticipated. In practice, it is better to prepare a short written restart plan. </details>

For a manager, hiatus is useful mainly when it buys time for reflection without locking the company into a definitive closure. But that comfort only exists if the paperwork is clean and the exit is already planned.

A hiatus is less expensive than a full closure with liquidation, but it should not be treated as free. You still need time to prepare, file the formalities, keep residual obligations up to date and sometimes get accounting or legal support so nothing is missed.

A consulting SAS that pauses activity for six to twelve months can keep its structure, key contracts and identity. A good file then sets out the restart date, the contracts to reactivate and who is responsible for the restart decision.

Hiatus should not be used to postpone a real decision indefinitely. If the project has no future, it is better to decide quickly. If it does have a future, the restart should already be planned before the pause starts.

The best way not to suffer dormancy is to treat it as an organized pause. If activity is meant to resume, you should already know which filings to restart, who approves the restart and how commercial flows will start again. If the comeback never happens, you should also be able to switch to a clean closure without starting from scratch.

A digital services company may put its activity on hold while it redesigns its commercial offer. During the pause, it keeps essential contracts, monitors residual payroll and prepares the restart with a simple roadmap: reactivation date, clients to call back, tools to reopen and accounting points to update.

A small tracking file is often enough: hiatus decision, filing date, list of maintained obligations, contract status and target restart date. That tracking avoids omissions and reassures both the accountant and the manager.

Hiatus keeps a company alive but on pause. Dissolution ends the structure. The choice often depends on the remaining value in the company, the likelihood of a restart and the overall cost you are willing to bear.

• the company is not already insolvent;
• the manager knows who will approve the restart;
• useful contracts are identified;
• accounting and tax follow-up is organized;
• the exit file has already started.

A restart can be gradual: first admin obligations, then tools, then contracts and finally sales. That pace avoids a too-brutal restart that would recreate the same problems the pause was meant to solve.

During the pause, you still need a small amount of active monitoring: social inbox, bank, tax duties, insurers and any recurring suppliers. That minimum attention avoids surprises and makes the restart much easier.

Tracking should stay very simple: a start date, a target exit date, the list of maintained obligations and one person responsible for restart. That discipline avoids turning a temporary pause into a forgotten file.

The manager must also think about the human pace of the restart: calling clients back, rescheduling teams, reopening accounts and revalidating tools. That simple preparation turns a legal pause into a real restart strategy. The pause must remain temporary in the manager's mind: if it drags on too long, it ends up consuming more energy than it saves. The real goal is to buy useful time, not to suspend the final decision forever. For companies with some asset value, hiatus can also help protect value while waiting for a better decision point. It keeps the structure alive while giving time to clarify the next step, which is often better than a rushed closure. In practice, this option is especially interesting when the company still has value to preserve, whether it is a brand name, a contract or a client base. It buys enough breathing room to decide again without losing the structure. Finally, this option keeps the door open to a quick restart if the market comes back faster than expected. That is often what matters most for a manager who wants agility without cutting the link to the business.

• make sure the company is not insolvent;
• close any secondary establishment first;
• file the dormancy déclaration within one month of the decision;
• mark the two-year limit in the calendar;
• keep a clear plan for the restart or the exit route.

When the file is prepared upfront, the one-stop shop, the accountant and the manager all work on the same timeline. The real risk is not only filing badly, but forgetting the restart date and letting the file drift until the structure is left in limbo.

(Official sources: Entreprendre.Service-Public on putting a company on hold, business formalities desk and official notice of déclaration of modification of a legal entity)