Protecting your assets: the guichet unique question you should not rush

Two different protections, often confused

Before answering the guichet unique's question, you need to know what is actually at stake. A French sole trader today enjoys two distinct protections, which share neither the same origin, nor the same object, nor the same rules for waiving them.

Your main home: protected without doing anything

This is the principle laid down by article L. 526-1 of the French commercial code: a sole trader's rights over their main home are “as of right immune from seizure by creditors whose rights arise in connection with the professional activity”.

No declaration, no notary, no cost: the protection exists from the moment the business is created. That is a considerable step forward from the days when a published declaration of protection from seizure was required.

For your other property assets not used for business purposes — a second home, a plot of land, a rental flat — the protection is not automatic. It requires a declaration drawn up by a notary, failing which it is void, and published in the land register. Watch its effect over time: it only applies to creditors whose rights arise after its publication. Filing it once difficulties have already appeared serves no purpose.

The two blind spots of this protection

Protection from seizure is often presented as a general shield. It is not.

It does not work against your personal creditors. A consumer loan, an unpaid private bill, a family debt are not claims arising from the professional activity: your main home remains open to seizure by them.

Nor does it work against the tax authorities in cases of fraudulent manoeuvres or serious and repeated failure to meet your tax obligations. In other words, the protection presupposes proper management — it is not a shelter from your own shortcomings.

Separation of assets, since 2022

The Act of 14 February 2022, which came into force on 15 May 2022, added a second layer. A sole trader now holds two estates separated by operation of law: the business assets, made up of the assets used for the activity, and the personal assets, which cover everything else. Only the former stand as security for business creditors.

Here too, no formality is required: the separation operates by force of law. That is what made the EIRL (the former limited-liability sole trader status) redundant, and why it can no longer be set up — a point we cover in detail in our guide to setting up as a sole trader.

Waiving: what your bank will ask for

These protections have a predictable consequence: a lender who can seize neither your home nor your personal assets will lend less readily. That is why waiver exists — and why a bank often demands one in exchange for finance.

Waiving protection from seizure of the main home

A waiver is possible at any time, for all or part of the assets. But it is subject to protective formalities: it is granted in favour of one or more creditors named in the notarial deed of waiver. It is therefore never general: you waive against that particular bank, not against the whole world.

A reassuring and little-known point: this waiver remains revocable at any time. Revocation, however, only takes effect against creditors whose rights arise after it is published.

Waiving the separation of assets

The regime here is more protective still. A waiver can only be made at the creditor's written request, and for a specific commitment whose term and amount must be stated, and be determined or determinable. A general, advance waiver simply does not exist.

Above all, the law imposes a cooling-off period of seven working days from receipt of the request. The waiver cannot take effect before it has expired.

That period may be reduced to three working days, but only if the trader precedes their signature with a handwritten statement whose wording is set by decree: “Je déclare par les présentes renoncer au bénéfice du délai de réflexion de sept jours ouvrables fixé conformément aux dispositions de l'article L. 526-25 du code de commerce. En conséquence, ledit délai est réduit à trois jours ouvrables.” (“I hereby declare that I waive the benefit of the seven-working-day cooling-off period set in accordance with the provisions of article L. 526-25 of the commercial code. Consequently, that period is reduced to three working days.”)

So if a document is put in front of you to be signed on the spot, know that this period exists, that it belongs to you, and that it was designed precisely to prevent signature under pressure.

So what about that famous guichet unique box?

Here is the point that almost nobody explains properly, and it changes how you should answer.

The guichet unique box makes you waive nothing. Waiving protection from seizure of the main home requires a deed drawn up by a notary — the business formalities portal only allows you to declare a waiver already signed before a notary, and that declaration must be made within one month.

In other words, if you have signed no notarial deed, the answer is simple: you have nothing to declare, and your main home remains protected. The box is not a life choice, it is a publicity formality.

That said, the question does arrive at the right moment. Setting up is precisely when you should look at what you own, what you are financing, and what a lender will ask of you.

What we advise when you set up

• Never waive in the abstract. A waiver is signed against a specific piece of finance, not “just in case”.
• Use the cooling-off period. Seven working days, or three if you agree to shorten it — but let that be your decision, not the branch adviser's.
• Think about your other property assets. Only the main home is protected as of right; a second home or a rental property requires a notarial declaration, and it only applies going forward.
• Do not forget the blind spots. Personal creditors and serious tax failings fall outside the protection: the best asset protection remains properly kept accounts and obligations met.
• Separate your flows. The separation of assets has to be provable: a dedicated bank account and a clear line between business and personal spending make the protection defensible in a dispute.

This is exactly the kind of point we go through with you before you set up — and one of the reasons why there is an accountancy firm behind Domisiège.

Verified sources: articles L. 526-1 to L. 526-3 and L. 526-22 to L. 526-25 of the French commercial code, in the version in force in August 2026; official service-public.gouv.fr factsheet on protection from seizure of the main home, updated on 20 January 2026. Article written by Épiphyse Conseil, a chartered accountancy firm specialising in advising the liberal professions and healthcare practitioners. This article sets out the state of the law and is no substitute for a review of your own situation: a waiver commits your family's assets.