Open Company Data in France: Official Sources, APIs and Reuse Rights

France is one of the strongest European jurisdictions for official company identifiers, but it is not a single-source market. A practical France company dataset usually starts with SIRENE and official government lookup routes, then adds RNE/INPI context, procurement notices, IP signals, regulated financial-agent checks and LEI records. The editorial risk is not source scarcity. The risk is overclaiming: SIREN and SIRET coverage is broad, while beneficial ownership, natural-person fields, paid documents, bank-risk files, regulator records and marketing-contact workflows need separate legal and privacy treatment.

This guide compares official identifiers, register services, APIs and sector-specific sources. It distinguishes legal units from establishments, explains access and reuse limits, and gives a practical method for documenting provenance and freshness.

The short answer for data teams is: use SIRENE and official API/search routes as the company and establishment backbone; add procurement, IP, regulator and LEI sources as enrichment; preserve source provenance and privacy flags; do not infer contact-data permission from public company visibility.

Key Takeaways

• Best identifier backbone: SIRENE, SIREN and SIRET evidence through data.gouv.fr, INSEE guidance and API Recherche Entreprises.
• Best registry context: INPI’s RNE overview explains the national business-register framework, while bot-protected data.inpi.fr search routes should be handled cautiously.
• Best enrichment layers: BOAMP for procurement, INPI trademark context for IP, REGAFI for financial-agent checks and GLEIF for LEI-bearing entities.
• Main reuse boundary: official public data does not mean every field is free for unrestricted commercial reuse, especially person-linked, bank-risk, document and contact fields.
• Identifier boundary: SIREN identifies a legal unit; SIRET identifies an establishment. Preserve both levels when comparing coverage.

Editorial Methodology

The source map prioritises the responsible public authorities: INSEE for Sirene identifiers and dissemination rules, INPI for register and intellectual-property context, and the source owners for procurement, regulator and LEI information. Aggregators may help discovery but do not establish the rights attached to the underlying data.

A source can be publicly searchable without permitting unrestricted download or redistribution. Check the access method, licence, field definitions and any partial-dissemination rules directly with the source owner.

For each source, identify the owner, access method, field scope, date and applicable use conditions. A logo or favicon is a navigation aid; it does not prove data quality or confer permission for reuse.

Coverage, Access and Update-Risk Analysis

Registry and identifier coverage: France is unusually strong for entity and establishment identifiers because SIREN and SIRET support consistent matching across business-register, public-service, procurement and statistics workflows. That does not remove the need to preserve field-level provenance: an establishment identifier, legal unit identifier, directory display field and API payload can carry different update dates and reuse constraints.

API and bulk access: Sirene offers official consultation, API and stock-file routes for legal units and establishments. These routes do not establish that every register document, beneficial-owner, financial-risk or contact field is available for unrestricted bulk reuse.

Procurement and regulated enrichment: BOAMP adds public procurement notice evidence. REGAFI adds regulated financial-agent checks. GLEIF adds global LEI records for entities that have them. These sources are useful because they identify business activity and compliance context, but they are partial layers and should never be used as a complete business population.

IP context: INPI records can connect entities to brands and rights. Interfaces may require interactive access. Use conservative matching; an IP record does not establish current trading activity or contactability.

Update risk: SIRENE data, API directory responses, RNE context, procurement notices, trademark records, financial-agent registers and LEI records do not refresh on one schedule. A reliable data product should store per-source access dates, observed update dates, source owner and field-level freshness rather than one generic “updated” field.

Reuse Checklist

• Authority check: preserve the responsible owner of each field, such as INSEE/Sirene, INPI/RNE, BOAMP, REGAFI or GLEIF, even when a directory or API combines several underlying sources.
• Access-model check: separate public web search, official API, bulk/open-data dataset, procurement notice, regulator route, IP record and LEI API response.
• Licence and terms check: retain data.gouv.fr licence metadata, API terms, official portal limitations, access date and attribution requirement where applicable.
• Field-scope check: keep legal-unit, establishment, procurement, regulator, trademark and LEI fields in separate layers until matched and validated.
• Privacy check: treat natural-person, beneficial-owner, officer, representative and document-level personal data as controlled fields with minimisation and suppression controls.
• Marketing check: public company or establishment visibility is not consent for email, phone, lead-list or sales-prospecting contact enrichment.
• Access failures: a challenge page or timeout is an access limitation, not proof that the underlying register is empty or unreliable. Use the documented official interface and respect its access conditions.

