How to submit a SIPSI notification for work in France? Step-by-step explanation, required fields, exemptions and common mistakes.
Blog · Notification Systems · France
Your company is sending employees to a project in France. Before the first employee crosses the border, you must submit a SIPSI notification. This article explains exactly what SIPSI is, what steps are involved, and what you must not overlook.
SIPSI declaration, Carte BTP and representative with a date per worker. You file, the software checks. One subscription per country.
Updated: July 2026
Country: France
Source: sipsi.travail.gouv.fr
Clip 1: overview, when to notify and fines — from the WorkAdministration webinar
Clip 2: SIPSI portal step by step and self-employed exemptions — from the WorkAdministration webinar
What is SIPSI?
SIPSI stands for Système d'Information sur les Prestations de Services Internationaux — the online notification system of the French Labour Inspectorate. Through SIPSI you register every posting of employees to France before work begins .
After submitting your notification you receive a confirmation code with a QR code. Keep that code in your project file and bring it to the worksite — the inspectorate actively checks for it.
When is a SIPSI notification mandatory?
For virtually every situation where your company provides services in France with its own personnel:
Construction and installation projects
Technical service, maintenance and repair
Commissioning and assembly
On-site inspection and testing work
When do you not need to notify?
The notification obligation does not apply in, among others, these situations (Code du travail L1262-1 3°, L1262-6):
Own-account activities with no French client — trade fair visits, market reconnaissance, conferences, or an internal company visit where no service is provided to a French client. Note: your employees are still subject to French core labour rights and must carry documentation with them.
Self-employed / freelancers and managing directors — self-employed individuals and company owners who are not employees of the company are not subject to SIPSI notification. They must carry documentation: proof of self-employed status in their home country (company registration extract or professional register entry) and a valid A1 certificate.
Transport companies — cabotage and cross-border haulage — separate rules apply to carriers (in force since 2 February 2022). Cabotage and non-bilateral cross-border goods transport are notified via the IMI system (postingdeclaration.eu), not through SIPSI. Bilateral international transport and transit are fully exempt from notification. This applies to EU carriers with vehicles over 3.5 t; non-EU carriers, light vehicles and drivers posted via an agency or within a group still declare via SIPSI.
Agency workers of a foreign temporary-work agency — no exemption: the agency itself files a (more extensive) SIPSI declaration before the assignment starts, in French (Code du travail R1263-6 and R1263-7). If your foreign company hires agency workers for work in France, inform the agency of the posting beforehand (L1262-2-1 IV).
Note — client visits
Whether a commercial client visit requires notification remains a grey area. In doubt? Submit a notification. A notification costs nothing; a fine at an inspection can be up to €4,000 per employee.
Simplification since 2023
Since 2023 the SIPSI form has been shortened. The following fields are no longer required :
Type of hazardous equipment or procedures
Employee working hours (start time, end time, breaks)
Signing date of the employment contract
Arrangements for travel costs, meal allowances and accommodation
This makes the notification faster to complete than a few years ago. The core remains: company details, client, work location(s), employees with hourly pay, the country where each employee is socially insured (A1), any collective accommodation, and the representative (Code du travail R1263-3).
SIPSI step by step
Go to the SIPSI portal
Open sipsi.travail.gouv.fr and create an account if you do not have one yet. When registering, select "foreign company" ( entreprise étrangère ).
→ sipsi.travail.gouv.fr
Enter your company details
Company name, address, company registration number or European VAT number, and contact person. You only need to set this up once per account.
Designate your representative
Every notification requires a représentant in France — someone reachable throughout the entire posting, who speaks French and can be contacted by the inspectorate. See the section below for who can fill this role and what information you need.
Enter the assignment details
Client, work location, type of service, start date and expected end date. One notification covers up to 5 work locations with the same start and end date.
Add the employees
Per employee: name, date of birth, nationality, job title and pay details. You can add employees to an existing notification if more people join later.
Submit and save the confirmation code
After submitting you immediately receive a confirmation code with QR code. Save it in your project file, send it to the on-site supervisor and give a copy to your French client: the client must be able to show it and otherwise has to file a declaration itself within 48 hours (Code du travail L1262-4-1).
✓ Done — save the code immediately, not only when the inspector is already at the door
The representative ( représentant )
The representative is an obligation, not a formality. The Labour Inspectorate actively uses this contact point during inspections. Below is what you need to know.
Who can be the representative?
Owner / director Provided they are present at the work location during the posting.
Posted employee One of the travelling employees can act as representative.
French client The client can agree to act as representative.
Another French company Any company established in France with a SIRET number that is willing to take on the role.
Law firm or service provider A service provider established in France (lawyer, chamber of commerce, filing service) with a French SIRET number; a firm established only in your home country cannot fill this role (Code du travail L1262-2-1 II, R1263-3).
Requirements for the representative
French-speaking — the inspector communicates in French.
Locally reachable — physical presence is not required, but reachable by phone and email for the duration of the posting.
Document retention — the representative keeps the sensitive personnel documents (employment contract, pay slips, proof of payment) in paper or digital form and translated into French, so the inspectorate can access them quickly (Code du travail R1263-1).
Information you enter in SIPSI for the representative
First and last name
Date and place of birth
Email address and phone number
French postal address
Acceptance declaration (the representative must give their consent)
Start date and duration (maximum equal to the duration of the posting)
Tip: Arrange the representative well before the start date. In WorkAdministration's France checklist the representative is a separate step next to the SIPSI declaration: you enter the representative in the declaration, the app checks that their details are in your file.
Amendments after notification
Is the end date changing, or are additional employees joining? Update the notification via the same portal. Major changes such as a different work location require a new notification.
Technical issues on the portal? The emergency route is: Dgt.declaration-psi@travail.gouv.fr
Repeat postings — no simplification yet
The law of 5 September 2018 (Code du travail L1263-8) provides for a possible administrative simplification for companies that regularly send the same employees to France. Unfortunately, the required implementing decree has not yet been issued . The simplification is therefore not yet operational. Each posting must for the time being be notified separately via SIPSI.
Tip: Submit the notification as soon as you know the start date and location — not on the day itself. This gives you time to apply for the Carte BTP (construction) and assemble the inspection file.
Fines for non-compliance
€4,000
at most, per posted employee
€8,000 for a repeat offence within 2 years · €500,000 in total at most (Code du travail L1264-3)
The Labour Inspectorate actively inspects construction sites and installation companies. The fine applies per employee not included in the notification — even if the notification has been submitted for other employees. The same fine applies to a missing representative, an incomplete declaration and missing documents (L1264-1); your French client risks the same amount if it holds no copy of your declaration (L1264-2).
→ Complete checklist for work in France — all obligations on one page
SIPSI in your France checklist
In WorkAdministration's software the SIPSI declaration and the representative are steps in the France checklist: you file the declaration on sipsi.travail.gouv.fr, the app checks your upload of the acknowledgement of receipt.
More about SIPSI
Get in touch
This article is based on the Code du travail and official sources (as of July 2026). It provides general information and does not constitute legal advice. Regulations may change; if in doubt, consult a specialist adviser. Sources: sipsi.travail.gouv.fr · travail-emploi.gouv.fr · service-public.fr
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