# Letters and payment requests after forming your company: which ones are scams?

Updated : 2026-10-24 · Source : https://legalrapide.fr/en/reponses/courriers-arnaques-apres-creation/

After registration, many founders receive letters that imitate an official body and demand payment to "confirm" the registration, appear in a registry or avoid being struck off. **These are scams**: registration in the Sirene directory is free, no letter is sent during the process, and the INPI never asks for payment by letter with a QR code.

## Warning signs
- An amount to pay after registration, when all the legal fees were paid when the application was filed.
- A QR code or a transfer to an unknown account, with a short deadline "or be struck off".
- A name close to that of an official body ("business registry", "company directory"), an imitated logo, an address abroad.
- Small print revealing a commercial offer (paid directory listing, subscription).

## What you actually receive after formation
| Document | From | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of registration (Kbis) | Greffe (commercial court registry) | Keep it: it proves the company exists |
| Siren and Siret numbers | Insee | Nothing: Sirene registration is free |
| Initial CFE return (form 1447-C) | Tax office | File it before 31 December of the year of formation |

## What to do
- Do not pay. If in doubt, contact the body named using its official contact details, never those in the letter.
- Report the letter on the official scam-reporting website ([signal.conso.gouv.fr](https://signal.conso.gouv.fr)).
- At LegalRapide, formation fees are paid in one go, before filing, from your client area: no formation fees are requested from you by letter afterwards.

## Sources
- [INPI (6 August 2026): fraudulent letters about formality fees](https://www.inpi.fr/a-la-une/courriers-frauduleux-concernant-des-frais-de-formalites-dentreprises)
- [Service-public: Sirene registration scam](https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/actualites/A18264)