Liberal professions: what legal status and how to declare the activity?
Verified 01 January 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Economy
Individual business You have the choice to practice your professional profession in two categories of legal forms: either the taking of the goods or the business (civil, capital, etc.). Types of businesses specific to regulated professions exist (SEL, SCP, etc.). In any case, you must make an activity declaration on the company formalities window within 8 days after the start of your activity or after your registration to a professional order or chamber.
Individual business You want to create a
When you are a professional, your activity is that of a self-employed person (SSA). You're an independent.
Your business is subject to your sole responsibility and you operate in the interest of a client or audience (client or patient).
Most liberal benefits are of a medical, intellectual, legal or technical nature.
The benefits of your business belong to you.
To be able to practice a regulated liberal activity, you must have specific degrees and follow a professional ethics. You will probably have to register with a particular register or a professional body (national order, regional council...).
There are 2 types of liberal profession:
- Regulated liberal profession
- Unregulated Liberal Profession
Regulated liberal profession
The liberal professions are said regulated where traders have to comply with precise rules.
To be able to practice your profession, you must prior to taking specific steps for the activity envisaged. For example, you must apply for a special authorization (authorization to carry out an activity in a living space), apply for a license or obtain a professional card.
It's important to find out what you need to do before registering your company, because if you don't do this, you won't be able to register.
In general, in order to carry out a regulated activity, you have to prove certain professional qualifications: Master's degree, CAP, BTS, DUT,...
Example :
Medical professions (doctor, liberal nurse, veterinarian, physiotherapist, speech therapist, midwife, dentist, dietician, etc.), architect, lawyer, accountant, surveyor, legal representative, agricultural expert, auditor, psychotherapist...
Many regulated professions require registration with a professional order to be exercised.
This is the case, for example, for the following professions:
- Architect: National Council of the Order of Architects
- Dental surgeon: National Order of Dental Surgeons
- Nurse: National Order of Nurses
- Veterinarian: Ordre national des veterinarians français
Unregulated Liberal Profession
A small number of liberal professions are not regulated. There is no official list of unregulated professions. These are professions which are not engaged in commercial, craft, industrial or agricultural activities and which are not on the list of regulated activities.
These are generally people who independently carry out a mainly intellectual activity in the world of science or art.
Examples of such activities include:
- Construction economist
- Prime Contractor
- Ski instructor
- High mountain guide
Some may be exercised without conditions.
Others are subject to authorization, a professional card (journalist) and no judicial conviction (bodyguard and private investigator).
Warning
Since 1er january 2023, it is no longer possible to carry out your procedures in a company Formalities Center (CFE). You must make them on the website of the company formalities office.
To practice as a liberal, you must make a declaration of activity (registration) on the website of the company formalities office within 8 days that follow the start of your business.
Depending on your profession, you must also register with the college or the consular chamber on which your profession depends.
Example :
Consular Chambers (CCI: titleContent, CMA: titleContent, chamber of agriculture) and orders (order of doctors, order of lawyers, order of architects, national order of pharmacists)
For your social contributions (except retirement), you depend on the Urssaf in the Non-agricultural self-employed persons (NASW).
For your sickness and maternity insurance, you are affiliated to the social security or at CMAP scheme (Practitioners and Medical Assistants) according to your activity.
For your old-age insurance (basic and supplementary pension, disability and death you depend on one of the old-age insurance funds following depending on your activity:
- Cipav: titleContent (architect, engineer, technician...)
Who shall I contact
Inter-branch pension and old-age insurance fund (Cipav)
https://www.lacipav.fr/contact
By mail
CIPAV
9 rue de Vienne - 75403 Paris cedex 08
monday to friday from 9:45 am to 4:30 pm
By telephone
- Service contributions: 01 44 95 68 20
- Benefit/pension service: 01 44 95 68 49 -
monday to friday from 9am to 4.50pm
- Cnavpl: titleContent (doctor, veterinarian, notary, general insurance agent...)
Who shall I contact
National pension insurance fund for the liberal professions (Cnavpl)
Old-age pension scheme for the liberal professions
By E-mail
cnavpl.info@cnavpl.fr
or
https://www.cnavpl.fr/contact/
By mail
102 rue de Miromesnil - 75008 Paris
By telephone
+33 (0)1 44 95 01 50
By fax
+33 (0)1 45 61 91 37
- CNBF: titleContent (lawyer)
Who shall I contact
French National Bar Fund (CNBF)
Social security body responsible for pension management and the welfare of lawyers
Via Internet:
Via your personal space, in the "my requests" section.
https://www.cnbf.fr/contacter-la-cnbf/
By mail
Caisse Nationale des Barreaux French
11 Sevastopol Boulevard
75038 Paris Cedex 01
On the spot
Caisse Nationale des Barreaux French
11 Sevastopol Boulevard
75038 Paris Cedex 01
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9.30am to 12.30pm and from 1.30pm to 5.30pm (by appointment only).
By telephone
On 01 42 21 32 30.
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:30 am to 12 pm.
The first social contributions and contributions must be paid after a minimum 90-day period after you start your business.
You can depend on one of the following 3 plans:
- If your annual revenue is more than €72,600 or that you do not wish to benefit from the micro-company regime, then you depend on the controlled declaration.
- If your annual revenue is less than €72,600, then you can benefit from the micro-company.
- If you have opted for assimilation to the EURL, you can benefit from the business tax.
Warning
The annual revenue threshold for 2023 to benefit from the micro-company scheme is raised to €77,700.