Source-by-Source Deep Dives

The sources below are not interchangeable. The registry and identifier routes are the entity backbone; procurement, IP, regulator and LEI sources are enrichment layers that must be matched back to the entity core with confidence scores and source dates.

INPI RNE overview

Authority and access: official national business register portal. The access model is public official overview, controlled portal features.

What it can support: Official RNE/INPI portal context exists for French company-register lookup. Use it to explain the Registre national des entreprises and INPI's institutional role, while keeping the bot-protected data.inpi.fr search interface out of any free-bulk claim.

Limits: Do not claim free complete bulk RNE extraction from this route. official portal terms apply; use as linked evidence, not unrestricted bulk reuse. Store the source URL, access date, field scope and matching confidence rather than flattening it into a single generic company field.

API Recherche Entreprises

Authority and access: official French API catalogue. The access model is API documentation and access conditions.

What it can support: France has an official company-search API route documented in api.gouv.fr. Use it as the official API documentation layer for operational integration planning, not as proof that every downstream source can be reused without conditions.

Limits: Do not claim unrestricted commercial reuse without checking API terms and source licences. API terms and source-specific licences apply. Store the source URL, access date, field scope and matching confidence rather than flattening it into a single generic company field.

Base SIRENE on data.gouv.fr

Authority and access: official open-data catalogue. The access model is bulk/open-data dataset page.

What it can support: SIRENE provides official French company and establishment identifiers at bulk/open-data scale. Use it as the strongest bulk/open-data layer for French company and establishment identifiers, with licence metadata, update-date checks and attribution preserved.

Limits: Do not imply every useful commercial field or contact detail is present. data.gouv.fr licence metadata applies; retain attribution and update-date evidence. Store the source URL, access date, field scope and matching confidence rather than flattening it into a single generic company field.

INSEE SIRENE consultation and download guidance

Authority and access: official statistics authority. The access model is official guidance for consultation/download, linked API/open-data routes.

What it can support: INSEE documents official SIRENE consultation and download routes for company and establishment data. Use it to document where SIRENE consultation/download routes are explained by the statistical authority and how API/open-data options fit together.

Limits: Do not present every SIRENE access route as anonymous or unlimited. INSEE/data.gouv/API terms and licence metadata apply. Store the source URL, access date, field scope and matching confidence rather than flattening it into a single generic company field.

BOAMP public procurement notices

Authority and access: official public procurement notice portal. The access model is public web search and notice publication.

What it can support: BOAMP is a useful official procurement layer for supplier/procurement enrichment. Use it for supplier-event and public-procurement enrichment. It should never replace the company-register core.

Limits: Do not claim it is a comprehensive company register. public notice reuse with attribution/field limits; verify notice terms for bulk reuse. Store the source URL, access date, field scope and matching confidence rather than flattening it into a single generic company field.

INPI trademark search migration page

Authority and access: official IP authority portal. The access model is public service landing/migration page; target search route can be bot-protected.

What it can support: INPI trademark data can enrich company profiles with brand/IP context. Use it as cautious IP context. The target trademark search can be bot-protected, so keep brand/IP claims conditional.

Limits: Do not treat trademark records as proof of operating company status. official portal terms apply; use as brand/IP context only. Store the source URL, access date, field scope and matching confidence rather than flattening it into a single generic company field.

REGAFI financial agents register

Authority and access: official financial regulator / Banque de France group. The access model is public regulator search.

What it can support: REGAFI is relevant for regulated financial-entity checks in France. Use it for regulated financial-agent enrichment only. It is not general company coverage.

Limits: Do not generalize regulated financial-agent coverage to all French businesses. regulator-publication terms; use as compliance context only. Store the source URL, access date, field scope and matching confidence rather than flattening it into a single generic company field.

France LEI records via GLEIF

Authority and access: GLEIF global LEI system. The access model is public API.

What it can support: GLEIF is a high-quality enrichment layer for French entities that have LEIs. Use it for LEI-bearing entities, standardized legal names and global identifier crosswalks. Coverage is partial by design.

Limits: Do not claim LEI coverage is comprehensive for all businesses. GLEIF open data licence/API terms apply. Store the source URL, access date, field scope and matching confidence rather than flattening it into a single generic company field.

