Artisan Anglais

SIRET CHECK INFORMATION

Registered artisans in France should have their Siret number clearly printed on their advertisements, devis, flyers or bills. The words "Siret en cours" may be displayed if the Siret number is being processed - to find out more, please ask the artisan.

Please note that the Infobilan site and Cofacerating sites that you might use to check Sirets may not list all of the trades that the artisan is legally allowed to carry out. If this is the case, you should ask the artisan to show you his/her registration documents.

www.verif.fr

Just put in the Siren number (first 9 numbers) and it will
give the details - also of what the artisan is authorised to do.

A good site for verifying a UK company number is:- COMPANIES HOUSE

If artisans are deemed to be resident in France for tax purposes (181 days here) then the UK Ltd Reg. No. is not enough. They should be registered at the Chambre des Metiers and have a French Siret No. together with the UK Ltd Reg. No. Please check with the artisan you are hoping to employ.

ABOUT SIRET NUMBERS

The SIRET number is an identification number for each French business. It is unique to that business and legally linked to a particular person. If several people engage in similar activities at the same geographical location then each must have their own SIRET number. The SIRET number is also linked to the geographical site as well so the same legal person should get a different SIRET number if his activity takes place in several different locations.

It is set up by the INSEE (Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques ) in the framework of the system SYRENE. (Système National Informatique pour le Répertoire des Entreprises et des Etablissements) The SIRET number is made up of several different identifiers and is unique to the particular business. Companies (entreprises) who run several businesses in different areas must have a SIRET number for each business and different establishments who work individually in the same location must also have individual SIRET numbers.

The SIRET consists of 14 digits. The first 9 numbers are the SIREN number for the business. The first 8 digits have no significance except for administrative purposes and to organisations such as communes, fiscal offices etc. They identify the business as well as its location on the national list. The ninth digit is a check digit and has no link to the characteristics of the type business concerned. The SIREN is only issued once and removed from the list as soon as the business ceases to function, the owner dies or the business is dissolved. As it is legally linked to an individual, it is not transferred. The second part of the SIRET number is the NIC (Numéro Interne de Classement) which consists of 5 digits. The first 4 identify the business (or one of several businesses in the case of an enterprise running several establishments) The 5th digit is another check digit to validate the complete 14 number code.

All registered workers should be immatriculated with the Centres de Formalités des Entreprises (CFE) at their local Chambres de Commerce, Chambre de Métiers, Tribunaux de Commerce, or the URSSAF, Services Fiscaux, or regional office of the INSEE.

The only real ways to check if someone is registered for all trades they advertise are:

1. Ask to see his/her "carte d'indentification" issued by the local Chambre de Metiers which lists the trades on the card. This is a white card with green writing on the cover, and everyone has to have one.

2. Contact the Chambre des Metiers and ask direct.

3. Ask to see insurance documents for responsabilité civile and decennial which are the two obligatory insurances in France. The insurance document will show and list the items or trades which the artisan is insured to undertake.

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