🇫🇷How to verify a supplier in France
To verify a supplier in France, look the company up for free in the official Annuaire des Entreprises (INSEE / INPI) and confirm it is registered and currently active. The registry returns legal name, SIREN, the APE/NAF activity code (tells a maker from a reseller), registered address, and administrative state.
The official registry
- Registry
- Annuaire des Entreprises (INSEE / INPI)
- Company ID
- SIREN (9 digits) / SIRET (14 digits)
- Cost
- Free basic lookup
- Active status
- The "état administratif" reads Active or Cessée (ceased); the same portal also covers all French overseas territories.
- The APE/NAF code is the reliable maker-vs-middleman tell: a manufacturing code (10-33) means a real factory, a wholesale/retail code (46-47) means a trader.
Verify it in four steps
1. Open the Annuaire des Entreprises (INSEE / INPI)
Annuaire des Entreprises (INSEE / INPI) is the official government record of companies in France. Basic name or number search is free.
2. Search the exact legal name or ID
Search the supplier's registered name or its SIREN (9 digits) / SIRET (14 digits). If the name does not match cleanly, treat it as a red flag, it may be a trade name, a different entity, or wrong.
3. Confirm it is active, not struck off
The "état administratif" reads Active or Cessée (ceased); the same portal also covers all French overseas territories.
4. Check it makes what it sells
A real factory carries a manufacturing activity code and a consistent trade history; a middleman reselling everything is the most common mismatch. For an EU company, also validate the VAT number in the free EU VIES system.
This is a factual pointer to public records, not legal advice. For the full method, see the 7 checks that separate a real supplier from a scam.
We do this check for you
On every France company we list, we show what the open record says, each linked to its free public source so you can re-check it yourself, no paid badge. And we go past the big directories to the local and craft makers who are too small for them but real, then verify and sort them, so you find genuine France suppliers, not just the loudest.
Questions
Is checking a France supplier free?
Yes. A basic name or number lookup in the Annuaire des Entreprises (INSEE / INPI) is free. Some full official extracts are paid, but confirming a company exists and is active costs nothing.
What ID does a France company have?
Its SIREN (9 digits) / SIRET (14 digits). Ask the supplier for it, then confirm it in the Annuaire des Entreprises (INSEE / INPI) and check the registered name matches.
How do I know a France supplier is a real manufacturer, not a reseller?
The registry's activity code is the tell: a manufacturing code means a real maker, a wholesale or retail code means a trader. The APE/NAF code is the reliable maker-vs-middleman tell: a manufacturing code (10-33) means a real factory, a wholesale/retail code (46-47) means a trader.