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Types of employment (3/3): creating a business
Creating a business is possible for everyone. You can create a business in France, even without French nationality.
Key points of the sheet
- You do not need a diploma. There are exceptions for some activities, for example hairdressing.
- It is important to have experience in the activity of the future business. It is also important to know people who can help you.
- Everywhere in France, associations help you define your project and find money. There are financial aids, such as the ACRE or regional aids.
- To build your project, clarify your wishes and those of your future customers. Discuss your idea with different people to get an outside view.
- Check that another person has not had the same idea. Search the INPI website, which lists all invention patents.
- Build your project with a market study and a business plan.
- To create the business, choose an official address for it. It is not necessarily the address of the workplace. Then register the statutes of your company.
- Declare your business: this step is called registration (immatriculation). Also publish in a legal announcements newspaper.
Words to know
- ACRE (aid for creating or taking over a business)
- It is the aid for creating or taking over a business. It is a financial aid.
- INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property)
- It is the National Institute of Industrial Property. It lists all invention patents.
- invention patent (brevet d'invention)
- An idea is protected by an invention patent.
- market study (étude de marché)
- It is the analysis of competing businesses, customers and the economic environment.
- business plan
- It presents, among other things, the service or product, the strategy and the financial plan.
- statutes (of a company) (statuts)
- They state, among other things, the name, legal form, address, amount of capital and how decisions will be made.
- registration (immatriculation)
- It is the name of the step to declare your business.
- legal announcements newspaper (journal d'annonces légales)
- Publishing in a legal announcements newspaper is one of the main steps to create your business.
Test yourself: 3 questions
What is the step to declare your business called?
In French, the language of the exam: Comment s'appelle la démarche pour déclarer votre entreprise ?
Declaring your business is called registration (immatriculation).
Which body lists all invention patents?
In French, the language of the exam: Quel organisme recense tous les brevets d'invention ?
The INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property) lists all invention patents.
Do you need a diploma to create a business?
In French, the language of the exam: Faut-il un diplôme pour créer une entreprise ?
You do not need a diploma, except for some activities, for example hairdressing.
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Questions on the ministry's list that rest on this sheet
- Can a woman start her own business in France?
- A foreign person with legal status can start a business:
More in this topic (Employment)
- Training (formation) (1/3)
- Training (2/3): having a foreign diploma recognised in France
- Training (3/3): Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE)
Source
Sheet “Types d'emploi (3/3)” of the French Ministry of the Interior: formation-civique.interieur.gouv.fr. Content published under the Etalab Open Licence 2.0. This page is a plain-language adaptation made by Hexaciv, which is not an official site: if in doubt, the ministry's text is the one that counts.
Ministry sheet read on 23 October 2026, still identical on 25 October 2026.