Chartered accountant for commissaires de justice (former bailiffs): third-party funds accounting, regulated fees vs free fees, BNC 2035 and CAVOM pension. Quote in 24h.
A commissaire de justice practice cannot be run like an ordinary professional firm. As a public and ministerial officer, you handle funds every day that are not yours: sums recovered on behalf of creditors, consignments, escrow. On top of that comes a dual-regime remuneration, a regulated tariff for monopoly acts and free fees for your competitive activities. The practice's accounting turns precisely on these two points, and that is where the profession's inspections focus.
Our firm supports regulated professions that handle third-party funds from the chartered accountancy firm in Paris 8. This page gives our concrete view of what makes the difference in a commissaire de justice practice: separation of third-party funds, revenue split, taxation and profitability steering.
Quick answer. The commissaire de justice (who replaced the bailiff, or huissier de justice, on 1 July 2022) keeps regulated accounts. They strictly separate the funds held on behalf of third parties (sums recovered, consignments) from the practice's own income, on dedicated accounts whose representation must be justifiable at any time. Revenue splits into regulated-tariff emoluments (monopoly acts), free fees (amicable recovery, official reports, advice) and disbursements rebilled at cost. The activity falls under non-commercial profits (controlled 2035 return), practice through a SCP or SEL is possible, and the pension depends on CAVOM.
Since 1 July 2022, the profession of bailiff (huissier de justice) and that of judicial auctioneer have merged into a single profession, the commissaire de justice (ordinance no. 2016-728 of 2 June 2016). Many clients still search for the term bailiff: the core work (service of documents, enforcement, official reports, recovery) remains, with a broader scope, notably towards the sale of movable assets.
You are a public and ministerial officer, appointed by the Minister of Justice, and the profession is supervised by the National Chamber of Commissaires de Justice. This ministerial-officer status carries precise accounting consequences: third-party funds handling, regulated tariff, fund representation obligations and professional secrecy.
This is the one thing nothing replaces. A significant share of the sums passing through the practice are not income: they are funds held for third parties (sums recovered for creditors, consignments, escrow). These funds must be strictly separated from the practice's own funds.
In practice, this means:
In practices that handle funds, the most costly error is almost never an arithmetic mistake: it is a mixing of logics. Practice income confused with third-party funds, a reconciliation lag between sums recovered and remittances. These are exactly the discrepancies an inspection looks for. Our conviction: third-party funds accounting is not a by-product of the practice's accounts, it is the first compliance deliverable.
Your turnover is made up of three kinds of income to be distinguished from the moment of billing:
The correct split of these three kinds drives both the reading of profitability and the correct VAT treatment. The practice's services are in principle subject to VAT at the standard rate, while disbursements are excluded: rigorous till and billing settings prevent reassessments.
The activity falls, for tax purposes, under non-commercial profits (BNC), with a controlled 2035 return. Practising through a company is possible: a professional civil company (SCP) or a liberal practice company (SELARL, SELAS), possibly under a holding (SPFPL). The choice of form and of the manager's remuneration carries social and tax consequences that deserve an assessment specific to your situation. For structuring and governance questions, the support of legal advice in Paris usefully complements the accounting analysis.
The pension falls under CAVOM (the pension fund for ministerial and public officers and judicial companies): it is not the same fund as for lawyers or notaries, and the contribution base deserves to be anticipated in your cash forecast.
A common case in our files: a commissaire de justice SELARL consults us with sound practice accounting, but a blurred boundary between practice income and third-party funds, and a till that mixes regulated emoluments and recovery fees. The work consisted of making the separation of funds reliable, establishing a regular consistency between sums owed to third parties and balances, and reconfiguring billing to cleanly split emoluments, free fees and disbursements. Bookkeeping and review form the foundation of compliance here. No figure from this case can be generalised: each practice has its own activity mix and organisation.
Part of your activity is under a regulated tariff: profitability is therefore steered through the activity mix and time spent, not through price. The share of free fees (amicable recovery, reports, advice) is the most actionable margin lever.
| Indicator to track | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Split of emoluments / free fees / disbursements | Reading of the revenue structure and margin potential |
| Effective recovery rate | Performance of the key competitive activity |
| Average remittance time to creditors | Quality of third-party funds management |
| Funds owed vs balances consistency | Compliance and fund representation indicator |
| Output per staff member | Productivity and team sizing |
Our approach respects the professional secrecy and independence expected of a regulated profession, as for the notarial offices, law firms and judicial administrators and insolvency practitioners we support.
Every commissaire de justice practice has its own activity mix, organisation and tools. The right starting point is a conversation about your actual situation: volume of acts and recoveries, how third-party funds are kept, form of practice. We offer an initial meeting to frame the scope and priorities.
Updated 20 June 2026. Informative content reviewed by a chartered accountant registered with the Île-de-France Chartered Accountants Board. A decision specific to your practice requires examination of your situation, your documents and the regulations in force.
The commissaire de justice is a regulated profession of public and ministerial officer, created on 1 July 2022 from the merger of bailiffs and judicial auctioneers (ordinance no. 2016-728 of 2 June 2016). The activity falls under BNC (controlled 2035 return) and is carried out as a sole practice or through a company (SCP, SEL). Its accounting specificity lies in the handling of third-party funds (separation and representation) and a mixed remuneration (regulated-tariff emoluments, free fees, disbursements).
Keep dedicated accounts for sums held for third parties (recoveries, consignments), strictly distinct from operating accounts, with no offsetting between the two.
Regularly check the consistency between sums owed to creditors and balances on account, so that it can be justified at any time during an inspection.
Configure billing and the till to distinguish regulated-tariff emoluments, free fees and disbursements, a condition for correct VAT and an accurate reading of margin.
Record professional liability insurance and the CAVOM contribution as recurring costs, and document the AML-CFT due diligence linked to handling funds.
Track the split of emoluments / free fees / disbursements, the recovery rate and output per staff member, to action the margin lever of competitive activities.
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It is the same profession. Since 1 July 2022, the bailiff (huissier de justice) and the judicial auctioneer have merged into a single profession, the commissaire de justice (ordinance no. 2016-728 of 2 June 2016). The work (service of documents, enforcement, reports, recovery) remains, with a scope broadened notably towards the sale of movables.
Because some of the sums passing through the practice do not belong to it: sums recovered for creditors, consignments, escrow. These third-party funds must be strictly separated from the practice's income, on dedicated accounts, with fund representation that is justifiable at any time.
Into three distinct kinds: regulated-tariff emoluments (monopoly acts), free fees (amicable recovery, reports, advice, sales) and disbursements rebilled at cost. This split drives both the reading of profitability and the correct VAT treatment.
The activity falls under non-commercial profits (BNC), with a controlled 2035 return. Practising through a company is possible: SCP, SEL (SELARL, SELAS), possibly with an SPFPL. The choice of form and remuneration is decided case by case.
The practice's services are in principle subject to VAT at the standard rate. Disbursements, which are sums advanced for the client and rebilled at cost with no margin, are outside the scope of VAT. Rigorous till and billing settings prevent errors.
The pension falls under CAVOM (the pension fund for ministerial and public officers and judicial companies). It is not the lawyers' fund: the contribution base should be anticipated in the practice's cash forecast.
With monopoly emoluments set by a regulated tariff, profitability is steered through the activity mix and time spent, not price. The share of free fees (amicable recovery, reports, advice) is the main margin lever, tracked in a regular dashboard.
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