Where to locate an SCI's registered office — and why it doesn't change your taxes

« Where should I put my SCI's registered office? » The question comes up at every incorporation, and it almost always carries an ulterior motive: « if I domicile it elsewhere, will I pay less tax? » The answer fits in one sentence, and it is the thread running through this article: no. An SCI's registered office is an administrative address — it moves neither the property tax (taxe foncière), nor the tax on rents, nor the CFE. What remains is to choose that address with full knowledge of the facts.

The SCI is a civil (non-trading) company — but very much registered

A first clarification, because a stubborn misconception holds that the SCI, being « civil », is not really a registered company. That is false. The SCI acquires legal personality from the time of its registration (code civil, art. 1842); it is civil by virtue of its purpose (art. 1845), but it is registered with the registre du commerce et des sociétés like any company endowed with legal personality.

Since 1^er janvier 2023, the formality goes through the guichet unique of the INPI and feeds the Registre national des entreprises (RNE) — but the RCS has not disappeared: the greffe still keeps the register and issues the extract. The registered office, for its part, is a mandatory statement in the articles of association (statuts) (art. 1835). It is an administrative address, distinct from the location of the buildings the SCI owns. Keep this distinction in mind: everything else follows from it.

The four possible addresses for the registered office

An SCI can set its registered office in four places, and they do not follow the same rules.

Two clarifications that correct frequent shortcuts. First, the option under article L. 123-11-1 to set the registered office « at home » is reserved for the manager (the legal representative): a non-manager partner cannot rely on it. Housing the registered office at a partner's place remains possible, but through a provision of premises, and the clauses of that partner's lease or co-ownership rules then apply in full.

Second, contrary to what is often written, an SCI can perfectly well use a domiciliation company: the regime does not cover only commercial companies, but « registered natural and legal persons » — an SCI registered with the RCS is one of them. The domiciliation provider must be approved by the préfecture (approval valid for six years, art. L. 123-11-3), and this activity cannot be carried out in premises used as a principal residence (art. L. 123-11-2). The agreement, in writing and for a minimum term of three months renewable by tacit renewal, is submitted in support of the registration application — and above all, it serves as proof of the right to occupy the premises required to register (art. L. 123-11). Taking on a domiciliation provider therefore does not exempt you from that proof: it is that proof. Before signing, it is best to know what a good agreement must contain: we set out its five points to check.

The registered office at the manager's home: the truth about the « five-year rule »

This is the most misunderstood point. Everywhere you read that setting up your company's office at home would be « limited to five years ». That is inaccurate.

Setting the registered office at the manager's home is permanent — unless a legislative provision or a contractual stipulation says otherwise, typically a clause in the residential lease or in the co-ownership rules that forbids it (art. L. 123-11-1, al. 1). The five-year limit applies only where such a contrary clause exists. And when it applies, the period runs « from the creation of the company » — not from its registration — without being able to exceed the end of the occupancy of the premises.

Where a contrary clause exists, the manager must notify their intention in writing to the landlord, the syndic (managing agent) or the representative of the building complex before filing the application, then provide proof to the greffe before the deadline expires, on pain of automatic removal from the register. On the plus side, though: setting the registered office at home entails neither a change of use of the dwelling nor the application of the commercial-lease regime — a manager who is a tenant can be reassured on this point.

The common thread: the registered office does not move the property's taxation

Here is the heart of the matter, and the reason why domiciling your SCI « elsewhere » does not change the tax.

By default, an SCI is « translucent » for income tax purposes (CGI, art. 8): it is not itself liable for tax on profits. Each partner is taxed on their share of the result — even if not distributed — in the category of property income (revenus fonciers) for unfurnished letting (declaration 2044 carried over onto the 2042). This taxation follows the partner, at their own tax household: it has nothing to do with the registered office's address.

As for the property tax, it is owed by the SCI as owner on 1^er janvier, assessed at the location of the building and collected by the commune where it stands (CGI, art. 1400). Moving the registered office to Tours, to Paris or to a service provider therefore moves neither the property income nor the property tax. The registered office's address has no tax effect on the building.

The CFE: it is the activity that decides, not the address

The cotisation foncière des entreprises (CFE) applies to a professional activity carried out on a habitual basis (CGI, art. 1447, I). Managing private assets is not one — which is why the unfurnished letting of dwellings, the most common case for family SCIs, is in principle outside the scope of the CFE when it amounts to mere management of one's assets.

Other situations differ:

• Unfurnished letting of professional or commercial premises: within the scope of the CFE when gross receipts exceed 100 000 € (art. 1447, I).
• Furnished letting: this is a commercial activity, in principle within the scope of the CFE.

