Share Capital: Amount, Release and Impact in 2026

Quick answer. There is no minimum share capital for the SARL, EURL, SAS and SASU: €1 is legally possible (the SA keeps a €37,000 floor). Cash contributions must be partly released at incorporation — at least 20% for the SARL and EURL, 50% for the SAS and SASU — with the balance paid within five years. In-kind contributions are valued, in principle by a contributions auditor, unless an exemption applies (no contribution above €30,000 and total in-kind contributions below half the capital). Too little capital weakens banking credibility and, in case of losses, exposes the company to the "loss of half the capital" procedure.

Since the abolition of the SARL minimum capital in 2003, France lets entrepreneurs freely set the capital of most companies. This freedom lowers the barrier to entry but shifts responsibility: the chosen amount signals to banks, suppliers and clients, and conditions the financial strength of the early months. Capital is therefore not a formality: it is a strategic choice, like the legal form or the director's social regime.

For the SARL, EURL, SAS and SASU, no floor is imposed. Only the SA keeps a minimum capital of €37,000 (article L.224-2 of the Commercial Code). In practice, €1 of capital is rarely advisable: it complicates access to credit and weakens the company's image.

Three benchmarks guide the choice.

1. Start-up needs. Add up incorporation fees, first rent, equipment, initial stock and the cash needed before first revenue. The capital should cover a credible share of this need.
2. Financial credibility. Banks value a sufficient equity ratio. Capital representing a notable share of the funding need eases loan approval and better terms; symbolic capital often leads to refusal or reliance on shareholder current accounts.
3. Liability. In a limited-liability company, partners answer for debts only up to their contributions — provided they do not mix assets or grant personal guarantees, which reopen the exposure.

Depending on the project, capital from a few thousand to a few tens of thousands of euros is often a reasonable balance. The choice is reasoned with the chosen form (SASU or EURL, sole trader or EURL) and a professional's help.

Release is the actual payment of contributions. Cash contributions are not all required immediately.

Example. For a SARL with €50,000 capital fully in cash, €10,000 (20%) must be deposited at incorporation; the €40,000 balance is called within five years by partner decision. In a SAS, the same capital would require €25,000 (50%) at incorporation.

As long as the capital is not fully released, the company cannot, in principle, carry out a cash capital increase, and the reduced corporate-tax rate may be denied if the capital is not fully released at year-end.

A cash contribution is a sum of money; an in-kind contribution is an asset (equipment, business, patent, building). The in-kind contribution must be valued, and that valuation checked by a contributions auditor.

An exemption from the contributions auditor is possible, in the SARL and SAS, if two cumulative conditions are met:

• no in-kind contribution exceeds €30,000, and
• the total value of in-kind contributions does not exceed half the share capital.

The director's future work is never an in-kind contribution: it is remunerated by a salary or officer's pay.

In its first year, a consulting SAS anticipates incorporation fees, six months of rent, IT equipment and working capital to cover expenses before the first invoices are paid — a need of around €40,000. Capital of €1 would cover nothing and weaken any credit application. Capital of €20,000 to €30,000, topped up by a bank loan or shareholder current-account contributions, signals solidity while preserving the manager's personal cash. Conversely, tying up €100,000 in capital with no matching operational need would needlessly deprive the manager of liquidity. The right amount follows from the funding plan, not from habit: that is the focus of the diagnostic we run at incorporation.

Variable capital. Some companies adopt variable capital, which can move between a floor and a ceiling without amending the bylaws — useful for structures with incoming and outgoing partners. Minimum-release rules still apply.

Startups. A SAS or SASU sometimes starts with modest capital, increased at each funding round by issuing new shares. Consistency with the fundraising plan matters more than the initial amount.

Later increases. Capital is strengthened by new contributions or by incorporating reserves; each increase requires a collective decision and a bylaw amendment.

• Under-capitalisation. Very low capital backed by high debt can be recharacterised by the tax authority and weakens the company against creditors.
• Loss of half the capital. If equity falls below half the share capital, a procedure applies: consultation of partners and remediation within two years, failing which dissolution may be sought. See our analyses on the loss of half the share capital and insufficient equity.
• Valuation of in-kind contributions. Over-valuation engages partners' liability and risks reassessment; under-valuation deprives the company of real equity.
• Release of the balance. The unreleased balance remains due: set the call schedule in the bylaws.

As a chartered accountant registered with the Ordre des experts-comptables, we regularly see the consequences of capital set without thought. Recently, a manager consulted us after forming an EURL with €1 of capital: the business was running, but the bank refused all professional credit for lack of equity. A capital increase to a level consistent with needs was enough to unlock medium-term financing. Conversely, tying up oversized capital drains personal cash with no operational benefit.

The right approach is to size the capital to the real needs of the first eighteen months — neither too low (credibility, under-capitalisation) nor too high (needless lock-up). It is a trade-off we systematically quantify at incorporation.

Hayot Expertise advice. Do not treat share capital as a box to tick. Size it to your start-up needs and banking strategy, and set a realistic release schedule in the bylaws. Our business creation support includes this structuring, alongside a comparison of legal forms and the follow-up of your chartered accountant in Paris.