A practical guide to transferring your company’s registered office

During the lifetime of a company, directors may have to take important decisions such as the transfer of its registered office. This requires the completion of several administrative formalities that vary according to the legal form of the company. It also should be noted that this procedure has a financial cost.

Why change the registered office?

Changing a company's registered office involves transferring its official address (not that of its premises). The latter appears on all the official documents the company issues: quotes, contracts, payslips, etc. This means that after the procedure, all new documents issued will include the new address. There are several reasons why a company may need to transfer its registered office. Firstly, if the address chosen is at the director's home and he or she moves, this procedure is unavoidable. He must find a new address for his company. The director may also decide to transfer the registered office in order to enhance the company's reputation. Indeed, a head office in a more prestigious location can give the business an improved image and thus boost its visibility. Expiry of the current lease may also lead the manager to change the address of his head office. If the lease is not renewed, then he or she must find a new address for the company. Finally, this procedure may be very beneficial to the company if it needs financing. Indeed, the director may decide to register his or her business in a region where it can benefit from grants and loans.

How to change your company's registered office?

First of all, this decision must be validated by the partners holding at least ¾ of the company's shares. If the new address is located in another district or abroad, what we call an Extraordinary General Meeting must be held beforehand to ratify this decision. It must be unanimously approved by the partners. After that, a transfer notice must be published in the journal of legal notices. This must include information identifying the company (name, capital, etc.) and, of course, the old and new addresses. Then, one month after the decision to transfer the registered office, a file must be submitted to the Registry containing a copy of the decision, a copy of the articles of association with the new address, a completed M2 form, a certificate proving the publication of the notice in the legal notices, a domiciliation contract or another document justifying the new address.

What budget should you allocate to this procedure?

It is important to understand that the choice of registered office determines the competent commercial court in the event of a dispute unless the contract mentions a clause to the contrary. Thus, if a company's registered office is in a given city, the court of that city will intervene in the event of a problem. The cost of transferring the registered office ranges from 185 to 251 euros. This includes the court fees, VAT, the costs of insertion in the official journal of legal notices and the National Institute of Industrial Property fees. The director can carry out all these procedures himself/herself. But it is also possible to delegate them to a professional. In this case, it is necessary to choose a recognised and serious service provider. There are many platforms on the Internet that offer this type of service and bring together various professionals such as lawyers, accountants, etc.