Source Matrix

Source	Owner / authority	Layer	Access model	Reuse note	Use in this article
INPI RNE overview	official national business register portal	registry	public official overview, controlled portal features	official portal terms apply; use as linked evidence, not unrestricted bulk reuse	Stable official source. Official RNE/INPI portal context exists for French company-register lookup. Do not claim free complete bulk RNE extraction from this route.
API Recherche Entreprises	official French API catalogue	api	API documentation and access conditions	API terms and source-specific licences apply	Stable official source. France has an official company-search API route documented in api.gouv.fr. Do not claim unrestricted commercial reuse without checking API terms and source licences.
Base SIRENE on data.gouv.fr	official open-data catalogue	bulk_open_data	bulk/open-data dataset page	data.gouv.fr licence metadata applies; retain attribution and update-date evidence	Stable official source. SIRENE provides official French company and establishment identifiers at bulk/open-data scale. Do not imply every useful commercial field or contact detail is present.
INSEE SIRENE consultation and download guidance	official statistics authority	bulk_open_data	official guidance for consultation/download, linked API/open-data routes	INSEE/data.gouv/API terms and licence metadata apply	Stable official source. INSEE documents official SIRENE consultation and download routes for company and establishment data. Do not present every SIRENE access route as anonymous or unlimited.
BOAMP public procurement notices	official public procurement notice portal	procurement	public web search and notice publication	public notice reuse with attribution/field limits; verify notice terms for bulk reuse	Stable official source. BOAMP is a useful official procurement layer for supplier/procurement enrichment. Do not claim it is a comprehensive company register.
INPI trademark search migration page	official IP authority portal	ip	public service landing/migration page; target search route can be bot-protected	official portal terms apply; use as brand/IP context only	Conditional context. INPI trademark data can enrich company profiles with brand/IP context. Do not treat trademark records as proof of operating company status.
REGAFI financial agents register	official financial regulator / Banque de France group	regulator	public regulator search	regulator-publication terms; use as compliance context only	Conditional context. REGAFI is relevant for regulated financial-entity checks in France. Do not generalize regulated financial-agent coverage to all French businesses.
France LEI records via GLEIF	GLEIF global LEI system	lei	public API	GLEIF open data licence/API terms apply	Stable official source. GLEIF is a high-quality enrichment layer for French entities that have LEIs. Do not claim LEI coverage is comprehensive for all businesses.

Resource Pack

Practical Manual, API and Bulk Options

Manual verification: use API Recherche Entreprises, Base SIRENE on data.gouv.fr, INSEE SIRENE guidance and INPI/RNE context to validate names, identifiers, registration context and establishment relationships. Store the query route, access date, displayed field scope and reviewer note. Manual verification is useful for QA, but it should not be relabelled as bulk access.

API workflows: use API Recherche Entreprises to plan API-based lookup and integration. Store endpoint, query parameter, response field, rate/access note and source-specific limitation. If an API response joins several underlying public datasets, preserve the source lineage instead of treating the API as the only authority.

Bulk/open-data workflows: use Base SIRENE on data.gouv.fr and INSEE SIRENE guidance for bulk-style identifier and establishment coverage. Keep update date, file or API version, licence metadata and field dictionary with the ingested data. SIRENE is the backbone, not a substitute for every regulatory, IP or document source.

Procurement workflows: use BOAMP for supplier events, tender notices and contracting context. Procurement notices should be linked to SIREN/SIRET identifiers where possible and stored as event records with dates, buyer, supplier, notice type and confidence.

Regulator, IP and LEI workflows: use REGAFI, INPI trademark context and GLEIF as enrichment. Store sector, authority, right type, registration or LEI status and match confidence separately from the company core.

Missing-Data Gaps

France’s strongest gap is not the absence of open identifiers; it is the boundary between open identifiers and controlled fields. SIRENE and official API/open-data routes can support a strong company and establishment backbone. RNE search interfaces, beneficial ownership, certified documents, bank-risk information, person-linked fields and contact data are different categories and need separate access, privacy and lawful-use review.

Some official interfaces use interactive controls. A guidance page can explain a service but cannot replace the underlying record. Document the actual record, access method and retrieval date when using it as evidence.

Commercial teams also need fields that official registers do not reliably provide: normalized business categories, deduplicated group relationships, current website, validated business email domains, phone intelligence and outreach segmentation. Those are enrichment problems, not reasons to stretch official-source reuse claims.

