The guide at a glance
Where to start?
- 01Closing your activityNo debt: an online declaration, which leaving France does not replace. Unpayable debts: 45 days.→
- 02Your personal assetsSince May 2022, business creditors can seize only your business assets, with exceptions.→
- 03Professional recoveryAssets under €15,000, no employee for 6 months: 4 months, no sale, then your debts wiped out.→
- 04LiquidationThe liquidator sells your business assets; at closure, your creditors can no longer pursue you.→
- 05Your personal debtsHome loan, personal loans: they fall under over-indebtedness, not under the business procedure.→
- 06The allowance (ATI)France Travail pays, under conditions, an allowance to self-employed people whose activity has ended.→
01
Closing a micro-entreprise in France, with or without debts, before you leave
If everything is paid, you close by declaring the end of your activity on the single business window (guichet unique, run by INPI). Leaving France does not do it for you: until that declaration, the business stays registered and turnover declarations to URSSAF, the body that collects social contributions, remain due, even at zero. After closing, the final URSSAF declaration and the tax returns for the period of activity remain due: neither deregistration nor departure erases a debt. If you can no longer meet your business debts as they fall due from your available assets, you are insolvent (cessation des paiements, Article L. 631-1 of the French Commercial Code), and the application to the court is due within 45 days (Article L. 640-4). It seeks professional recovery if you qualify, judicial liquidation, or receivership if the activity can continue. The competent court is the one for the business address you declared (Article R. 600-1).
- No debt
- Online declaration
- With debts
- 45 days to apply to the court
- Leaving France
- Closes nothing, erases no debt
02
Sole trader in France: are your personal assets protected from business debts?
Yes for debts arising since 15 May 2022: your business creditors can seize only your business assets, meaning those used for your activity (Article L. 526-22 of the French Commercial Code, introduced by the Act of 14 February 2022). A micro-entrepreneur is a sole trader (entrepreneur individuel): the rule applies. There are three exceptions. A waiver: a creditor can ask you to give up this protection in writing for a specific commitment (Article L. 526-25). Guarantees you gave, such as a personal guarantee or a mortgage. Certain tax and social security debts, in particular in cases of fraudulent conduct or serious and repeated breaches of your obligations. For older debts, the former rule applies: all your assets answer for them, except your main residence, protected from business creditors since 2015 (Article L. 526-1), and assets protected by a declaration of exemption from seizure or held in an EIRL, the former limited-liability sole trader status.
- Since
- Debts arising after 15 May 2022
- Exceptions
- Waiver, guarantees, tax, contributions
- Older debts
- All assets but the main residence
03
Professional recovery (rétablissement professionnel): conditions, length, debts wiped out
Professional recovery wipes out a sole trader's debts without selling their assets, at the end of a four-month procedure (Articles L. 645-1, L. 645-4 and L. 645-11 of the French Commercial Code). The conditions: being insolvent, with rescue manifestly impossible; not having stopped the activity more than a year ago; having employed no one in the last six months; owning assets with a realisable value under €15,000 (Article R. 645-1). The one-year limit runs from the end of the activity, whatever the date of any move abroad. It is requested from the court with the liquidation application, with an inventory of your assets, their valuation and a statement that you meet the conditions (Article R. 640-1-1). At closure, debts arising before the opening and reported to the judge are wiped out, except wages, maintenance payments and a few others: the list of creditors must be complete. No new professional recovery is possible for five years (Article L. 645-2).
- Assets
- Under €15,000
- Length
- 4 months
- Activity
- Stopped less than a year ago
04
Judicial liquidation of a sole trader in France: what is sold, what is wiped out
If professional recovery is not possible, judicial liquidation sells your business assets to pay your creditors; for debts arising since 15 May 2022, your personal assets stay outside the procedure. From the judgment, you no longer manage those business assets: the liquidator acts in your place (Article L. 641-9 of the French Commercial Code). For an individual, liquidation is simplified, and so quicker, when the assets include no real property (Article L. 641-2). At closure for insufficient assets, your creditors do not regain the right to pursue you (Article L. 643-11), with exceptions, notably fraud, personal bankruptcy as a sanction (faillite personnelle), bankruptcy fraud, or a previous liquidation closed for insufficient assets less than five years earlier. Anyone who paid on your behalf as guarantor can, however, pursue you. The sanctions that apply to company directors, personal bankruptcy and management disqualification (interdiction de gérer), also apply to sole traders.