And when the CFE is due, it attaches to the location of the premises used for the activity, never to the registered office's address. A purely asset-holding SCI domiciled with a provider does not « create » any CFE on account of that registered office — a point we develop regarding the CFE and domiciliation. Note: taxpayers whose turnover or receipts do not exceed 5 000 € are exempt from the minimum contribution. The amounts of that minimum contribution, for their part, are set commune by commune and revalued each year — beware of the figure-based scales copied across blogs.

The furnished-letting trap, and the option for IS

There is one decision that does change everything — but it is not the address, it is the activity. If an SCI starts letting its property furnished, it carries out a commercial activity (CGI, art. 35) and becomes subject to corporate income tax (IS) by operation of law (art. 206, 2): an automatic switch, triggered by the activity, not by the registered office. This is the main danger for the asset-holding SCI that begins letting furnished « to do someone a favour ». An administrative tolerance exists (as long as commercial receipts remain incidental, below a ceiling assessed over several years), but it is a matter of doctrine, not a statutory rule: to be handled with an adviser.

This is to be distinguished from the voluntary option for IS (art. 206, 3), which some SCIs choose in order to depreciate the property and smooth out taxation. An important point, often wrongly presented as final: since the loi de finances pour 2019, this option is revocable up to the fifth financial year following the one in respect of which it was exercised (art. 239); after that period, it becomes irrevocable. Here too, the registered office's address plays no part in this choice.

Formalities, confidentiality, transfer — and what domiciliation does not solve

A few practical points to finish.

Tax returns

An SCI under IR files each year an income return no. 2072 (unless exempt, in particular where the buildings are made available free of charge to the partners alone); an SCI under IS files a return no. 2065. The competent tax office is determined by the address of the registered office — this is the only real tax effect of your choice of address, and it is purely administrative.

Confidentiality

The address of the registered office remains public in the register, whatever option is chosen. However, a natural person — including the manager — may request confidentiality of the information relating to their personal home address vis-à-vis the public (art. R. 123-54-1). Setting up the SCI at home therefore does not inevitably make your personal address « public » with no remedy; but if you want a clear separation between home and registered office, a third-party address does so from the outset.

Transfer of the registered office

Beware of a widespread belief: the manager cannot, in principle, decide alone to transfer the registered office. The transfer amends the articles of association and therefore requires, absent a clause in the articles authorising the manager to do so, the agreement of the partners — often unanimously in SCIs. Providing for a delegation clause to the manager when drafting the articles avoids this burden, as we explain regarding the registered-office clause.

What domiciliation solves — and what it does not

Let us be clear. A domiciliation company provides you with a valid registered-office address and the proof of the right to occupy required at registration, and determines the tax office you report to. That is useful, and that is all.

It does not solve the CFE (which depends on your activity and attaches to the premises), does not choose your IR/IS regime (which flows from the activity or from an option), does not move the property tax (owed at the location of the building), does not exempt you from any return (2072 or 2065) and does not keep your accounts. If a provider sells you domiciliation as a way to « pay less tax » on your SCI, that is a warning sign: the address has none of these powers.

Key takeaways

• An SCI's registered office is an administrative address: it moves neither the property tax, nor the tax on rents, nor the CFE.
• The SCI is registered with the RCS (legal personality from registration); since 2023 the formality goes through the guichet unique INPI.
• Four possible addresses: the manager's home (L. 123-11-1), a partner's premises (outside this text), the SCI's own premises, or an approved domiciliation company — yes, it is open to SCIs.
• The registered office at the manager's home is permanent, unless a contrary clause in the lease or the co-ownership rules applies; only then does the five-year limit come into play, counted « from the creation ».
• Furnished letting switches the SCI to IS by operation of law — a real danger, triggered by the activity, not by the address. The voluntary option for IS is revocable up to the 5^e financial year.
• Domiciliation provides the address and the proof of the right to occupy; it solves neither the CFE, nor the IR/IS, nor the property tax, nor the returns.

Sources verified as of 5 septembre 2026: code civil, art. 1835, 1842, 1845; code de commerce, art. L. 123-1, L. 123-11, L. 123-11-1, L. 123-11-2, L. 123-11-3, R. 123-54-1, R. 123-167, R. 123-168; code général des impôts, art. 8, 35, 206, 239, 1400, 1447 (I), 1647 D; BOFiP (scope of IS and the tolerance for incidental receipts; CFE); entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr. The amounts of the CFE minimum contribution are set by each commune and revalued annually: they are not reproduced here. Domisiège provides a registered-office address and the proof of the right to occupy required at registration; its prefectural approval in Indre-et-Loire is being finalised, and its references will be published as soon as they are issued. An address solves neither the CFE, nor the IR/IS, nor the property tax, nor the SCI's returns. This article does not replace an examination of your situation.