Updated with 2025 figures.

In France, all business activities are divided into four main categories: commercial, artisanal, liberal and agricultural. Understanding which category your activity falls under is important, as this will have an impact on the registration process, set-ups available and has social security and income tax implications.

Definitions

Agricultural (exploitation agricole) – activities related to the sale or consumption of products from all land suitable for cultivation and livestock products, in particular such as:

• forest production
• the operation of mushroom beds in underground galleries and on the surface
• products from beekeeping, poultry, fish, oyster and mussel farms
• research and obtaining new plant varieties (intellectual property products)
• the sale of dry or wet biomass from products or by-products mainly from the farm
• the production of energy from products or by-products mainly from farming (photovoltaic electricity, wind power, methanization, etc.)
• the processing of products intended for human or animal consumption (manufacture of starch, sugar, butter, etc.)
• equestrian activities (preparation and training of domestic equines, excluding show activities).

Artisanal (activité artisanale) – activities carried out by businesses employing no more than 10 employees and which carry out an independent activity of production, processing, repair or provision of artisanal services. These are mainly food-related trades (bakers, butchers, pastry chefs, cheese makers, chocolate makers, etc.), construction and production trades (masons, tilers, roofers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, manufacturers of objects…) and artisanal services (hairdressers, watchmakers, dressmakers, leatherworkers…).

Industrial (activité industrielle) – an industrial enterprise is an entity intended to mass produce goods (materials, semi finished products, goods ready for consumption or equipment) through the transformation of raw materials or materials that have already undergone transformation.

Commercial (activité commerciale) – organized and orderly series of processes allowing a natural or legal person, called a trader (commerçant), to create, take over or develop a business, requiring the purchase and sale of goods or services with the objective of generating income and value over time.

For most of purposes in France, industrial and commercial activities are grouped together.

Liberal (activité libérale) – professions carried out in a personal capacity and independently, on the basis of appropriate professional qualifications, under the responsibility of the entrepreneur, and consisting in the provision of intellectual services. Professional activities include lawyers, pharmacists, doctors, dentists, accountants, notaries, nurses, midwives, veterinarians, architects and insurance agents, but also teachers, consultants etc. Liberal activities are further subdivided into regulated (activité libérale réglementée) and non-regulated.

Which category

Figuring out where exactly belongs what you do can be a bit tricky. There is an official classification of all activities, with a separate code for each one (code NAF/APE). So first, you need to find the code that best describes your activity. You can find the list with translation in English on the Start Business in France page. Depending on your code, you can find out which tax category (see more explanation on this below) your activity will fall under – consult this table in French here. This, however, will not give you information whether your activity is artisanal or commercial/industrial. This list of codes for artisanal activity, again in French, can be found in this PDF. Finally, if your activity falls under liberal category, you can check if it is regulated for example, here.

What are the implications

So now, hopefully, you know which category your activity falls under. What does this mean?

If you would like to create a company, some company types might not be available for your activity, but there might also exist dedicated forms. This topic is too broad to approach here, and deserves a series of separate posts, which I am planning to write up gradually.

If you are planning to be self-employed, the table below summarises the most important differences, but does not pretend to be an exhaustive list. Please note, that depending on your activity, you may also need to register with additional organisations, or fulfil special requirements to be able to run your business, there are additionally certain professions that are set completely apart. You can find the list, for example, here.

	Agricultural	Artisanal	Commercial/Industrial	Liberal
Who to register with for “entreprise individuelle”	Chambres d’agriculture	Chambre de Métiers et de l’Artisanat	chambre de commerce et d’industrie	URSSAF
Limits for “micro” regime	Average turnover over the last 3 years is less than 85 800€ (2020-2022). The “micro-bénéfice agricole” regime is not the same as micro-entreprise, and one person cannot have both at the same time	77 700€ per calendar year (2023)	188 700€ per year for sales of goods, and hospitality services (accommodation, food, drinks) 77 700€ per calendar year for other services (2023) For short-term furnished rentals: – “non-classé” – 15 000 (2024) – “classé” – 77 700 (2025)	77 700€ per calendar year (2023)
VAT eligibility threshold / “majoré” threshold (2021)	N/A – VAT rules for agricultural activity are different	37 500€ / 41250€ (2025)	85 000€ / 93 500€ for sales of goods, and hospitality services (accommodation, food, drinks) 36 800€ / 39100€ for other services (2023)	37 500€ / 41250€ (2025) different for “artiste-auteur” and lawyers
Social Security organisation	MSA	URSSAF	URSSAF	URSSAF / CIPAV
Micro Entreprise charges sociales	N/A – very different rules	21.20% (2023)	12,3% or sales of goods, and hospitality services (accommodation, food, drinks) 21.20% for other services (2023)	For businessess open before 2018 or those with CIPAV 23.2% (07/2024) For the rest 24.6% from 01/25 26.1% from 01/26
Micro Entreprise contribution à la formation professionnelle	N/A – very different rules	0.3%	0.1% or sales of goods, and hospitality services (accommodation, food, drinks) 0.2% for other services	0.1% for non reglementé 0.2% for activité reglementé
Reduction of turnover, if you pay your income tax together with the rest of your family unit tax	N/A – very different rules	50%	71% or sales of goods, and hospitality services (accommodation, food, drinks) 50% for other services	34%
Income tax on the turnover if you opted for “impot liberatoire”	N/A – very different rules	1.7%	1% or sales of goods, and hospitality services (accommodation, food, drinks) 1.7% for other services	2.2%
Tax for the consular chamber (different rates for Alsas/Moselle)	N/A – very different rules	0,48 % services 0.22% for resale	0.015% or sales of goods, and hospitality services (accommodation, food, drinks) 0.044% for other services 0.007 if also an artisan

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to receive personalised information about your business project.

Important: Every situation is different and may need professional advice. The information on the Compte Plus website is general and should not replace legal, accounting, or tax counsel. If in doubt, contact a specialist for tailored advice.