- Sold
- Business assets
- Simplified
- No real property among the assets
- At closure
- Creditors barred, with exceptions
05
Your personal debts: professional recovery, liquidation or over-indebtedness?
The court procedures deal with your business; your personal debts, such as a home loan, consumer credit or rent, belong to your personal estate. For them, the over-indebtedness procedure (surendettement), before the Banque de France commission, is open to individuals acting in good faith who manifestly can no longer meet their non-business debts (Article L. 711-1 of the French Consumer Code). It can lead to rescheduling, reductions or, in the most serious cases, personal recovery (rétablissement personnel), which wipes out the debts. Since the Act of 14 February 2022, a sole trader can use it for their personal estate, alongside the procedure dealing with the business estate. Each debt is classified by its purpose: a loan taken out for the activity is a business debt. An over-indebtedness case declared admissible leads to an entry on the FICP, the Banque de France register of credit repayment incidents.
- For
- Non-business debts
- Where
- Banque de France commission
- Legal basis
- Consumer Code, Art. L. 711-1
06
Self-employed workers' allowance (ATI): who qualifies after closing?
The self-employed workers' allowance (allocation des travailleurs indépendants, ATI) is paid by France Travail, the public employment service, to a self-employed person, micro-entrepreneur included, whose activity has ended in the cases set by the French Labour Code (Articles L. 5424-24 et seq.). Judicial liquidation is one of them; some receiverships and the end of an activity recognised as not viable are too, under conditions. Further conditions concern the length of the activity, carried on continuously for at least two years, the income it generated and your current resources, together with the obligation to look for work. The allowance is paid for six months at most; its amount is set by decree and is checked with France Travail at the time of the application. If you were also an employee, France Travail examines your rights under both activities.
- Paid by
- France Travail
- Duration
- 6 months at most
- Activity
- At least 2 years, continuous
The timeline
Professional recovery: the dates that matter
From the day you can no longer pay to the wiping out of your debts: the deadlines set by the French Commercial Code.
- Day 0
InsolvencyYou can no longer meet your business debts as they fall due from your available assets.
- 45 days
Applying to the courtThe liquidation application, with the request for professional recovery if you qualify, is filed no later than 45 days after.
- 1 year after stopping
The professional recovery limitIf you stopped your activity more than a year ago, professional recovery is no longer available.
- 4 months
The procedureProfessional recovery is opened for four months; your assets are not sold.
- Closure
Debts wiped outDebts arising before the opening and reported to the judge are wiped out, with exceptions; the closing judgment lists them.
- 5 years
No new professional recoveryNo professional recovery can be opened within five years of a closed professional recovery, or of a liquidation closed for insufficient assets.
At a glance
Self-employed in France: the routes for your situation
For each route: who it is for, what happens to your assets, and your debts at the end.
| Route | For whom | Your assets | Your debts at the end |
|---|
| Declared end of activity | Activity stopped, debts payable | You keep them | Owed until paid |
|---|
| Professional recovery | Insolvent, assets under €15,000, no employee for 6 months | Nothing is sold | Wiped out, except wages, maintenance and a few others |
|---|
| Simplified judicial liquidation | Insolvent, no real property among the assets | Business assets sold by the liquidator | No more pursuit at closure, with exceptions |
|---|
| Judicial liquidation | Insolvent, rescue manifestly impossible | Business assets sold | Same rule |
|---|
| Receivership | Insolvent, an activity that can continue | You keep them, under the supervision of the procedure | Paid under the plan, 10 years at most |
|---|
| Safeguard | Insurmountable difficulties, without insolvency | You keep them | Paid under the plan |
|---|
| Over-indebtedness | Personal debts, good faith | Depending on the commission's measures | Rescheduled, reduced or wiped out, depending on the case |
|---|
Since 15 May 2022, the business procedures concern only your business assets, except for waivers, guarantees given and certain tax and social security debts. Leaving France erases no debt.
