You want to change the head office address of your company and are looking for a quick and easy solution to do so. Have you thought of doing registered office transfer online? In this guide, we explain the advantages of doing this legal process online and how to proceed.
Why do Head Office Transfer Online?
During the life of your business, you may need to change the head office address for a variety of reasons:
- Your business is moving and premises are changing;
- Your rental lease ends;
- Your company’s head office address is your home and you are leaving;
- You take your activity abroad.
In all these situations, you will have to modify the address of your company present in the Articles of Association and hence declare the new address of the head office of your company.
Your company’s registered office address has an impact on your tax, legal and accounting obligations. This is also the address used by the administration.
It is therefore necessary (and mandatory!) to announce any change of address.
Depending on the legal form of your business, the head office relocation process is more or less complicated. You will need to follow a number of steps, which can be done yourself or by an agent. The procedures can be done by paper or online, which has several advantages which we will develop below.
formalities to be done
As we mentioned, the formalities to move a registered office online vary depending on the legal status of your company, but the process remains broadly the same:
- Decide on the transfer of the registered office through an EGM by the sole shareholder, chairman, partners in accordance with the legal form, then proceed to the editing of a report;
- Modify methods: the new address must be indicated in the relevant section;
- Publish a notice in the Journal of a Legal Declaration: If the new address belongs to the territorial jurisdiction of the same commercial court, a single declaration is sufficient; If the new address is in another department (and therefore other TC), a notice in each newspaper of each department will be necessary;
- Declare the change of address to the Center de Formalites des Enterprises or the Registry of the Competent Commercial Court using a paper or online file.
file to be installed
The declaration of transfer of registered office ends with the filing of a request for amendment of registration in the CFE or the Registry of the Competent Commercial Court. This file includes:
- Updated Articles of Association;
- decision making minutes;
- M2 form completed and signed;
- Certificate of publication(s) or notices published in the Journal d’Annons Legals;
- Proof of occupancy of the new premises (title deed, lease agreement, electricity bill, etc.);
- List of old Head Offices in case of change in jurisdiction of the Competent Court.
This file can be submitted physically to the competent body. But direct online submission is also possible.
Best Sites to Move Head Office Online
legal start
LegalStart supports companies in all online legal processes including relocation of registered office. We choose between a free offer to use the platform for file formation, an offer at 149€ until the file is submitted or an all-inclusive formula at 249€ with priority treatment in 48 hours and Registry rejection insurance. Customers appreciate the interface, multitude of services, and personalized support. To learn more, read our review on LegalStart.
legal place
Second player, LegalPlace ensures the transfer of your company’s head office within 24 hours. Their easy-to-use interface allows you to put together a document in a matter of minutes. You also benefit from unlimited telephone support. In terms of prices, there is no free formula here, but from €149 (+ legal administrative costs) payable in three installments for free. To learn more, read our review on LegalPlace.
contract factory
Contract Factory offers to take care of shifting your company head office from A to Z. We appreciate the transparency of the prices which are particularly affordable (from 0 to 149 €) and appreciate the possibility of subscribing to additional options if you want to profit. Additional services (verification by lawyer, telephone support, etc.). The platform deserves some improvements, but that doesn’t stop LegalTech from receiving a huge number of positive opinions from its customers. To learn more, read our review on Contract Factory.
Benefits of Online Head Office Transfer
A complete and controlled file
By entrusting the transfer of your company’s head office to a LegalTech, you are guaranteed that your request will be met fairly. Thanks to their expertise, these legal professionals have carefully put together your file without error and on time. They are able to check all the steps of the process as well as the validity of the requested documents. Thus, your registered office transfer file is submitted to the competent court only after it is completed and verified.
save time and money
Like many legal processes, moving a registered office takes time. The various procedures and constitution of the file is as much time as you would not spend focusing on your core business. Using LegalTech saves you time and therefore money! In addition, the cost remains moderate and you do not need to travel, everything happens online.
Help
The entire head office transfer process is managed by LegalTech, from collecting documents on file to form completion and submission. Based on the formulas, LegalTech can also provide you with personalized advice tailored to your needs. Legal experts are not only familiar with the head office transfer process, but they also support you on many other legal aspects and issues.
What are the alternatives to LegalTech to move your registered office online?
It is also possible to move your company head office alone online. You will have to follow the same steps: Drafting the Decision Act to Modify the Registered Office Address, Drafting and Publication of the Notice to JAL, completing the M2 Form. Your file will be submitted to the www.infogreffe.fr site.
So this solution can be availed by any entrepreneur or independent on condition that you take care while putting the file together.
One mistake or one omission in this can waste a lot of your time!
Alternatively, you can also hire the services of an online accountant. Most of them are capable of handling the legal queries of your business and especially the transfer of the registered office.
How much does an online head office transfer cost?
The cost of head office relocation includes mandatory charges such as:
- The cost of publishing a notice in the Journal d’Annonces Légales: around 150 to 200 € per notice (so x2 if you change departments);
- The cost of filing an amendment: from 100 to 250 €, depending on the legal form of your company.
If you use a service provider, you need to add the rate applicable for the work done by that service provider. By comparison, a LegalTech costs an average of 50 to 60% less than a provider at a physical firm (lawyers, accountants, etc.).
general question
How to transfer head office of a company online?
Online transfer of a company’s registered office can be done on the Infogriffe site alone or with the support of LegalTech.
How much does an online head office transfer cost?
If you do it alone, you will only have mandatory administrative costs to pay. If you use a service provider such as LegalTech, you will also be required to pay a fee for the provision of their services.