Kbis in English: how to have it translated, and when it needs an apostille
The commercial court registry (greffe) issues the Kbis, the French company registration extract, in French. For an English-speaking bank, partner or authority, it therefore has to be translated and, depending on the destination country, apostilled. At DocuTrad, the certified translation of a Kbis into English costs €27 per page, delivered within 24 to 48 working hours.
Is there an official Kbis in English?
No. The ways of obtaining a Kbis described by service-public.gouv.fr (the official French administration website), online or at the registry, offer no English version. What you will send your contact is a translation.
Start from a recent Kbis: "in most cases, the Kbis extract requested must be less than 3 months old", the administration points out. If you run the company, you can obtain it free of charge on monidenum.fr, the registries' online service. Otherwise, it costs €3.06 electronically.
Simple translation or certified translation?
It is your contact who sets the level expected. Ask whether they want a certified translation or whether a plain translation will do.
At DocuTrad, the translation is done by a sworn translator, who signs and stamps it. You can have your Kbis translated into English online, together with your articles of association or your financial statements if you are asked for them too: they are translated at the same price per page.
Does your Kbis need an apostille? It depends on the country
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes a summary table, updated on 15 September 2026, which gives the rule country by country. The Kbis is mentioned by name in column II, the one for judicial and extrajudicial documents.
| Rule for a Kbis | Destination country |
|---|---|
| Exempt from apostille and legalisation | United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Morocco, Algeria, Senegal |
| Apostille | United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Japan, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and also Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Luxembourg |
| Legalisation | United Arab Emirates, Qatar |
The second row often comes as a surprise: for Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, the exemption only covers certain documents, such as civil-status records. The Kbis must be apostilled.
For another country, look up its row in the table, column II. A means apostille, L legalisation, and a letter D an exemption. If the cell contains a number in brackets, or the mention Dh, the rule depends on the document: read the corresponding note at the top of the table.
An exemption means the law requires nothing. A bank or a private partner may nevertheless ask for an apostille: their request prevails, so ask them.
What does the apostille apply to?
It can apply to the Kbis itself, which is a French public document, to its translation, or to both. Ask your contact what they expect before ordering: that is what avoids having to redo the process.
The apostille of the Kbis itself is requested from the French notarial profession, on its online platform. For a company, it costs €20 excluding tax per document in 3 working days, or €40 excluding tax in 24 hours.
If it is the translation that needs to be apostilled, DocuTrad can add the apostille to your translation for €15 per document, whatever its number of pages.
How much does it cost in total?
- The Kbis itself: free for the company director on monidenum.fr, otherwise €3.06 electronically.
- Its certified translation into English: €27 per page.
- The articles of association, if requested: €27 per page, multiplied by their number of pages.
- The apostille of the Kbis, if required: €20 excluding tax per document from the notarial profession, standard turnaround.
- The apostille of the translation, if required: €15 per document at DocuTrad.
- The paper copy of the translation, sent by post, if you are asked for it: €15.
The translation is delivered in digital format within 24 to 48 working hours.
The mistakes that delay a file
Having an out-of-date Kbis translated. Order a new one before the translation if yours is more than three months old.
Thinking the whole of Europe is exempt. For Switzerland, Spain or the Netherlands, the Kbis must be apostilled.
Forgetting the articles of association. If your contact asks for them too, have everything translated in one go.
Choosing the wrong language. A German or Spanish partner may prefer a translation into their own language rather than English. Ask them.
In practice
- Download a Kbis less than three months old and ask your contact what they expect: certified translation or not, apostille or not, and on which document, articles of association or not.
- If the Kbis itself needs an apostille, have it done by the notarial profession, then have the Kbis translated, and the articles of association if necessary.
- Add the apostille of the translation if required, then send everything.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Kbis called in English?
The Kbis has no official equivalent in English. Dictionaries suggest "certificate of incorporation" or "company registration certificate", and these are the names under which an English-speaking contact may ask you for it.
Can a Kbis be translated into a language other than English?
Yes. DocuTrad translates company documents from French into English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Turkish, Arabic and Chinese.
Sources
- Service-public.gouv.fr, how to obtain a K or Kbis extract, checked on 3 April 2026
- Service-public.gouv.fr, legalisation or apostille of a public document issued by a French authority, checked on 1 September 2025
- French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, summary table of the current state of treaty law on legalisation, updated on 15 September 2026