You want to create a business
When you are a professional, your activity is that of a self-employed person (SSA). You're an independent.
Your business is subject to your sole responsibility and you operate in the interest of a client or audience (client or patient).
Most liberal benefits are of a medical, intellectual, legal or technical nature.
The benefits of your business belong to you.
There are 2 types of liberal profession:
- Regulated liberal profession
- Unregulated Liberal Profession
Regulated liberal profession
The liberal professions are said regulated where traders have to comply with precise rules.
To practice your profession, you must prior to taking specific steps for the activity envisaged. For example, you must apply for a special authorization (authorization to carry out an activity in a living space), apply for a license or obtain a professional card.
It's important to find out what you need to do before registering your company. If you don't do that, you won't be able to register.
In general, in order to carry out a regulated activity, you need to prove certain professional qualifications: Master's degree, CAP, BTS, DUT, etc.
Example :
Medical professions (doctor, liberal nurse, veterinarian, physiotherapist, speech therapist, midwife, dentist, dietician, etc.), architect, lawyer, accountant, surveyor, legal representative, agricultural expert, auditor, psychotherapist...
Many regulated professions require registration with a specific professional body in order to be practiced.
This is the case, for example, for the following professions:
- Architect: National Council of the Order of Architects
- Dental surgeon: National Order of Dental Surgeons
- Nurse: National Order of Nurses
- Veterinarian: Ordre national des veterinarians français
Unregulated Liberal Profession
A small number of liberal professions are not regulated. There is no official list of unregulated professions. These are professions which are not engaged in commercial, craft, industrial or agricultural activities and which are not on the list of regulated activities.
These are generally people who independently carry out a mainly intellectual activity in the world of science or art.
Examples of such activities include:
- Construction economist
- Prime Contractor
- Ski instructor
- High mountain guide
Some may be exercised without conditions.
Others are subject to authorization, a professional card (journalist) and no judicial conviction (bodyguard and private investigator).
If you want to practice your liberal activity in a societal way, you can create a liberal exercise business (SALT: titleContent), a professional civil business (PCS: titleContent) or a civil business of means (SCM: titleContent).
liberal exercise business
The liberal exercise business enables the liberal professions to pursue their activities within the framework of a business. It takes the form of a commercial business.
The business of Liberal practice is set up to enable partners and shareholders to practice a liberal profession together.
You can choose one of the following shapes:
- LOCK: titleContent/SASU: titleContent, this is referred to as a simplified liberal share business (SELAS) or a single-person simplified liberal share business (SELASU)
- SA: titleContent, this is referred to as an anonymous liberal exercise business (SELAFA)
- SARL: titleContent/, this is referred to as a business of liberal practice with limited liability (SELARL) or a business of liberal practice with limited liability (SELARLU)
- SCA: titleContent, this is referred to as a Liberal limited partnership business (SELCA)
Declaration of activity
Warning
Since 1er january 2023, it is no longer possible to carry out your procedures in a company Formalities Center (CFE). You must make them on the website of the company formalities office.
You must file your activity declaration on the company formalities window:
professional civil business
If you are a professional, you can choose to create a professional civil business (PCS: titleContent):
- Trustee and liquidator's agent
- Architect
- Lawyer
- Medical biologist
- Dental surgeon
- External auditor
- Commissioner of Justice (former bailiff and judicial auctioneer)
- Intellectual Property Consulting
- Agricultural and land expert and forestry expert
- Accountant
- Expert surveyor
- Registrar of the Commercial Court
- Nurse
- Physical therapist
- Doctor
- Notary
- Veterinarian
Warning
Since 1er january 2023, it is no longer possible to carry out your procedures in a company Formalities Center (CFE). You must make them on the website of the company formalities office.
You must file your activity declaration on the website of the company formalities office:
civil business of means
Thecivil business of means (SCM: titleContent) allows you to link to professionals who are doing the same or a very similar activity. It allows the pooling of resources (premises, equipment,...).
Each partner retains its independence and its clientele.
Warning
Since 1er january 2023, it is no longer possible to carry out your procedures in a company Formalities Center (CFE). You must make them on the website of the company formalities office.
You must file your activity declaration on the company formalities window:
civil business of means
Thecivil business of means (SCM: titleContent) allows you to link to professionals who are doing the same or a very similar activity. Its purpose is to facilitate the exercise of the liberal profession by the members by pooling their resources (premises, equipment, etc.).
Each partner retains its independence and its clientele.
Warning
Since 1er january 2023, it is no longer possible to carry out your procedures in a company Formalities Center (CFE). You must make them on the website of the company formalities office.
You must file your activity declaration on the website of the company formalities office:
Business in a general name (CNS)
You can create a collective name business (CNS: titleContent). SNC is a business business that allows you to carry on a regulated business. It is a business business, but you can carry on a non-regulated business if it is consistent with the commercial nature of that business.
It is most often a family business. The partners know each other and the transfer of shares must be decided unanimously by the members. In general, family members pool their assets and skills for the operation of an activity.
Example :
Members of a pharmacy can choose this legal form because they have both the status of a merchant and the status of a liberal professional.
Warning
Since 1er january 2023, it is no longer possible to carry out your procedures in a company Formalities Center (CFE). You must make them on the website of the company formalities office.
You must file your activity declaration on the website of the company formalities office:
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
Definition of a regulated liberal profession: Article 29
Conditions for the performance of private research activities (detective, bodyguard)
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