Conciliation procedure

Verified 09 October 2026 - Entreprendre Service Public / (Prime Minister)

To get out of a crisis situation, a company can ask the court to appoint a conciliator responsible for quickly reaching an amicable agreement with its main creditors (tax, social security, lessors, suppliers, bankers, etc.). This procedure is open to companies who are not in a cessation of payments or have been for less than 45 days. It shall be confidential except where the conciliation agreement is approved.

The conciliation procedure shall apply where the following conditions are met:

  • The company is facing a difficulty legal (for example, litigation between partners), economic (for example, loss of a contract) or financial (for example, non-payment of a customer). This difficulty may be existing or predictable.
  • The company is not in a situation of cessation of payments or is in cessation of payments for less than 45 days.

FYI  

The conciliation procedure does not apply to farmers. They benefit from a specific procedure called out-of-court settlement.

The head of company (including the micro-entrepreneur) must make a written request for the opening of conciliation called query.

The procedure for making this request depends on the activity carried out:

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Commercial or craft activity

To request the opening of a conciliation and the appointment of a conciliator, the following document must be completed:

Request for the opening of a conciliation procedure

This document must be dated and signed. In particular, it specifies the following:

  • Presentation of the company (activity, job, turnover and results)
  • Economic, financial and social difficulties and financing needs
  • Remedial measures envisaged (e.g. payment delays and debt forgiveness)
  • Name of conciliator: The conciliator is appointed by the president of the court. However, the name of the conciliator may be suggested by the company. Most often, the conciliator is a insolvency administrator.

The application must be accompanied by following documents :

  • Extract Kbis or proof of registration in RNE: titleContent
  • Status of receivables and debts with a timetable and a list of the main creditors
  • State active and passive of collateral and off-balance sheet commitments
  • Annual accounts
  • Funding table, situation of available and realizable assets (excluding operating values) and liabilities due for the last 3 fiscal years (if these documents have been prepared)
  • Certification of Honor certifying the absence of a state of cessation of payments

The application for designation may be transmitted in the court of the place where the company has its registered office, in one of the following ways:

  • Either online through the digital court

Digital Court

  • Either deposited or sent in 2 copies at the registry of the commercial court or the tribunal des activités économiques of the place where the company has its seat
Who shall I contact

Since the 1er January 2025, the commercial courts of 12 cities are replaced by tribunals of economic activities (TAE) for the treatment of amicable procedures (ad hoc mandate, conciliation) and collective proceedings. The courts of the following cities are concerned: Avignon, Auxerre, Le Havre, Le Mans, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Nanterre, Paris, Saint-Brieuc and Versailles.

The Department of Justice provides a simulator to determine the competent court:

Know the competent court for the procedures of prevention or treatment of difficulties

Liberal activity

To request the opening of a conciliation and the appointment of a conciliator, the following document must be completed:

Request for the opening of a conciliation procedure

Please note

Only the legal representative of the company may request the opening of a conciliation procedure.

This document must be dated and signed. In particular, it specifies the following:

  • Economic, financial and social situation of the company
  • Projected financing plan and income statement
  • Funding needs and, where appropriate, ways to meet them
  • Remedial measures envisaged
  • Deadlines for payment or debt forgiveness to implement these measures.

Please note

When the company is in cessation of payments, the legal representative must specify the date in the application.

The documents to be attached to the request are as follows:

  • Proof of registration the National Register of companies (RNE)
  • Status of receivables and debts, with a timetable and a list of the main ones creditors
  • Statement of assets and liabilities of collateral
  • Statement of assets and liabilities of off-balance sheet liabilities (e.g. leasing transactions, discounts granted to a company by creditors)
  • Annual accounts, financing table, situation of available and realizable assets, operating values excluded, liabilities due in the last 3 years, if these documents have been drawn up
  • Certification of Honor certifying the absence of a conciliation procedure within the 3 months preceding the request
  • Declaration indicating, if necessary, the assumption by a third party of the costs of the procedure
  • Professional order on which the company depends (for example, order of architects or order of veterinarians).

