Open a branch in Monaco: the succursale of a foreign company
We prepare and steer the authorisation file your company needs before its Monaco establishment may open or trade, and tell you at the start whether a branch or a subsidiary fits.
- One authorisation, held by the foreign company (Loi n° 1.144, Art. 5)
- No minimum capital is stated for a branch
- 5 working days, then 45 days from admissibility (Art. 5)
- RCI within one month, or the authorisation lapses (Loi n° 721, Art. 2)
What a Monaco branch is, and what we do
The government calls it an agence commerciale: "la succursale d'une société, dont le siège est situé à l'étranger", whose role is to develop a commercial activity in Monaco (branch information page, updated 05/12/2025). Opening or operating an agency, a branch, an administrative office or a representative office of a company whose seat is abroad is subject to administrative authorisation (Loi n° 1.144, Art. 5, second paragraph). The test is the seat abroad, not anyone's nationality.
The authorisation comes first, and the Minister of State issues it. We prepare that file and steer it, from the wording of the activity to the first annual return. The other route is a Monegasque company of its own, which is how a foreign founder registers a company in Monaco, under the same statute and the same clock.
What is included
One file, from the eligibility question to the first annual return.
The eligibility check. Whether a branch may carry on the activity at all: a licensed financial activity is closed to every branch but a foreign credit institution's, a regulated activity closes the business-centre formulas, and the parent's object has to cover the Monaco activity.
The branch or subsidiary decision. Argued from articles rather than from a sales table: capital, who holds the authorisation, who may manage, gazette publicity, and the profits-tax test that does not move between the two.
The authorisation dossier. The seven official documents and the form set n° 355-04-05-26, assembled and lodged at the Direction du Développement Économique (DDE), the department publicly branded the Monaco Business Office.
Steering the clock. Admissibility, the forty-five days, the extension a complex file may attract, and the suspension a reasoned request triggers, including the longer one that exists because the parent sits abroad.
Premises, then the register. The occupancy title the file needs once the agreement in principle is given, then registration at the RCI inside the month, in French, with the attestation of a deposit account opened in Monaco.
The formalities that follow. The NIS from IMSEE, the declaration of existence, the VAT position of a secondary establishment, the first annual return. We are not the notary, the expert-comptable, the commissaire aux comptes or the bank: we name who is.
How a foreign company can be present in Monaco
Four routes, and what separates them is what the establishment is allowed to do.
- A succursale trades under the authorisation the foreign company itself holds, and is entered in the RCI once it is issued.
- A Monegasque subsidiary, an SURL, an SARL or a SAM, is a company of its own with capital of its own: EUR 15,000 where the sole member is a legal person, EUR 150,000 for a SAM.
- An administrative office may carry on no commercial activity, "aucune activité commerciale ne peut être déployée par un bureau administratif", and is not entered in the RCI: an administrative office in Monaco
- A representative office is named in Art. 5, second paragraph, and the procedures index publishes no page of its own for it.
- Taking over a business already trading here is the fourth route, and the buyer still files an authorisation of their own: business for sale Monaco
- A licensed financial activity is closed to the branch form unless the parent is a credit institution seated abroad (Loi n° 1.338, Art. 3).
what it may do
how it is taxed. Branch: trades
entered in the RCI
a director designated for the Monegasque establishment
the ordinary profits-tax test. Administrative office: no commercial activity
an agent responsable
the notional base the government publishes. Representative office: named in Art. 5 second paragraph
Art. 5
no published procedure page
The three forms Art. 5, second paragraph names for a company seated abroad. Sources: Loi n° 1.144, Art. 5; the administrative-office page, updated 12/08/2025. For an administrative office the government states a notional base of 40% of annual operating expenditure, with no statute found behind that figure
Branch or subsidiary: what the statutes actually say
The legal form is neutral for the profits tax: "c'est la nature de l'activité et la localisation des opérations qui déterminent l'assujettissement". A branch is never the lighter form for tax reasons. What does differ is capital, who holds the authorisation, who may manage, and what gets published.
