Registering a business in France to sell on French markets

By Valérie Aston on 14 October 2008 · Viewed 4314 times · Questions

How to register as a commerçant ambulant

  1. Contact your local préfecture or sous-préfecture and ask for a carte de commerçant ambulant. A temporary certificate entitled attestation provisoire, valid for 30 days will be delivered to you.
  2. On reception of your temporary certificate, go and register your business at the Centre de Formalités des Entreprises at the Chambre du Commerce et d’Industrie. The extrait KBIS, official document confirming the creation of your company, will be posted to your home address within 10 days.
  3. Go back to the préfecture with your extrait KBIS and attestation provisoire in order to request your final carte de commerçant ambulant which will be valid for 2 years.
  4. Renew your carte de commerçant ambulant every 2 years at the préfecture

How to secure a plot for your market stall

You will have to pay a droit de place, or plot fee to the Mairie in order to set up your stall in a public area. Contact the Mairie or the placier – person in charged of the market – who will confirm the fees rate, usually a few euros per meter according to the length of your stall.


Valerie Lemiere: Start Business in France

About the author: Valérie Aston

I've been helping people who want to start or already have a small business set up in France since 2009. After graduating from a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, I worked as a senior marketing consultant in the UK and France for various International companies. I worked as a conseillère en création d'entreprises (senior business advisor) for BGE here in France and run this independent business on a daily basis.