Permits and formalities to open a restaurant in France, in order

What permits do you need to open a restaurant in France?

These steps come from the official French page “Ouvrir un restaurant” on Service Public Entreprendre, updated in July 2026. They apply to restaurants, brasseries, pizzerias, crêperies and fast-food outlets in France.

This guide is part of our file on opening a restaurant in France. Before the formalities come market research and the business plan: banks ask for both before a loan.

Which premises, and what should you check before signing?

The premises must be allowed to be used as a restaurant (destination “restaurant”). Check this first, before discussing rent.

• You take over a restaurant: the lease must allow restaurant use. If not, ask the landlord to add the activity. Steps specific to a takeover are in our guide to buying a restaurant in France.
• The premises are a home: their use must be changed, through a prior works declaration or a building permit filed at the town hall.
• The premises are another kind of shop: the lease’s permitted use must be changed, with the landlord’s agreement, and the co-owners’ meeting if the building is shared.

Questions to ask before signing

• Does the lease allow a restaurant, with cooking (smoke extraction)?
• Is work needed to meet safety and accessibility rules, and who pays?
• Is a terrace possible? It needs town hall permission, which does not pass to a new owner.
• Is the address in a protected zone for drinks outlets, if you want to serve drinks without food? (see restaurant alcohol licence in France)
• Do footfall, visibility and parking suit your customers?

How do you register a restaurant business in France?

All registration formalities are done online, on the Guichet des formalités des entreprises, whatever the legal form (company, sole trader, micro-business).

1. create your personal account on the website;
2. fill in the online creation form;
3. upload the documents requested (ID, proof of premises, articles for a company…).

You then receive your SIREN and SIRET numbers. The business is entered in the national business register (RNE) and the trade and companies register (RCS).

Which legal form?

Service Public Entreprendre sums up the options:

• Company (SAS, SARL, SASU, EURL): suited to partners or growth plans; heavier formalities, but banks often lend more readily.
• Sole trader (entreprise individuelle): simple and low-cost; your main home is protected, but the bank may ask for personal guarantees.
• Micro-business: simplified formalities and accounts, within turnover thresholds.

The choice affects your taxes, contributions and VAT (see restaurant VAT in France): get help from an accountant or the local chamber of commerce (CCI).

Which food hygiene formalities come before opening?

Two obligations, to complete before opening.

1. Declare the activity to the food safety office

Any business that prepares or sells food containing products of animal origin (meat, fish, dairy, eggs) must declare it with form cerfa 13984 to the département’s consumer protection office (DDPP, or DDETSPP in some départements). It can be done online or by post, and again whenever the operator, address or activity changes. According to Service Public Entreprendre, only vegan restaurants are exempt.

2. One person trained in food hygiene

According to the French Ministry of Agriculture (article L.233-4 of the rural code), every restaurant (traditional, cafeteria, self-service, fast food) must have at least one person who has completed a specific 14-hour food hygiene course with a body approved by the regional prefect. It does not need renewing.

You are exempt if someone on the team has:

• three years’ experience as a manager or operator of a food business;
• or a diploma or qualification on the official list (order of 18 November 2024), obtained after 1 January 2006.

Keep the proof on the premises: inspectors ask for it. Day to day, hygiene relies on your food safety plan: see restaurant food hygiene and HACCP in France.

Licence and operating permit: what and when?

To serve alcohol, even a glass of wine with a meal, you must:

• take the operating permit course: at least 20 hours, valid for 10 years;
• declare the licence with form cerfa 11542 at the town hall (prefecture in Paris and Alsace-Moselle), at least 15 days before opening;
• keep the receipt (cerfa 11543).

For a restaurant serving alcohol only with meals, the small restaurant licence or the restaurant licence is enough, and it is free. All the details are in our guide to the restaurant alcohol licence in France.

Safety, accessibility and works: what rules apply to the premises?

A restaurant is a building open to the public (ERP in French). It must meet:

• the safety standards for such buildings, including fire safety; Service Public Entreprendre states that an inspection takes place within 2 months of opening;
• the accessibility rules: disabled people must be able to enter and move around as independently as possible.

Before any work (compliance, shopfront, fit-out, extension), ask the town hall for permission. After the work, declare the changes to your business tax office (form 6660-REV), as the rental value used for local taxes may change.

• get a quote for compliance work before signing the lease;
• ask the town hall which permission your works need;
• plan the safety inspection into your opening schedule;
• keep all compliance documents in one folder.

Terrace, sign, music, insurance: what else?

Then come the mandatory notices (prices, meat origin, no smoking, protection of minors, “fait maison”…), covered in our guide to mandatory restaurant signs in France.

What about the “maître-restaurateur” title?

It is an optional title for restaurants that cook everything in-house and follow a set of criteria. It requires an audit and lasts 5 years. According to Service Public Entreprendre, it is only issued about 3 months after opening.

How can you prepare your visibility while the paperwork runs?

The formalities take weeks: use that time to prepare for your first customers. These tasks are free or cheap, but they take time.

• create and verify your Google Business Profile as soon as the address is certain: it is what people see when they search for a restaurant nearby;
• prepare photos of the place, the team and the first dishes;
• open Instagram and Facebook accounts and share the works;
• plan your opening communication: announcement, launch evening, first reviews.

The steps at a glance

The formalities in order, based on the official Service Public Entreprendre page.

1. Check the premises. Make sure the lease or permitted use allows a restaurant, and price the compliance work.
2. Register the business. File online on the Guichet des formalités des entreprises to get SIREN and SIRET numbers.
3. Declare to the food safety office. Send form cerfa 13984 to the DDPP or DDETSPP before opening.
4. Train one person in food hygiene. At least one team member completes the specific food hygiene course, unless exempt.
5. Get the operating permit and declare the licence. Take the 20-hour course, then file form cerfa 11542 at the town hall at least 15 days before opening.
6. Meet safety and accessibility rules. Ask for permission for works and prepare the safety inspection.
7. Apply for terrace and sign. File permission requests at the town hall before installing anything.
8. Put up the notices. Prices, meat origin, no smoking, protection of minors, “fait maison” where relevant.

The restaurant owner’s guide

Open, run, grow: each stage has its full guide and detailed guides, with their reading time.

This guide for your trade

• Restaurants
• Bars

Go further

• How to open a restaurant in France
• Restaurant alcohol licence in France
• Mandatory restaurant signs in France
• Food hygiene and HACCP in France
• Create and optimise your Google Business Profile
• Promote a new business opening