| Point | Branch (succursale) | Subsidiary (SURL or SARL) | Subsidiary (SAM) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum capital | None is stated in Art. 5 or on either government branch page | EUR 15,000, or EUR 8,000 where the sole member is a natural person | EUR 150,000 | Code de commerce, Art. 35-3; Loi n° 1.573, Art. 15 |
| Who holds the authorisation | One, held by the foreign company | Each foreign partner and each foreign gérant holds their own | Same, for the foreign shareholders and administrators | Loi n° 1.144, Arts. 5 and 7 |
| Who may manage | A director designated for the Monegasque establishment; the list states no residence condition | One or more natural persons, never a company, eight mandates at most | A board of at least two administrators, shareholders or not | Branch page, 05/12/2025; Code de commerce, Art. 35-4; Loi n° 1.573, Art. 22 |
| Decision clock | 5 working days to admissibility, 45 days from that notification | The same | The same, with tacit grant on silence | Loi n° 1.144, Art. 5; Loi n° 1.573, Art. 13 |
| RCI registration and duty | Within one month of the authorisation, duty EUR 75 | Within one month, duty EUR 75 | Within one month, duty EUR 100 | Loi n° 721, Art. 2; RCI page, 21/05/2026 |
| Journal de Monaco publicity | None: a foreign company's entry gives rise to no publicity formality | Published, at the company's cost | Published, at the company's cost | RCI page, 21/05/2026 |
| The parent's paperwork | Register extract with the object, economic notice, the resolution, the representative's notice, identity document, criminal record under three months | The same documents where a legal person subscribes, plus two originals of the statutes | The same, plus the statutes | Branch procedure page, 30/07/2026; SURL procedure page, 30/07/2026 |
| Profits-tax test | At least 25% of turnover from operations made outside Monaco | The same test | The same test | O.S. n° 3.152, Art. 1er § 1 a) |
| Licensed financial activity | Closed, unless the parent is a credit institution seated abroad | Not eligible | Eligible: the licence goes to a Monegasque société anonyme | Loi n° 1.338, Art. 3 |
Branch against subsidiary in Monaco, nine points with the article or the dated government page behind each. Nothing here is a recommendation: it sets out what each form requires, and the choice belongs to the group and to the professionals entitled to advise it.
How the branch authorisation works, step by step
Eight steps, and only the periods the texts actually publish.
- 01
file at the DDE
- 02
5 working days to admissibility
- 03
45 days from that notification
- 04
the branches off that period (one extension of up to 45 days, suspension on a reasoned request, up to 6 months where a foreign body is consulted)
- 05
tacit grant on silence
- 06
premises fixed after the agreement in principle
- 07
1 month to the RCI or the authorisation lapses
- 08
NIS in 5 working days
- 09
declaration of existence within 15 days of the start of operations
- 10
the ISB return within 3 months of the year end. No cumulative delivery bar anywhere on the graphic
The branch clock, from the filing at the DDE to the first annual return. Each interval is a statutory or published period, and none is a delivery date. Sources: Loi n° 1.144, Art. 5; Loi n° 721, Art. 2
1. Check the activity and the parent's object. The register extract filed with the application has to show an object covering the Monaco activity. No period is published for this stage.
2. The parent decides, in writing. The board or the general meeting resolves to open the branch and designates its representative. The application is presented by the parent's legal representative, and the company designates a director for the Monegasque establishment.
3. Assemble the seven documents. The register extract, the economic notice naming the beneficial owner, the resolution, the representative's individual notice, an identity document and a criminal-record extract under three months, on the form set n° 355-04-05-26.
4. File at the DDE. The procedure page, updated 30/07/2026, describes a dossier lodged at the Direction du Développement Économique and names no teleservice. No fee is published for the application.
5. Admissibility, five working days. The Minister of State notifies by registered letter, within five working days of filing, that the request is admissible or inadmissible because the file is incomplete (Loi n° 1.144, Art. 5).
6. Decision, forty-five days from that notification. Not from filing. Extended by at most forty-five days for a complex file; suspension while further documents are asked for by reasoned request; and up to six months where a foreign body is consulted, the clause that bites on a branch. Silence at the end means the authorisation is deemed issued.
7. Fix the premises once the agreement in principle is given. An occupancy title is required in every case: a lease, a convention d'occupation précaire (a precarious occupancy agreement), a deed of assignment or a management lease. Commercial premises in principle, short leases under 36 months as an alternative, and a business centre's exclusive office from 9 sqm, on our reading of the formula's wording.
8. Register at the RCI within one month of the authorisation. Forms S1 and their annex in duplicate, in French, with the attestation of a deposit account opened with a credit institution established in Monaco: Company in Monaco: Business Bank Account in Monaco. Duty EUR 75 for a foreign company (RCI page, updated 21/05/2026). Miss the month and registration is refused, the authorisation becomes caduque and the file is closed, unless the Director of Economic Development extends it (Loi n° 721, Art. 2).
IMSEE issues the NIS within five working days, and the déclaration d'existence is due within fifteen days of the start of operations. Added together, the published periods give a floor of about two to three months. That figure is arithmetic: no DDE average is published.
Branch or subsidiary for your group?
Tell us what the Monaco establishment will do, where the parent is seated and who will run it, and we will map the file before anything is signed.
The seven documents the parent company files
The official list has seven items and no more, published on the branch procedure page and read there on 2026-09-19. No premises document sits in it: domiciliation is the step after the request, and a foreign applicant may declare the address from the notification of the authorisation.