Common questions
Your questions on closing a micro-entreprise
Do I have to close my micro-entreprise before leaving France?
Leaving France does not close it. Until the end of the activity is declared on the single business window, the business stays registered, and URSSAF turnover declarations remain due, even at zero, along with the related tax obligations. The declaration is made online. Closing erases no debt: contributions and taxes owed remain payable after deregistration and after departure, and the tax returns for the period of activity remain to be filed.
Do URSSAF and tax debts remain after deregistration?
Yes. Deregistering a micro-entreprise or sole trader business erases no debt, and neither does leaving France: URSSAF and the tax authorities can still recover them. They disappear only through payment, through the wiping out ordered at the close of professional recovery, or through the closure of a liquidation for insufficient assets, which in principle bars creditors from pursuing you (Articles L. 645-11 and L. 643-11 of the French Commercial Code).
Is auto-entrepreneur the same as micro-entreprise?
Yes. Auto-entrepreneur is the former name of the scheme now called micro-entrepreneur, and both terms remain in everyday use. Legally, the person is a sole trader (entrepreneur individuel) under a simplified tax and social security regime: unlike an SARL or SAS, the business has no legal personality of its own. The rules in this guide apply to every sole trader, whatever the regime.
Can a micro-entrepreneur file for bankruptcy in France?
Yes. A micro-entrepreneur is a sole trader: if insolvent, they file the declaration personally with the registry of the competent court (Article R. 631-1 of the French Commercial Code), no later than 45 days after insolvency (Article L. 640-4). Depending on the situation, the court opens professional recovery, judicial liquidation or receivership. The whole procedure is conducted in French.
What is the difference between professional recovery and judicial liquidation?
Professional recovery is reserved for sole traders with no employee for six months and assets worth less than €15,000: it lasts four months, nothing is sold, and the debts are wiped out at closure, with exceptions (Articles L. 645-1 to L. 645-11 of the French Commercial Code). Judicial liquidation sells the business assets to pay the creditors; at its closure for insufficient assets, they can no longer, in principle, pursue you (Article L. 643-11).
Can my home be seized if I am self-employed in France?
Your main residence has been protected from your business creditors since 2015 (Article L. 526-1 of the French Commercial Code) and, for debts arising since 15 May 2022, all your personal assets are (Article L. 526-22). It remains exposed to a mortgage you granted, to a personal guarantee, to a waiver signed in favour of a creditor, and to your personal creditors, such as the bank that lent you the money to buy it.
Can I set up a new micro-entreprise after a liquidation?
Yes, once the liquidation is closed, unless the court has imposed personal bankruptcy or management disqualification. During the liquidation, the Commercial Code in principle bars the sole trader from carrying on a new commercial, craft or self-employed activity (Article L. 641-9): a simplified liquidation, which is shorter, reduces that wait.
Is a lawyer required to request professional recovery?
No. The entrepreneur files the application personally with the court registry (Article R. 631-1 of the French Commercial Code), with an inventory of the assets, their valuation and a statement that the conditions are met (Article R. 640-1-1). The application and the hearing are in French. A lawyer gives a view on matters of judgment: the value of the assets, the debts to report, the choice between professional recovery and liquidation.
Other guides
Other situations
Closing a companyClosing a French companyVoluntary winding-up, dormancy or court: the route depends on the debtsInsolvencyInsolvency in FranceWhen a French company is legally insolvent, and the 45-day ruleFilingFiling for bankruptcy in FranceThe filing, the documents, the court, what happens nextSafeguardSafeguard proceedingsProtecting a French company before it becomes insolventLiquidationJudicial liquidation in FranceThe judgment, the liquidator, the closing, what remains to be paidReceivershipReceivership in FranceThe observation period, the plan, the sale, the conversionBuy or sellBuying or selling a French businessBuying out of receivership or liquidation, selling before closingDirector's liabilityWhat a director risksPersonal guarantees, mismanagement, disqualification, personal bankruptcy
