French court records and official gazette extracts are the primary instruments for establishing control at the enforcement layer. They show who has been named in insolvency proceedings, what judgments have been registered, and what the official gazette has published about a company's legal status. The angle here is control: not what the shareholder agreement says, but what the public record confirms and what it does not.
The two sources operate independently. The commercial court register (Tribunal de commerce) holds procedural records. The official gazette (Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales, BODACC) publishes mandatory notices. Neither source is a substitute for the other. A complete picture of control at the enforcement layer requires both.
What the sources showInsolvency proceedings, court-ordered appointments, judgment registrations, and mandatory gazette notices for French commercial entities. Sources: Tribunal de commerce registers and BODACC · verified 2026-09-10. Access conditionBODACC is publicly accessible without registration. Court record access for third parties is subject to conditions that vary by court and document type. What the sources do not showBeneficial ownership, shareholder identity, internal governance decisions, or proceedings filed but not yet published. Coverage levelA — primary official sources, France.What French court records contain
The commercial court register for each Tribunal de commerce holds the procedural history of entities registered in its jurisdiction. Entries include the opening of sauvegarde, redressement judiciaire, and liquidation judiciaire proceedings. They also record the appointment of judicial administrators (administrateurs judiciaires) and liquidators (mandataires judiciaires), and any court-ordered restrictions on management.
A judgment registration in the court record is a direct indicator of control displacement. When a court appoints an administrator, the director's authority is constrained or suspended. That appointment appears in the register. The shareholder's rights to enforce decisions through management are correspondingly limited until the proceeding closes.
Court records also capture plans de sauvegarde and plans de redressement — restructuring plans approved by the court. These plans bind the company and its creditors. Their existence, their duration, and the identity of the supervising judge are all matters of public record.
Source: Tribunal de commerce registers · verified 2026-09-10
What BODACC contains
BODACC publishes notices that companies and courts are legally required to submit. For control analysis, the relevant categories are:
- Opening and closing of collective proceedings (procédures collectives)
- Appointment and replacement of judicial officers
- Dissolution and liquidation notices
- Registered pledges over business assets (nantissements de fonds de commerce)
- Transfers of business (cessions de fonds de commerce)
BODACC is searchable by company name and SIREN number. The archive extends back to 1955. A notice in BODACC is legally binding publication: the company cannot later claim that a third party lacked notice of the event.
The pledge register (nantissements) is particularly relevant for control analysis. A pledge over the business assets (fonds de commerce) gives the pledgee enforcement rights that can override the shareholder's operational control if the underlying obligation defaults.
Source: BODACC — Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales · verified 2026-09-10
The relationship between the two sources
BODACC and the court register are not duplicates. A proceeding opens at the court; the court then orders publication in BODACC. There is a gap between the two events. During that gap, the proceeding exists in the court record but not yet in BODACC.
For a buyer verifying control across jurisdictions, this gap matters. A BODACC search alone does not confirm the absence of a proceeding. The court record must be checked independently and contemporaneously.
The reverse also applies. BODACC contains notices of events that do not generate a court record entry — for example, voluntary dissolutions and certain asset transfers. A court record search alone misses those.
The two sources are therefore complementary, not redundant.
The limit of what the sources allow
Court records and BODACC establish the procedural and published layer of control. They do not establish the full ownership and governance layer.
What these sources do not show:
- The identity of shareholders or beneficial owners. That information sits in the Registre du commerce et des sociétés (RCS) and, for beneficial ownership, in the Registre des bénéficiaires effectifs (RBE). The RBE is subject to access restrictions following the CJEU ruling in C-37/20; access conditions require verification before any statement is made about what it discloses.
- Internal governance documents — shareholders' agreements, delegations of authority, board resolutions. These are private unless filed with the court.
- Proceedings that have been filed but not yet entered in the register. There is a processing delay between filing and registration.
- Proceedings before courts other than the Tribunal de commerce — for example, civil or administrative proceedings that affect the company's assets or management.
- Foreign proceedings affecting a French entity. A French court record shows only what French courts have registered.
The ceiling of what these sources allow is stated before payment. An order placed with VLO Law Firm returns what the sources contain, identifies what they do not contain, and names the point at which the chain of evidence breaks.
Where the sources disagree
Discrepancies between BODACC and the court register are themselves a finding. If a proceeding appears in BODACC but cannot be located in the court register, the explanation may be a filing delay, a jurisdictional transfer, or a data entry error. Each explanation has different implications for the buyer.
If the court register shows an active proceeding but BODACC shows a closing notice, the closing notice controls legally — but the timing of the closing relative to any transaction under review must be established precisely.
VLO Law Firm reports both sources and flags any discrepancy as a separate finding, not a footnote.
Scope and fixed price
| Tier | Price | What is included | What is NOT included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €440 | BODACC search by company name and SIREN; summary of all published notices; identification of active or closed collective proceedings; written findings in English | Court register retrieval; pledge register; documents filed with the court; cross-border proceedings |
| Standard | €890 | All Signal content; court register check at the relevant Tribunal de commerce; pledge register (nantissements) search; chronological timeline of all findings; identification of discrepancies between sources | Internal governance documents; foreign court records; legal qualification of findings |
| Extended | €1,800 | All Standard content; multi-court check where jurisdiction is uncertain; review of filed court documents where accessible; gap analysis between BODACC publication dates and court filing dates; structured findings memo with source citations | Beneficial ownership register (RBE) — subject to separate access conditions; legal advice; representation |
Delivery timeline: Signal — 3 business days. Standard — 5 business days. Extended — 8 business days. Timelines run from confirmation of the company's SIREN number and full legal name.
FAQ
Does a clean BODACC result confirm that no insolvency proceeding is open? No. BODACC publishes notices after the court orders publication. A proceeding may be open at the court before any BODACC notice appears. A complete check requires both the BODACC archive and a direct court register query.
Can a foreign buyer access French court records directly? Access conditions vary by court and document type. Some records are accessible on request; others require demonstration of a legitimate interest or a formal application. The practical path for a foreign buyer involves identifying the correct court, the correct procedure, and the applicable language requirements. The Signal tier covers BODACC only; the Standard and Extended tiers include the court register retrieval step.
What is a SIREN number and why is it required? The SIREN is the nine-digit national identifier assigned to every French legal entity by INSEE. It is the primary search key for both BODACC and the court register. Without it, a name search may return multiple entities or no result. VLO Law Firm can identify the SIREN from the company name and registered address, but providing it at the outset reduces turnaround time.
Does the pledge register show all encumbrances on the business? The nantissement de fonds de commerce register covers pledges over the business as a going concern. It does not cover real property mortgages (registered separately at the service de publicité foncière), pledges over shares, or contractual encumbrances that are not subject to mandatory registration. The Standard and Extended tiers include the pledge register; real property and share pledge checks are outside scope.
What language are the findings delivered in? All findings are delivered in English. Source documents are in French; where a document is cited, the relevant passage is translated in the findings memo.
Sources
- BODACC — Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales — https://www.bodacc.fr — verified 2026-09-10
- Infogreffe — Greffes des tribunaux de commerce — https://www.infogreffe.fr — verified 2026-09-10
- Institut national de la propriété industrielle (INPI) — Registre national des entreprises — https://www.inpi.fr — verified 2026-09-10
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Disclaimer: This report is a factual compilation from official registers and public sources. It is provided for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and contains no legal qualification of the facts established. VLO Law Firm assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@vlolawfirm.com.
Author: Elena Moretti — Partner, Continental Europe, VLO Law Firm
