Glossary
SIRET: the company number that lets you check a French contractor
What is a SIRET number?
SIRET stands for Système d'Identification du Répertoire des Établissements: the 14-digit registration number of a French business. Every business gets one automatically when it registers, from large firms to micro-entrepreneurs (sole traders). It shows that whoever is quoting for your work is a real, registered business.
SIREN versus SIRET: what do the 9 and 14 digits mean?
The SIREN is 9 digits and identifies the company. The SIRET adds 5 more digits for one branch or site, so a firm with a workshop in Nice and an office in Cannes has one SIREN and two SIRET numbers. Either one identifies the business.
Where should the SIRET appear on a contractor's devis?
On every devis (written quote) and every facture (invoice), next to the business name and address. If a quote carries a name and a phone number but no SIRET, ask for a corrected version before you go any further. With two devis side by side, as you should have anyway, a missing number is easy to spot.
Do you need to look up a contractor's SIRET yourself?
You don't have to. If you'd like the reassurance, the state's free Annuaire des Entreprises shows in a minute whether the business is still trading. Type in the name or the number; no account is needed.
For the contractors we introduce, we check their insurance and the qualifications a grant needs before we pass on your request. How we vet contractors explains what we look at.
What does a SIRET not prove about a contractor?
It proves the business is registered. It says nothing about whether the firm is insured or good at the work. Ask for the certificate of garantie décennale (the compulsory ten-year building insurance), and where a grant depends on it, ask for the firm's RGE number (the state's approved-installer label) to be printed on the devis.
What if a tradesman has no SIRET at all?
Any business working in France has to be registered, including a firm that has newly arrived from another country. A quote with no SIRET means you shouldn't sign, because an unregistered tradesman leaves you with little recourse if something goes wrong.
More on checking contractors and reading French quotes
- Devis: what a written quote must contain
- Garantie décennale: the insurance to ask for next
- RGE certification: the label some grants require
- IRVE: the qualification for EV charger installers
Sources
Official sources for SIRET and company registration
- Service-Public.fr: SIREN and SIRET numbers What the SIREN and SIRET are, who assigns them (INSEE) and how they are built.
- Annuaire des Entreprises (data.gouv.fr) The free official register: search any French business by name, SIREN or SIRET.
- Service-Public.fr: what an invoice must show The business identification that must appear on a facture.
Rules checked against these sources in October 2026.