#URSSAF Audit Lawyer in France

Your situation and your risks

You have received a notice of audit from URSSAF (the French social security collection agency). The audit covers the social security contributions and levies declared by your company. It may target the remuneration base, the exemptions you applied or the status of certain workers. The remuneration of the company director is often one of the points examined. For the choice between salary and dividends, see our page on director remuneration.

Using independent contractors is another sensitive point. A registered self-employed person is presumed not to be bound to their client by an employment contract (Article L. 8221-6 of the French Labour Code (Code du travail) (in French)). This presumption can be rebutted where the services place the person in a relationship of permanent legal subordination. If the client intentionally evaded its obligations as an employer, concealed employment is established.

The reassessment is not limited to the contributions themselves. Late-payment surcharges are added, as well as specific surcharges in cases of undeclared work. Everything is decided during the adversarial phase. The replies you give within the deadlines determine the amount finally claimed.

The legal framework for a URSSAF audit

The agency must send you a notice of audit at least thirty days before the inspector’s first visit (Article R. 243-59 of the French Social Security Code (Code de la sécurité sociale) (in French)). This notice is not required where the audit seeks to detect undeclared work. It refers to the “Audited Contributor’s Charter” (Charte du cotisant contrôlé), whose provisions are binding on the agency. You have the right to be assisted by an adviser of your choice during the audit. For your part, you must make the documents requested by the inspector available.

• Meeting: before the letter of observations, the inspector offers you a meeting to present the findings. This step does not apply where the audit seeks to detect undeclared work or where the audit has been obstructed.
• Letter of observations: it sets out the purpose of the audit, the documents reviewed and the period audited. Each head of reassessment is reasoned, with its calculation method and its amount.
• Reply: you have thirty days to reply, extended to sixty days at your request. The inspector must give a reasoned answer to each detailed observation.
• Recovery: at the end of the adversarial period, any enforcement action is preceded by a precise and reasoned formal notice (Article L. 244-2 of the Social Security Code (in French)).

Contributions become time-barred three years after the end of the calendar year in respect of which they are due (Article L. 244-3 of the Social Security Code (in French)). For self-employed workers, this period runs from 30 June of the following year. It is suspended during the adversarial period of the audit.

A late-payment surcharge of 5% applies to contributions not paid by the due date (Article R. 243-16 of the Social Security Code (in French)). An additional surcharge of 0.2% per month or part of a month elapsed is added. In cases of undeclared work, the reassessment is also increased (Article L. 243-7-7 of the Social Security Code (in French)). Law No. 2026-534 of 25 June 2026 amended these rates. The new wording applies to procedures initiated from a date to be set by decree, no later than 1 January 2027. The applicable rate therefore depends on the date on which the procedure was initiated.

To challenge a decision of the agency, you must first refer the matter to the amicable appeals board (commission de recours amiable). The referral must be made within two months of notification of the contested decision (Article R. 142-1 of the Social Security Code (in French)).

How we assist you

• Analyse the notice of audit, the period covered and the points likely to be examined.
• Prepare the documents to be handed to the inspector and check the supporting evidence for the exemptions applied.
• Assist you during the audit, in particular at the meeting offered before the letter of observations.
• Analyse each head of reassessment and draft a reasoned reply within the thirty- or sixty-day deadline.
• Challenge the decision before the amicable appeals board and then, if necessary, before the court.
• Review your practices for future periods: status of contractors, directors’ remuneration, exemptions.

What is at stake for you

The financial exposure depends on the number of heads of reassessment and the period audited. The quality of your reply to the letter of observations directly affects the amounts upheld. The agency may also issue observations without a reassessment, inviting you to comply in future. If the practice is repeated, a later audit may record this repetition.

An effective defence starts when you receive the notice of audit, not at the formal notice stage. Every situation is different: we review your file before making any recommendation. We assist you at every stage, without prejudging the outcome of the audit.

Every situation is different: the information on this page is general and does not replace legal advice tailored to your case. The firm makes no promise of outcome; it commits to the means it deploys.