This request must be filed with the court of justice or the economic activities court (TAE) the location of the head office of the company.

Who shall I contact

Indeed, since the 1er January 2025, the courts of 12 cities are replaced by economic activity tribunals (EABs) for the handling of ad hoc mandate procedures, conciliation and collective proceedings. The courts of the following cities are concerned: Avignon, Auxerre, Le Havre, Le Mans, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Nanterre, Paris, Saint-Brieuc and Versailles.

The Department of Justice provides a simulator to determine the competent court:

Know the competent court for the procedures of prevention or treatment of difficulties

Please note

The court of justice is always competent for the following regulated professions of law: lawyers, notaries, commissioners of justice, clerks of commercial courts, judicial administrators and judicial agents.

Upon receipt of the request, the President of the Tribunal summon the head of company to get his explanations.

When the President of the Tribunal accepts the request for the commencement of conciliation proceedings, he shall issue an order appointing a conciliator.

This order specifies the following:

  • Identity of conciliator
  • Purpose of the mission
  • Remuneration of the conciliator
  • Duration of conciliation.

Missions of the conciliator

The conciliator shall assist the Head of company in implement solutions to ensure the continuity of company .

The Head of company and the conciliator shall work together to memorandum of understanding to be negotiated with the creditors with a view to obtaining payment deadlines or debt forgiveness.

Please note

The company must continue to pay its debts despite the opening of conciliation.

Duration of the conciliator's mission

The conciliator shall be appointed for a maximum duration of 4 months.

This duration may be extended by one month . Only the conciliator has the possibility to ask the president of the tribunal for an extension of his mission.

The total duration of the procedure may not exceed 5 months.

Remuneration of the conciliator

The remuneration of the conciliator shall be borne by the company. It is set in agreement with the head of company according to the size of the company.

The Head of company and the Conciliator shall cooperate closely during the preparatory period for the conclusion of a conciliation agreement (also known as amicable agreement).

From the moment the conciliation procedure is triggered, creditors can no longer request the turnaround or the bankruptcy company.

1Negotiation of the conciliation agreement with the creditors

The aim of the conciliation procedure is to achieve a amicable agreement between the company and its principals creditors (e.g. tax administration, social agencies, bank) to resolve financial difficulties.

The conciliator therefore establishes with the head of company the list of creditors who will participate in the negotiations with a view to reaching an agreement.

The troubled company and its major creditors can negotiate the following measures: payment periods, debt forgiveness or interest, late payment penalties.

Please note

This procedure which is optional for creditors: they are free to participate in the conciliation agreement. They may also decide to commit only part of their claims to the agreement.

During the negotiations :

  • If the company is formal notice or sued by a creditor, it may ask the judge who opened the conciliation procedure, for payment periods of maximum duration of 2 years.
  • Forward In any formal notice or prosecution of a creditor, the company in difficulty may request a deferral of its debt to a creditor who has refused the conciliator's offers. In this case, the judge may postpone or stagger the settlement of claims for a maximum of 5 months.

2Conclusion of a conciliation agreement

When the company and the creditors agree on deadlines for payment, debt forgiveness or interest, they formalize the various measures in a conciliation agreement.

The conciliation agreement allows the company in difficulty to obtain the following measures:

  • Payment terms for company debts
  • Debt forgiveness or installment
  • Interest rebates and late payment penalties
  • Cash contributions to enable business to restart
  • Guarantees of performance. It is possible to provide that collateral be granted to the creditor to ensure the execution of the agreement

This agreement must then be confirmed or approved by the president of the court.

3Recognition or approval of the conciliation agreement

Once signed, the amicable agreement is:

  • Either found by an order of the president of the court, at the request of the creditors and the company in difficulty. The agreement remains confidential.
  • Either approved by a judgment of the court at the request of the company in difficulty only. The procedure is no longer secret.
Finding of the conciliation agreement

The president of the court may confirm the agreement at the request of the creditors and the head of company. This allows to give enforceability to the agreement, i.e. it must be executed by the parties.

