Why this document gets a page of its own
Because it is the document that most often stalls a French corporate procedure in Spain, and almost never on its content: on the calendar.
In practice a Kbis expires after three months. Anyone who requests it on day one, spends two months assembling the rest of the file and reaches the notary in the third month finds they have to start again precisely when everything else was ready. That is a sequencing error, not a documentary one, and it is avoided by knowing what order things go in.
What the extrait Kbis is
It is, literally, a French company's identity document. It evidences registration in the Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS) and sets out, in a page or two, everything a third party needs in order to deal with that company safely.
It is worth distinguishing it from its smaller sibling. The extrait K belongs to sole traders and micro-entrepreneurs. The extrait Kbis belongs to legal entities — SARL, SAS, SA, SCI. When Spain asks you to evidence who represents a French company and whether that company exists, the correct document is the Kbis.
Who issues it, and where
It is issued by the greffe of the tribunal de commerce with jurisdiction over the registered office, drawing on RCS data. It is not issued by the company or its advisers: it is a registry extract, and that is exactly why it works as proof against third parties.
One detail catches out people arriving from France, and it is worth stating plainly: the French administration itself barely asks for it any more, because it consults the register directly. The Spanish administration does ask for it, on paper. That it has fallen out of use in France does not make it redundant here.
How to obtain it
Free, if you are an officer
Through MonIdenum, a company officer downloads their own company's Kbis at no cost, as often as needed. It is the fastest route and the one we recommend when the director is available.
The Annuaire des entreprises additionally provides a free RNE (Registre national des entreprises) registration certificate, though it is not always accepted where a classic Kbis is expected.
Paid, for anyone
Through Infogreffe it costs around €3.06 by email or €4 by post; at the greffe itself, around €2.44. This is the route when the person who needs the document is not the officer — a Spanish lawyer, a bank, the counterparty to a transaction.
What it contains, and what we translate
The Kbis is dense with data and all of it counts. The translation reproduces the document in full:
- Company name, SIREN number and APE/NAF activity code.
- Legal form and share capital.
- Registered office and any secondary establishments.
- Declared activity and domain names.
- Officers: role, full name, date and place of birth, nationality and address.
- Collective proceedings entries, where they exist, and registry annotations.
That block of officers is what gives the document its purpose in a Spanish notary's office: it is what evidences that whoever signs the power of attorney, the deed or the contract is entitled to do so.
A note on legal form. "SARL" is not "S.L.", however alike they look. The sworn translation keeps the original designation and adds, where needed, a translator's note explaining the French figure. Rendering "SAS" as "S.A." would be convenient and it would be wrong: they are different company types, with different rules, and the notary needs to know which one is in front of them.
The apostille: neither automatic nor dismissible
Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 removed the apostille between member states, but only for civil-status documents — birth, marriage, criminal records. It does not reach commercial documents.
In practice the criterion varies: some Spanish notaries and banks require an apostilled Kbis and others accept it as issued. This is not settled by reading a blog, including this one: ask whoever is requesting it, because the apostille has its own turnaround and it is added to the Kbis's own.
And if it is apostilled in the end, remember the order: apostille first, translate second. The apostille is part of the document and is translated with it.
Spanish procedures where it is filed
- Incorporating a subsidiary or opening a branch of the French company in Spain.
- Notarial deeds: powers of attorney, property purchases, capital increases.
- Registration at the Commercial Registry.
- Opening a bank account in the company's name.
- Public tenders, where the procurement panel requires evidence of legal personality and representation.
- Applying for a non-resident entity NIF at the Spanish tax agency.
Delivery format and turnaround
We deliver the translation as a PDF with a qualified electronic signature, valid before the Spanish administration, at no shipping cost. If your notary or bank prefers paper, you can add delivery of a physical copy.
A Kbis usually runs to one or two pages, so it fits the shortest turnarounds. The quote tool gives you the exact amount and the delivery date before you pay, once the document is uploaded.
Mistakes we head off
- Requesting the Kbis too early. It is the document that expires; it goes at the end of the list, not the start.
- Confusing K with Kbis. An extrait K does not evidence a company.
- Translating before apostilling, when the apostille ends up being required.
- Equating legal forms. SARL, SAS and SA are not S.L. or S.A.; they are kept and explained.
- Trimming the document. Collective proceedings entries are part of the Kbis and get translated.
Related pages
If you are opening a subsidiary or branch, you will probably also need the sworn translation of the articles of association and, depending on the transaction, of the power of attorney. For the registry detail, our article on the extrait Kbis and when it needs translating goes deeper.