Filing History / Annual Return in France
A filing history / annual return in France is intended to list a company's registered filings – accounts, officer changes, registered-office changes – as held on the companies register in France. Availability and the exact scope of this record are currently being confirmed against the primary source before any order is accepted.
What this document shows
A filing history / annual return sets out the record of filings a company has lodged over time, rather than a single current snapshot. Company name, registration number, registered office address, filing date, filing type – accounts, change of director, change of registered office, change of share capital. Each entry marks what was filed and when, not the content of every attached document. A single order returns the history as it stands on the day the register is checked, not a live feed that updates afterwards.
For France, the precise set of fields returned by the register is being confirmed against the primary source, and this section will be updated once that confirmation is complete. The pattern across comparable European registers is a chronological list of filings, each tied to a filing reference and a date, with the underlying filed document available separately on request. Where a jurisdiction discloses the filed document itself rather than only the reference to it, that scope is noted once verified; nothing beyond the confirmed fields is assumed here. A filing history therefore answers what was filed and when, not what a filing says.
The filings that typically populate such a record for a French company include annual accounts, the appointment or departure of directors or managers, changes to the registered office, and amendments to share capital. A change of legal form, where it occurs, would also be expected to appear as a dated entry rather than as a separate document. Whether all of these appear on the record as obtained for France, and in what format, remains subject to the confirmation noted above. Anyone ordering this document for a transaction should treat the field list as indicative until the primary source has been checked.
What it does not show
A filing history records what a company has filed and when; it does not confirm what those filings mean for a transaction, and it does not state whether a counterparty is presently solvent, litigious, or otherwise engaged in proceedings. Insolvency status and court filings sit on a separate register, held under its own access regime, and are not part of this record.
Security interests over a company's assets – charges, pledges, registered liens – are likewise absent from a filing history. In France, these sit on their own register, distinct from the filings covered here; the comparison of filing history against the register of charges sets out the scope difference in full. A reader looking for encumbrances on assets needs to order that record separately, not this one.
Beneficial ownership is a further omission. A filing history shows the company's own filed record, not the natural persons who ultimately control it – that sits on a distinct register with its own disclosure rules. Tax registration status is separate again, held on the tax register rather than the companies filing history, and the two should not be conflated when a file is being assembled. Whether the France record, once confirmed, touches any of these fields by exception is noted above and will be corrected here once verified.
How it is obtained
An order for this filing history is placed by naming the French company and confirming the date the document is needed by. REGISTRUM checks the request against the primary source before accepting payment, rather than after. The issuing authority for this record in France, and the official fee it charges, are both being confirmed against the primary source; this page will name the authority and state the fee, with its verification date, once that confirmation is complete.
The normal turnaround for a confirmed order is two working days. Where the primary source itself imposes a longer processing time once verified, that time is added to the stated turnaround rather than absorbed into it. The record is expected to be issued in French; whether the register also produces an English-language version as a matter of course is part of the same pending confirmation.
Whether a foreign applicant can obtain this filing history directly, or only through a local representative, a French electronic signature, or a national identifier, is likewise being confirmed. Where a local representative proves necessary, REGISTRUM routes the request through a licensed registered agent in the jurisdiction, rather than acting as one itself. The delivered document is licensed for use in the matter for which it was ordered; a separate matter requires a new order rather than reuse of the same copy.
Price and timeline
This record is priced once the entity and the primary source have been checked, rather than published as a flat figure in advance, and the figure is confirmed before payment is requested. Add-ons available on this order include apostille, certified translation, courier delivery and rush handling, each adding its own number of days to the two-day turnaround rather than being absorbed into it. If the document does not exist in this jurisdiction or cannot be obtained for you, we say so before you pay and we do not take the order.
How long does a filing history / annual return from France take?
Once an order is confirmed, the normal turnaround is two working days. Where apostille, certified translation, courier delivery or rush handling are added, each extends that window by its own number of days rather than being included in it. The register's own processing time in France is being confirmed against the primary source and will be added to the stated turnaround if it exceeds it.
Will a France document be accepted abroad without an apostille?
REGISTRUM does not state whether a receiving authority abroad will accept this document, with or without an apostille; that decision sits with the authority requesting it. Where the destination country is a party to the Apostille Convention, an apostille can be added to this order. Legalisation requirements for non-member destinations follow a separate, longer route and are confirmed on request.
What does a filing history / annual return in France not show?
It does not show insolvency status, court proceedings, security interests over assets, beneficial ownership, or tax registration – each of these sits on a separate register with its own access regime. A filing history records what was filed and when, not what a filing means for a transaction or whether a company is otherwise engaged in proceedings.
Is a filing history the same as a company extract?
No. An extract is typically a single current snapshot of a company's registered details, while a filing history lists the filings made over time, each with its own date and reference. The two overlap in places but answer different questions; ordering the wrong one for a given purpose is a common and avoidable mistake.
Does REGISTRUM confirm the fee before the order is placed?
Yes. The entity, the jurisdiction and the date the document is needed by are checked against the primary source first; availability and the fee are then confirmed before payment is requested. Where the record cannot be obtained as described, that is stated at this stage rather than after an order has been accepted.
To order this filing history, state the entity, the jurisdiction and the date you need it by; we confirm availability and the fee before you pay. For the source material behind the order rather than a delivered copy, the filing history document overview sets out what the record is expected to contain and how it is structured, jurisdiction by jurisdiction.
REGISTRUM obtains and delivers official records issued by public registers and licensed registered agents. This page describes what those records contain and how they are obtained. It is not advice on the legal effect of any record. To order, write to info@registrumfirm.com.