How do I access the register of beneficial owners?
What information can you obtain?
Since its creation by Ordinance No. 2016-1635 of December 1, 2020 , the register of beneficial owners of legal entities has been the subject of much discussion, and for good reason. It represented a small revolution in terms of transparency in business.
" The beneficial owner is the natural person or persons: either who ultimately control, directly or indirectly, the customer; or for whom a transaction is carried out or an activity is performed " – Article L. 561-2-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code .
The Register of Beneficial Owners lists a great deal of information on these beneficiaries, including their identification and percentage of ownership within the entity concerned.
Initially reserved for a restricted public ( L.561-46 of the Monetary and Financial Code ), Ordinance No. 2020-115 of February 12, 2020 established that " access to information relating to beneficial owners is free of charge, regardless of the methods of consultation or communication of this information ".
Finally, more than a year later, on April 16, 2021, the French Treasury announced free online access to the register of beneficial owners (announcement available here ) via the INPI website or Infogreffe . However, a distinction remains.
How exactly can the data be accessed?
Public information on beneficial owners is freely accessible DATA.INPI.FR portal and the Infogreffe . Simply access the relevant company's record (search by company name or SIREN number) to view the beneficial owner data. The DATA INPI website grants free licenses to authorized individuals upon request to access all information. The INPI specifies that the data is updated daily to reduce the risks of identity theft and fraud.
What data is publicly accessible?
The following are available on the INPI website for each beneficiary:
- The name and name in use,
- The pseudonym,
- The first name,
- The month and year of birth,
- The country of residence,
- Nationality
- The nature and extent of the effective interests held in the company or entity in question.
Additional information (the day and place of birth of the beneficial owner, their personal address and the date on which this person became a beneficial owner) is reserved for three categories of persons identified by Article L. 561-46 of the Monetary and Financial Code .
These people are:
- The reporting companies or entities;
- Certain authorities empowered in the exercise of their mission, mentioned more specifically in Article R. 561-57 of the Monetary and Financial Code , such as the control authorities, magistrates of the judicial order, agents of the national financial intelligence unit, customs officers, authorized judicial police officers, tax service agents;
- Persons subject to the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing as part of a due diligence measure, mentioned in Article R.561-58 and Article L. 561-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code , having the obligation to identify the beneficial owners of their corporate clients, such as the Bank of France, auditors, lawyers and chartered accountants.
The beneficiaries are declared when the company is formed . They are updated with each transaction.