| # | What the parent files | The published French wording |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The parent's commercial-register extract showing its corporate object, translated where needed | "Extrait de l'inscription au registre du commerce de la société mère, avec indication de son objet social et traduction le cas échéant" |
| 2 | An economic information notice on the parent: date of creation, main activities, countries of establishment, beneficial owner, staff employed | "Notice de renseignements économiques concernant la société mère mentionnant la date de création, les principales activités exercées, les pays d'implantation, le bénéficiaire économique effectif et le personnel employé" |
| 3 | The minutes of the board or general meeting that decided the opening and designates the representative | "Procès verbal de la délibération du conseil d'administration ou de l'assemblée générale de la société mère ayant décidé l'ouverture … et désignant son représentant" |
| 4 | The designated representative's completed individual information notice | "Notice de renseignements individuels du représentant de la société mère désigné, complétée" |
| 5 | A copy of the representative's residence card, or identity card, or passport | "Copie de la carte de séjour ou copie de la carte d'identité ou du passeport du représentant" |
| 6 | A criminal-record extract less than three months old for the representative | "Un extrait de casier judiciaire de moins de trois mois du représentant." |
| 7 | The application form itself | "Demande d'autorisation d'exercice d'une activité en Principauté de Monaco (n° 355-04-05-26)" |
| Not on the list | Parent-company accounts, audited or otherwise, and evidence of sufficient funds. What the statute gives the administration is the power to ask for further documents, which suspends the forty-five days | Art. 5: "si l'Administration sollicite par demande motivée la production de pièces complémentaires nécessaires à l'instruction de la demande" |
The authorisation dossier of a branch as the government publishes it, the French wording beside the English. The final row is what the list does not contain, and what the statute puts there instead.
Tax, annual filings and keeping the authorisation
Five obligations a group plans around, each with the article behind it.
The profits tax starts at "25 % au moins". The tax reaches enterprises whatever their form where turnover comes, to the extent of at least 25%, from operations made outside Monaco (O.S. n° 3.152, Art. 1er § 1 a)). The government's own branch page words the same test as "plus de 25%"; the ordinance controls, so exactly 25% is inside the tax. Art. 3 says what counts as made outside Monaco, and retail cash sales made on the spot in Monaco never do. The rate is 25% for financial years opened from 1 January 2022, and the bands and reliefs sit in corporate tax in Monaco.
The annual return, and its two branch lines. Due within three months of each year end. A company whose seat is not in Monaco states the name, forenames and address of its representative in the Principality, and a taxpayer on single books shows the split of results between Monaco and abroad (Art. 23).
The declaration of existence, and VAT. The déclaration d'existence goes to the Direction des Services Fiscaux within fifteen days of the start of operations (Code des taxes sur le chiffre d'affaires, Art. 66 I 1°), a code that names the succursale twice. VAT is charged on the same bases and at the same rates as in France, standard rate 20%: Company in Monaco: VAT and Tax Registration in Monaco
The authorisation is personal, and attached to what it names. It lists the activities and the premises limitatively and is "personnelle et incessible". Any change of activity, of holder or of premises requires a new authorisation, the rule that also governs transferring shares in a Monegasque company to a foreign buyer
How the authorisation is lost. Suspension or revocation follows where the holder no longer has premises suited to the activity, has stayed more than six months without operating without legitimate reason, or has no installation or staff permitting effective activity (Art. 9, 2°, 3° and 8°). Trading without it is punished by a fine of EUR 18,000 to 90,000.
Problems we solve
Five things a founder is told about Monaco branches, and what the texts say.
The three-year licence that is not in the statute. Art. 5, read in full, carries no duration clause, and neither government branch page mentions a term. We state no term in either direction, because individual ministerial decisions are not published. What the law provides is revocation under Art. 9, so substance is the risk, not a renewal diary.
The parent accounts that are not on the list. Seven items, and company accounts are not among them. What exists instead is the power to ask for further documents by reasoned request, which stops the forty-five days. What the DDE asks a particular parent is not published, so we claim nothing either way.
The forty-five days that do not run from filing. They run from the notification of admissibility. A foreign parent plans around the two things that move that date: the suspension a reasoned request triggers, and the six-month extension where a foreign body is consulted.
No lent name. We never supply the director or the representative, and we never offer to. Lending a name to obtain an authorisation is an offence for both sides, punished by a fine of EUR 18,000 to 90,000 (Loi n° 1.144, Art. 15; Code pénal, Art. 26 4°). The parent appoints its own person.
Nothing arrives ready to trade. The authorisation is "personnelle et incessible", and more than six months without operating, without legitimate reason, is a revocation ground. The lawful route is buying a business that already trades and filing your own authorisation: what changes hands when you take over an existing Monegasque company
Ready to start the authorisation file?
Send the activity, the parent's seat and the person who will run the Monegasque establishment, and we will come back with the file and its order.
Why work with us
Camille Perrin, formation and authorisation lead, eleven years on Monegasque business files, in French, English and Italian.
From our practice: wording the activity so the authorisation covers what the establishment will really do, assembling the parent's resolution and the representative's file, taking the dossier through the DDE, and filing at the RCI inside the month.
Prepared by Camille Perrin · Reviewed by Julien Rossi · Updated {{BUILD_DATE}}
Start the file
Tell us what the Monaco establishment will do, and we will map the file.
Start your Monaco file
Tell us the activity, where it will be carried on and who will run it. One of us reads it and comes back with the questions the authorisation file will ask. Our fees are on request.
The authorisation is personal and non-transferable, and it names the activity and the premises. Nothing on this site is sold ready to trade.
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