Recommended Data Model

• Entity core: SIREN, normalized legal name, legal form, status, registration context, country and source provenance.
• Establishment layer: SIRET, establishment name, address, activity, opening/closure status and parent SIREN relationship.
• Registry context: record the INPI/RNE or Sirene route, access date, identifier level, field scope and any limitation of the retrieved record.
• Open-data/API layer: dataset or endpoint, version/update date, licence metadata, response field and transformation notes.
• Procurement layer: BOAMP notice ID, buyer, supplier, procedure type, event date, contract status and matched SIREN/SIRET confidence.
• IP/regulator layer: INPI trademark context, REGAFI category, authority, event/status date and match confidence.
• LEI layer: LEI, GLEIF legal name, entity status, registration authority reference and address match.
• Privacy and use layer: person-field flag, beneficial-owner flag, paid-document flag, contact-data blocked flag, lawful-use note and suppression marker.

Evaluating normalization and enrichment

When comparing a commercial France dataset, ask for evidence of SIREN/SIRET handling, duplicate treatment, source lineage, field-level dates and any matching of procurement, IP, regulator or LEI records. These are evaluation criteria, not a claim that every product includes these fields.

For data teams, the value is repeatable provenance. Every field should answer: source owner, source URL, access date, field scope, transformation, confidence and limitation. For sales and marketing teams, the value is a clean separation between company facts and contact-data workflows. For compliance teams, the value is that person-linked and controlled fields are not silently mixed into ordinary company attributes.

CompaniesData.cloud provides downloadable business databases and educational resources. For a purchase decision, request the specification of the exact edition and evaluate its sample. No contact-enrichment field or use permission is established by this source guide.

Source scope and use conditions

Assess the applicable source conditions and personal-data context before using these fields.

• Annuaire des Entreprises: INSEE identifies the government directory as an official consultation route. Use its documented search or API options. Availability to a particular crawler does not determine reuse rights.
• Beneficial ownership and person-linked registry fields: check privacy, access and use conditions with the responsible source owner
• Banque de France/FIBEN-style risk and credit files: not open company data for ordinary reuse; mention only as controlled compliance context if needed
• Private contact-data and outreach lists: public registry, procurement, regulator, IP or LEI visibility is not permission to export email, phone or lead lists

FAQ

What is the best official source for France company data?

Begin with INSEE’s Sirene consultation and download guidance and the official directory/API documentation. Check whether the unit of analysis is a legal unit or an establishment, and apply the restrictions attached to partial dissemination.

What are SIREN and SIRET?

SIREN identifies the legal unit, while SIRET identifies an establishment. A usable France dataset should preserve both levels instead of flattening establishments into one company record.

Does France provide useful API or bulk company data?

Yes. Official Sirene routes provide company and establishment identifiers through consultation, API and stock files. Check the field definitions and dissemination rules. These products do not establish unrestricted availability of every register document, ownership, financial-risk or contact field.

Can BOAMP be used as a company register?

No. BOAMP is a procurement notice layer. It enriches suppliers and public contracts, but it does not replace SIRENE or registry evidence.

Can INPI trademark data prove that a company is active?

No. Trademark records are useful for brand and IP context, but they are partial and can outlive or diverge from company operating status.

Are financial-regulator sources complete for all businesses?

No. REGAFI is relevant to regulated financial agents. It should be matched back to the entity core and used as sector-specific compliance enrichment only.

Can public France company data be used for cold outreach?

Not automatically. Registry, API, procurement, IP, regulator and LEI visibility is not consent for marketing emails, phone calls, lead lists or sales-prospecting contact enrichment.

How should a commercial dataset be evaluated?

Compare a supplier’s documentation and sample against the required identifiers, fields, edition date, provenance and privacy controls. Confirm the exact product specification before assuming any enrichment or audit capability.

Official Sources

• INPI RNE overview – official national business register portal
• API Recherche Entreprises – official French API catalogue
• Base SIRENE on data.gouv.fr – official open-data catalogue
• INSEE SIRENE consultation and download guidance – official statistics authority
• BOAMP public procurement notices – official public procurement notice portal
• INPI trademark search migration page – official IP authority portal
• REGAFI financial agents register – official financial regulator / Banque de France group
• France LEI records via GLEIF – GLEIF global LEI system