Conciliation procedure : who can benefit ?
Any business, whether commercial, craft or professional, can benefit from a conciliation procedure.
This system is aimed at structures which are experiencing legal, economic or financial difficulties, but which are not yet insolvent or have been so for less than 45 days.
The aim is to enable them to anticipate the crisis and negotiate an amicable agreement before the situation becomes critical.
A request for conciliation proceedings may be made at the request of the public prosecutor or the president of the commercial court if the debtor is a company falling under the jurisdiction of a specialized commercial court, in accordance with article L.721-8, 4°.
What are the steps in a conciliation procedure ?
A conciliation procedure takes place in 4 steps :
- Request for opening,
- Appointment of the conciliator,
- Preparatory period of the agreement,
- End of conciliation.
Opening of a conciliation procedure
Opening a regulatory procedure requires certain administrative procedures. Here are the essential steps.
Who to contact ?
To open a conciliation procedure, the company manager must file a request :
- At the commercial court for sole traders or when the company carries out a commercial or craft activity. Access the conciliation opening form.
- At the judicial court for companies exercising a liberal activity.
What documents are useful ?
The conciliation procedure file must be accompanied by the following documents :
- An explanatory letter of the company’s situation, its financing needs and the actions implemented to address them,
- Proof of registration of the company in the National Business Register (RNE) or a KBIS extract,
- An inventory of receivables with a payment schedule,
- A list of major creditors,
- A sworn statement must be provided, certifying that no conciliation procedure has been initiated during the three months preceding the request.
- The statement of assets and liabilities of securities which correspond to the guarantees granted to creditors for the recovery of debts, as well as the statement of off-balance sheet commitments,
- The annual accounts, the financing table as well as the situation of realizable and available assets, without including stocks and production in progress,
- The liabilities due for the last three financial years must be presented if these documents exist. They provide a clear view of the company’s financial performance and allow you to know whether it can meet its debts.
Important : The request must be in writing, dated and signed on the date it is filed with the court. Two copies must be sent to the court.
Since January 1, 2025, the commercial courts of 12 cities have been replaced by economic activity courts (TAE).
The cities concerned are : Avignon, Auxerre, Le Havre, Le Mans, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Nanterre, Paris, Saint-Brieuc and Versailles.
Appoint a conciliator
Once the request is received, the president of the court sends a summons to the company manager in order to obtain an explanation of the situation.
If the application is accepted by the Court, it issues an order with the following elements :
- Identity of the conciliator,
- Purpose of the mission,
- Remuneration of the conciliator,
- Duration of the conciliation procedure.
The conciliator is therefore appointed by the president of the relevant court. In most cases, the conciliator is a judicial administrator.
The conciliator’s mission is to assist business leaders in implementing solutions to ensure the company’s continued success. The conciliator then develops a protocol to negotiate with creditors in order to obtain a payment deadline or debt relief.
Good to know : in the event of a slowdown, the conciliator may request an extension of his mission.
The duration of the conciliation is a maximum of 4 months and can be extended by one month.
The conciliator is paid by the company and is set in agreement with the company’s manager.
The preparatory period before signing the agreement
During this preparatory period, the conciliator and the business manager draw up a list of creditors while seeking a way to resolve the financial issues. The goal is to find common ground with the creditors and the business.
The company in difficulty may undertake to plan a restructuring of its activities, consider taking out loans, proceed with layoffs or dispose of certain assets not necessary for the proper functioning of the company.
On the creditors’ side, they can grant payment deadlines, partial or total debt remissions. Only the main creditors participate in the conciliation procedure.
Good to know : the company can ask the Judge during these negotiations for a payment period of up to 2 years.
The end of the conciliation procedure
When an agreement is reached between the company and its creditors, they must sign the agreement or approve the conciliation procedure. This is what marks the end of the conciliation.
Once the court confirms the conciliation agreement, it becomes enforceable and must therefore be officially implemented by the parties.
Creditors will therefore not be able to sue the company during the term of the agreement’s execution.
Please note : This procedure is confidential and will not be published. The parties must therefore respect this principle.
When the company in difficulty and its creditors wish to give greater weight to their agreement, they can request its approval.
The conditions are as follows :
- The company experiencing difficulties is not insolvent,
- The agreement also preserves the interests of creditors who did not sign,
- The company in difficulty must still be able to continue its activity.
Approval provides benefits to signatory creditors who contribute funds, goods, or services under the agreement. They therefore have priority in the event of safeguarding, reorganization, or liquidation of the struggling company.
Good to know : the company in difficulty must notify the CSE of the content of the agreement. This agreement must also be published in the Bodacc, which makes the procedure public.
Conciliation procedure: what to do if it fails ?
If no agreement is reached between the parties within the time limit, the conciliation procedure is closed. If the agreement fails, the negotiations are cancelled. The company may consider other avenues of appeal.
Accelerated safeguard procedure
When certain creditors refuse to sign the draft agreement, the company can request an accelerated safeguard procedure.
This procedure allows a restructuring plan to be imposed on creditors through a vote by classes of affected parties.
To benefit from an accelerated safeguard procedure, the following conditions must be met :
- To be in a conciliation procedure,
- Not to be in cessation of payment,
- Have at least 250 employees and a turnover greater than or equal to 20 million euros,
- Have a turnover greater than or equal to 40 million euros.
Opening of a classic safeguard procedure
If the company is not yet insolvent and cannot reach an agreement with its creditors, it can ask the court to open a safeguard procedure.
This procedure allows the continuation of activity, the maintenance of jobs and the settlement of debts.
Judicial recovery or liquidation
In the event of a cessation of payments, the company can no longer settle its debts with its available assets. The court may then initiate receivership proceedings to try to save the business. If the situation is too critical, compulsory liquidation may be ordered.
Conciliation procedure : what impact on creditors?
Since the conciliation procedure is confidential, an uninvited creditor may be exposed without knowing it. Only strategic creditors participate in the negotiations, leaving others without any means of action or visibility into the debtor’s situation.
To protect yourself, it is essential to anticipate risks by detecting signs of customer difficulties: late payments, requests for payment deadlines, drop in activity or change in behavior.
With CentralPay, you can automate invoice tracking and collection. The platform detects late payments, sends automatic reminders, and optimizes collection management. This gives you clear visibility into payments and secures your cash flow before a critical situation arises.
