What are the retention periods for documents for companies?
Verified 01 July 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
A company shall retain any document issued or received in the course of its business for a minimum period of time. This period varies according to the nature of the documents and the legal obligations. The company can also archive documents for a longer period of time, unless they contain personal data. During this period, the administration may carry out checks. This page shows the retention periods for key documents. You can also use a simulator.
The books, records, documents or documents on which the administration's rights of communication, investigation and control may be exercised must be kept for a period of 6 years.
This period shall start from one of the following moments :
- Last transaction mentioned on books or records
- Date on which the documents or documents were drawn up.
Example: 2018 income items reported in 2019 must be retained until the end of 2024.
Warning
Time limits are increased to 10 years in the case of hidden activity (tax fraud, concealed work, lack of reporting, illegal activity, for example).
FYI
The employer must be able to guarantee the availability of its employees' digital pay slips for at least 50 years or up to the employee's retirement age and the following 6 years.
Retention of insurance policy
Preservation of industrial property documents, employment contract, statutes...
Retention of special time limits: lawyers
Retention of business relation document
Keeping accounting records
Retention of shareholder meeting documents
Retention of contracts concluded by electronic means
Retention of contracts concluded by electronic means
Guaranteed prescription of property
Requirements social contributions and contributions
Retention of a single register of staff
Retention Pay Advice
Retention of documents to count nb working days + nb stand-by hours
Prescription labor inspection and sickness
Obligation and time limits for keeping tax documents
Prescription payroll tax
Prescription real estate
Ministry of Economy