The agreement found is not published. So he stays confidential.

Approval of the Conciliation Agreement

Only the head of company may apply to the court for approval of the agreement.

The following conditions must be met:

  • The company in difficulty is not cessation of payments or the agreement concluded terminates it.
  • The terms of the agreement ensure the continuation of the company's activity.
  • The agreement safeguards the interests of creditors non-signatories.

The procedure is no longer confidential. Indeed, the existence of the approved agreement is published in the registry of the commercial court but not its content.

The company in difficulty shall inform the social and economic committee (CSE) of the approved agreement where one exists.

Under an approved agreement, creditors who have consented to new cash flow (or have provided a new good or service) have a new money privilege. This means that they will be paid in priority over other creditors if a collective procedure is subsequently opened (in case of failure of the conciliation or cessation of payments). To benefit from this privilege, they must report to the commissioner judge that they have a new money privilege. These creditors cannot be subject to payment deadlines.

FYI  

When a collective proceeding is opened, there is an order of priority for the payment of creditors. Salary claims are paid first, then claims for legal costs. Creditors who have granted a lien of new money are then paid.

Effects of the agreement on creditors

Companies to the agreement (bank, supplier, etc.) can no longer sue the court for payment of their claims. Indeed, they must respect the measures agreed in the agreement (payment deadlines, debt forgiveness, etc.). It's called a halt to individual prosecutions.

This stay of individual proceedings also applies to the bond company in difficulty.

Claims not included in the conciliation agreement may still be subject to payment deadlines.

Please note

If one of the parties does not respect its commitments, the court may termination the agreement found or approved.

Where the creditors and the company in difficulty are unable to reach an agreement, the conciliator shall submit a report to the president of the court. The latter puts end of the conciliator's mission and the conciliation procedure.

This decision shall be communicated to the head of company in difficulty and to the public prosecutor.

If the conciliation procedure fails, the company may resort to another procedure: accelerated backup procedure or the classic backup procedure.

If the situation worsens and it is cessation of payments, it must request the opening of proceedings turnaround or judicial liquidation.

Tableau - Differences between the ad hoc mandate and conciliation

Ad hoc mandate

Conciliation

Cessation of payments

No

Not be in default of payments for more than 45 days

Speakers

The ad hoc representative shall be appointed by the President of the competent court.

The Head of company may propose the name of an ad hoc representative.

Most often, the ad hoc representative is a insolvency administrator.

The conciliator shall be appointed by the President of the competent court.

The head of company may propose the name of a conciliator.

Most often, the conciliator is a insolvency administrator.

Duration

No maximum duration

5 months maximum

Cost

It is freely determined by the parties.

The terms and conditions of the agent's remuneration shall be determined by the President of the Tribunal. The parties may agree that part of the costs of advising creditors will be borne by the Head of company in the event of an agreement.

The President of the Tribunal shall exercise control over the remuneration of the ad hoc representative.

It is freely determined by the parties.

The terms of the conciliator's remuneration shall be determined by the President of the Tribunal. The parties may agree that part of the costs of advising creditors will be borne by the Head of company in the event of an agreement.

The President of the Tribunal shall exercise control over the remuneration of the conciliator.

Objective

Mission set by the president of the court to resolve the difficulty encountered by the head of company

Foster an amicable agreement between the head of company and his main creditors

Or prepare the partial or total transfer of the company (pre-negotiated transfer)

Confidentiality

Yes

Yes unless approved agreement. In this case, the existence of the agreement is known by the publication of a notice of judgment in Bodacc.

Suspension of creditors' proceedings

No

Yes only for creditors who have signed the conciliation agreement

End of the procedure

  • Successful performance of the task of the ad hoc representative (agreement between partners or with creditors to spread the debts)
  • Either failure of negotiation. Possibility of moving towards a conciliation procedure or a collective procedure
  • Either a finding of agreement or an approved agreement with the creditors
  • No agreement between the head of company and the creditors. The President shall terminate the proceedings
  • Possibility of moving towards a collective procedure

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