Service agreement in France: Template, Key Clauses and Local Law (2026)

What a service agreement is under French law A service agreement, or contrat de prestation de services, is the contract a company uses to engage an independent provider, a freelancer or another business to carry out work for a fee. In France it is a civil or commercial contract governed by the general law of obligations in the Code civil (articles 1101 and following, as reformed in 2016), not by the Labour Code. That distinction is the whole game. If the relationship looks like employment, a French court can reclassify it, and the consequences fall on the client. France does not impose a single statutory template for a service agreement. The parties are free to set their own terms, subject to the general rules on consent, a lawful and certain object, and good faith. But several points of local law shape how a safe French service agreement is drafted, and they are where a generic English template falls short. ## What local law requires and what differs from a generic template Avoiding requalification into employment. This is the first thing French law cares about. A French court looks past the label on the contract and asks whether there is a lien de subordination, a relationship of legal subordination, judged by the work actually performed, the pay, and the authority the client exercises over the provider. Fixed hours, a desk at the client's office, close day to day direction, exclusivity and integration into the client's team all point toward employment. A safe service agreement describes a result or a defined scope, lets the provider keep their own methods, hours and tools, and allows them to serve other clients. Build this into the contract and the working practice, because the practice is what a judge examines. The provider's status and registration. A French provider is usually registered, as a micro-entrepreneur, a sole trader or a company, with a SIRET number. The client should record that number and, above the legal threshold, obtain the provider's vigilance documents (attestation de vigilance from URSSAF) to show the provider is up to date with social contributions. This protects the client against joint liability for undeclared work. VAT (TVA). French VAT at the standard 20 percent generally applies to services supplied in France. Say clearly whether prices are hors taxes (before tax) or toutes taxes comprises (including tax). A micro-entrepreneur under the franchise en base de TVA threshold does not charge VAT and must state the mention on invoices. Confidentiality by default. Even without a signed NDA, article 1112-2 of the Code civil imposes a duty of confidentiality on information exchanged during negotiations. For the engagement itself, build a confidentiality clause into the service agreement rather than relying on the default. France protects trade secrets through Loi n. 2018-670 of 30 July 2018, which transposed the EU Trade Secrets Directive into the Code de commerce. Payment terms. French commercial law caps payment periods, generally 60 days from the invoice date (or 45 days end of month by agreement), with automatic late-payment interest and a fixed recovery indemnity. A clause promising payment far later is unenforceable. ## A usable template Adapt this to your facts and have a French avocat review anything material. It is a starting structure, not legal advice. CONTRAT DE PRESTATION DE SERVICES / SERVICE AGREEMENT 1. Parties. [Client name, legal form, registered office, SIREN]. [Provider name, status, SIRET, registered office]. 2. Object. The Provider will supply the following services: [describe the result and scope]. The Provider keeps control of its own methods, working time and tools and is free to work for other clients. 3. Term. From [date] until [date / completion of the deliverables], renewable by written agreement. 4. Deliverables and acceptance. [List deliverables, milestones and the acceptance procedure and timeline]. 5. Price and payment. [Amount], hors taxes, plus VAT at [rate] where applicable. Payment within [30/45/60] days of invoice. Late payment carries interest at the legal commercial rate plus a recovery indemnity of 40 euros per invoice. 6. Independence. The Provider acts as an independent contractor. Nothing creates a relationship of subordination or employment. The Provider sets its own schedule and bears its own social and tax obligations. 7. Intellectual property. [State whether IP in deliverables is assigned to the Client; under French law an assignment of author rights must be specific about the rights, uses, territory and duration.] 8. Confidentiality. Each party keeps the other's confidential information secret during the contract and for [X] years after, consistent with the Code de commerce trade secret rules. 9. Data protection. Where personal data is processed, the parties comply with the GDPR and, if one acts for the other, sign an article 28 processing agreement. 10. Liability. [Cap and carve-outs, consistent with French law, which does not allow a party to exclude liability for its own gross fault or fraud.] 11. Termination. [Notice, effect, and consequences for work in progress.] 12. Governing law and jurisdiction. French law. Courts of [city]. Signatures, dated, in two originals. ## A short walk through the key clauses Object and independence carry the most weight. A crisp scope stated as a result, plus an express independence clause, is your first defence against requalification, but only if the day to day relationship matches it. Intellectual property needs care in France. Author rights do not pass automatically. An assignment must name the rights transferred, the permitted uses, the territory and the duration, or it can be struck down. Payment and liability should track the statutory payment caps and the rule that you cannot contract out of liability for gross fault. ## Red flags to check before signing - The contract reads like a job: fixed hours, a reporting line, exclusivity and a workstation at the client. This invites reclassification.

• No SIRET and no attestation de vigilance on file for a provider above the threshold.
• An IP clause that says "all rights transfer" without the specific French mentions.
• Payment terms longer than the legal cap, or no late-payment interest.
• A blanket liability exclusion covering everything, which a French court will not fully enforce. ## Keeping the contract alive after signing A service agreement is not done when it is signed. The work is tracking deliverables and acceptance dates, watching the renewal or end date, keeping proof that the relationship stayed independent, and holding versions and amendments together. Drafting a French service agreement from a clean template, reviewing it for requalification risk and a valid IP assignment, and tracking its deliverables and renewal can sit in one AI workspace tuned to how your company contracts. Adira is built around that idea: it drafts from a template, models the contract as linked clauses so it can flag a weak independence clause or an IP assignment missing its French mentions, and tracks dates and obligations in one place. Adira is India-first today, with jurisdictions parameterised per contract and an international mode for others; deep, verified coverage of French local law is on its roadmap rather than established, so treat any France specific output as a draft for a French lawyer to confirm. This page is general information, not legal advice. French contract and tax rules change, and the safe form depends on your facts.