How to Verify a French Supplier in 30 Seconds: SIRET, NAF, KBIS Explained
Every year, French SMBs lose money to suppliers who turn out to be dormant, dissolved, or operating outside their declared trade. The fix takes 30 seconds and costs nothing. Yet most buyers skip it.
This guide explains the four identifiers that tell you whether a French supplier is legitimate, what each one actually means, and how to check them before you send a deposit.
Why supplier verification matters more than you think
A French supplier can look perfectly real on a quote. Slick PDF, professional logo, decent price. The reality check happens at three moments:
- You send a deposit. The bank account works, the money leaves your account. Then nothing happens.
- You receive the goods. They are not what you ordered, and the supplier has stopped responding.
- You try to claim warranty. The company has been dissolved for two years. Your invoice is worthless.
The Sirene database (managed by INSEE, France's official statistics agency) lets you verify any French company in seconds. Every legitimate French business has a presence there. Every closed or fictitious one is flagged.
The four identifiers, decoded
SIREN: the company
A 9-digit number unique to each French company. Example: 552 100 554 (that is L'Oréal). The SIREN identifies the legal entity. If a company has multiple offices or shops, they all share the same SIREN.
When you read it on a quote, look for "SIREN" or "RCS" followed by 9 digits. Any 9-digit number that is not a SIREN is a red flag.
SIRET: the establishment
A 14-digit number: the SIREN (9 digits) plus a 5-digit suffix called NIC. The NIC identifies a specific physical location. A retail chain with 200 stores has 1 SIREN and 200 SIRETs.
The SIRET on a quote should match the location actually delivering the work. If a supplier sends you a quote with the SIRET of their head office in Paris but is supposed to deliver in Lyon, that is worth a question. It is not always a problem (small companies often have a single SIRET) but it is a signal.
NAF (or APE): the activity
A 5-character code (4 digits plus 1 letter) that classifies the company's main activity. Example: 4321A is "Electrical installation". 4334Z is "Painting and glazing".
The NAF code is the easiest sanity check. If a company quotes you for plumbing but their declared activity is "Wholesale trade of computer hardware", something is off. Either they are operating outside their declared trade (legal but odd), or they are a front for another business.
You can lookup any NAF code on the INSEE NAF lookup. The full list has 700+ codes covering every type of activity.
KBIS: the official certificate
A document issued by the Tribunal de Commerce that certifies the company exists and is in good standing. It is the closest thing France has to a "certificate of incorporation" plus "certificate of good standing" combined.
A KBIS is the document banks, landlords, and large clients ask for. It costs around 4 EUR per copy from infogreffe.fr and is dated. A KBIS older than 3 months should not be trusted; ask for a fresh one.
For most procurement decisions, you do not need a KBIS. Sirene data is enough. But for any contract above a few thousand euros, asking for a recent KBIS is good practice. A supplier who refuses or delays is a supplier you should not work with.
How to verify a supplier in 30 seconds
The fastest free check: search the company on annuaire-entreprises.data.gouv.fr. Type the company name or paste the SIRET. You will see immediately:
- Whether the company is active or closed (the most important signal)
- The full address of the establishment
- The NAF code and its description
- Creation date
- Workforce range
- Legal form (SARL, SAS, EI, etc.)
If the company shows as "Cessée" (closed) or "Radiée" (struck off), do not engage. Walk away.
If it shows as "Active", check three things:
- Does the address match what is on the quote? A mismatch is normal for service businesses but worth confirming for delivery-heavy trades.
- Does the NAF code match the work being quoted? Not a hard rule, but big mismatches are a warning.
- How old is the company? Less than 1 year old is not necessarily bad, but it means no track record. Adjust your trust accordingly.
For repeat verification (you check 5+ suppliers per week), a tool like Quotal Vérif lets you run searches without leaving your procurement workflow, and saves the verification trail next to each quote.
What sirene cannot tell you
Verification proves the company exists. It does not prove they are good at their job, financially solvent, or going to deliver on time. For that, you need:
- References from past clients. Three names, with phone numbers. Call them.
- Insurance certificate ("attestation d'assurance décennale" for construction, "RC Pro" for services). Ask for a current copy.
- Bank details verification. The bank account on the invoice should match the company name. If it is in a different name, that is fraud territory; flag it immediately.
- Recent financial statements. Public filings on infogreffe show whether the company is profitable, breaking even, or burning cash.
For high-value contracts, also check the debt ratio and delays in supplier payments. A company that pays its own suppliers 90 days late is likely to be slow paying you back when warranty issues arise.
The 5-minute supplier file
Every supplier you work with deserves a small dossier. Build it once, refer to it before every contract:
- SIRET and SIREN
- NAF code (with a 1-line description)
- Legal form and creation date
- Active/closed status (last verified date)
- Insurance status (decennial, civil liability, dates of validity)
- References (3 contacts you have actually called)
- Bank details (with last verification date)
- Notes: anything you have learned from working with them
This file pays for itself the first time a supplier disappears. You will know who to call, what to claim, and what coverage you have.
Common red flags
After verifying a few hundred suppliers, certain patterns repeat:
- No SIRET on the quote. Every legitimate French B2B quote must include the SIRET. If it is missing, ask. If they refuse or stall, walk away.
- Mismatched names. The legal name (raison sociale) does not match the trading name. This is legal (companies often have brand names) but worth understanding before engaging.
- Recent strike-off ("radiation") on a related company. If the directors of the company you are about to engage with had another company struck off in the last 24 months, look closer. It might be normal cleanup, or it might be a serial pattern.
- Address inconsistencies. The address on the quote does not match the SIRET location and there is no explanation. Could be a remote project, could be a problem.
- Vague NAF. "Holding companies" (NAF 6420Z) operating as service providers. Holdings do not normally invoice services; if they do, ask why.
None of these are automatic disqualifications. They are signals to pause, ask one more question, and demand one more piece of evidence.
A note on small businesses (auto-entrepreneurs)
France has millions of micro-entrepreneurs (auto-entrepreneurs). They are real businesses, fully legal, often excellent. But they have specific verification points:
- They have a SIRET (always). Verify it.
- They cannot charge VAT below a turnover threshold (around 36,800 EUR for services in 2026). If a micro quotes you with VAT and is below the threshold, that is illegal and a red flag.
- They have no decennial insurance unless they explicitly bought it. For construction work, ask for proof.
- Their public information is more limited than that of an SARL or SAS, but Sirene still confirms they exist and are active.
Putting it together
Verification is the cheapest insurance in procurement. It takes 30 seconds, costs nothing, and prevents the worst category of mistakes: paying a company that turns out not to be a real working business.
Make it a habit. Before any new supplier sends an invoice, run a quick Sirene check. Before any contract above 5,000 EUR, request a recent KBIS. Before any deposit above 10,000 EUR, verify the bank details against the company name.
If you handle multiple suppliers per week, Quotal Vérif automates this in your workflow. But the principles are the same whether you use a tool or do it manually: verify, document, and keep records.
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