Trade and companies register (RCS)
A register, kept by the commercial-court clerks, where traders and companies are recorded. RCS registration conditions the legal existence of a brokerage firm's activity and feeds the Kbis extract that evidences it.
Key points
- Maintained by commercial-court clerks, it formalizes a company's existence.
- RCS registration is a prerequisite for opening a professional bank account.
- The RCS number serves as a reference in all legal and commercial documents.
- Any significant change (address, manager, activity) must be promptly reported.
Frequently asked questions
Why is RCS registration essential for a brokerage firm?
Without RCS registration, the company has no recognized legal existence: it cannot sign commercial contracts in due form, open a professional account, or appear in the reference registers consulted by partner banks and ORIAS. For a broker, it is the first administrative building block before any regulatory registration.
What is the difference between the RCS and ORIAS?
The RCS is a general-law register covering all commercial companies regardless of their activity. ORIAS is a sector-specific register for banking, insurance and finance intermediaries. A broker must be registered in both: the RCS attests their existence as a company, ORIAS attests their authorization to carry out financial intermediation.
How do you update your RCS registration after moving your firm's premises?
A change of registered office address must be filed with the competent commercial-court clerk within the statutory deadline, generally within one month of the change. If the move involves a change of territorial jurisdiction, a file transfer between clerks must be carried out. A broker who delays updating risks a discrepancy between their commercial documents and the official register, which can block certain banking procedures.
In practice
When renewing their annual ORIAS registration, a broker submits a Kbis extract dated less than three months earlier: this document, issued by the RCS clerk, proves to ORIAS that the company is still active and that its information (manager, activity) is up to date.
Official sources
- Article L519-1 of the Monetary and Financial Code · Légifrance
- Prudential supervision and resolution authority · ACPR (Banque de France)