The prefectural services and press publishers will find in this page the new guidelines for the inscription on the departmental list of publications entitled to receive legal announcements.
Media authorised to receive legal notices (SHAL), what is it?
The regulations require that certain events related to the life of companies, local authorities or individuals be the subject of an announcement (called “legal announcement”) in a medium entitled to receive legal announcements (SHAL). This is the case for a company, when it is incorporated, when its statutes are amended, etc. Some public contracts launched by local authorities must also be the subject of such an announcement. Finally, for individuals, this is the case when a name change for legitimate reasons.
SHAL are press publications or online press services that have been authorized by the prefect to publish these advertisements in the department under the conditions detailed below. Legal announcements respond to a real challenge of information and transparency for citizens, especially as regards the life of businesses and, more broadly, the economic activity of actors in the territory. The list of SHAL in each department is available on the Actulégales portal (https://actulegales.fr/).
Enabling legal and judicial announcements: updated guidelines in October 2022
The purpose of these guidelines is therefore to guide the prefectoral services, in charge of drawing up the list of media authorised to publish ALLs in each department, in the assessment of compliance, by the media candidates for registration, the legislative and regulatory criteria governing the authorisation.
These guidelines replace the circular of 3 December 2015 on the registration of newspapers authorized to publish judicial and legal advertisements in all departments and in overseas communities, which is repealed.
Attention : the guidelines and their attached forms are updated in October 2022 for the empowerment campaign conducted in late 2022 for 2023.
On the occasion of this update, the prefectorial services are invited to be particularly vigilant regarding respect, by the press publications and the SPEL, of all the five cumulative criteria provided for in Article 2 of the Law of 4 January 1955 and explained in these Guidelines.
In particular:
- criterion 4, relating to the substantial nature of the volume of original general, judicial or technical information dedicated to the department and renewed on at least a weekly basis, requires a thorough and thorough examination by the prefectorial services of the application files of press publications and SPEL (cf. explanations below). This examination is to be renewed during each annual campaign, an authorisation issued in previous years cannot be automatically renewed.
- criterion no. 5, relative to the threshold of distribution (for printed publications) or attendance (for online press services): for 2023, it is envisaged that this threshold, in all departments, will be lowered uniformly by 10% (see below).
Applicable Texts:
- Law No. 55-4 of 4 January 1955 concerning judicial and legal announcements, as last amended by Article 3 of Law No. 2019-486 of 22 May 2019 on the growth and transformation of companies;
- Law No. 86-897 of 1 August 1986 on the reform of the legal regime of the press;
- Decree No. 2009-1340 of 29 October 2009 adopted for the application of Article 1 of Law No. 86-897 of 1 August 1986 on the reform of the legal regime of the press;
- Decree no. 2012-1547 of 28 December 2012, as amended, on the insertion of legal notices concerning companies and goodwill in a central digital database;
- Decree no. 2019-1216 of 21 November 2019 on judicial and legal announcements.
The conditions cumulative required for the registration of a press publication (ie. a printed publication) on the prefectoral list of media entitled to publish AJL are the following:
1) Be registered in the registers of the joint commission for publications and news agencies (CPPAP)
Only press publications justifying their inclusion in the CPPAP registers may request their inclusion in the list of media authorised to publish AJL. Thus, any press publication seeking its authorisation to publish AJL must provide a registration number to the CPPAP in validity. This number consists of 10 characters (4 digits, 1 letter and 5 digits). The 4 digits at the beginning of the number indicate the end date (month and year) of approval, which allows the prefectural services to check if this number is still valid at the time of the application for registration on the list of media authorised to publish LDAs. For example, a publication with a CPPAP registration number of 0523 C 28512 has an approval valid until 31 May 2023.
(To be noted : this condition is not required in Mayotte, Wallis and Futuna, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, French Polynesia and New Caledonia. )
2) Not having as its main object the distribution of advertising messages or advertisements
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 1 of Decree No. 2019-1216 of 21 November 2019, a candidate publication may not devote more than half of its surface area to advertising, classified advertisements and judicial and legal advertisements. Compliance with this criterion is assessed by the Joint Committee on Publications and News Agencies (CPPAP), which will issue a certificate to the publisher with the same validity period as the CPPAP registration number. It is up to the publisher to produce this attestation when he applies for authorisation.
If a candidate publication no longer appears to meet this criterion, the prefectural services are invited to refer the matter to the CPPAP, the only body competent to review its situation (cf. IV. – Contacts infra).
3. Be published for more than six months
To be included on the prefectorial list, a publication must appear in printed form for more than 6 months.
However, a publication which in December fulfils all the conditions laid down by law, except that of seniority, could be placed on the prefectoral decree at the end of the year with mention of the date on which it can actually begin to publish LDAs. If, on that date, the publication no longer meets one of the conditions required, an amending order should be made to remove it from the list.
A publication may exceptionally be unable to publish one or two issues per year. It is up to the prefectural services to check whether the reasons given by the publisher are such as to call into question the listing.
The inscription of a press publication resulting from the merger of several titles, at least one of which is already on the list, will not be subject to publication for more than 6 months if the publisher expressly mentions in its new press publication, the titles it groups.
It is specified that the obligation on a press publication to be published for more than six months does not mean that this publication must be entered in the CPPAP’s registers for more than six months.
4. Include a substantial volume of original general, judicial or technical information dedicated to the department and renewed on at least a weekly basis
To be authorised, a press publication must have a maximum weekly publication and must therefore appear at least once a week.
Similarly, only press publications containing a volume of substantial original information dedicated to this same department. It is up to the publisher to provide the information which will enable the prefectural services to assess the sufficient volume of information devoted, on a weekly basis, to the general, judicial or technical information of the department.
If it is of course not possible to determine a minimum number of items, the prefectorial services must ensure that the volume of information devoted to the department is sufficiently abundant in view of the departmental news and the editorial offer that can be expected from the press in the department. The prefectorial services are invited to assess this original and substantial character according to the category of press to which the title requesting the authorisation belongs (press of general, judicial or technical information), analysing in detail all the applications.
Moreover, the content to be taken into account are only those dedicated to the department or to the sub-departmental level. These contents must also be content of general, judicial or technical information, any other type of content not to be taken into account by the prefectorial services.
In any case, it is the responsibility of the publisher to provide the prefectural services with proof of these contents by producing at least the last 7 issues published on the date of the application for registration, to assess the regularity and volume of information on the department.
It should be noted that the law «PACTE» has removed the criterion «to be published in the department» from article 2 of the law of 4 January 1955. It is therefore no longer possible for a publication to rely solely on the location of its publisher’s head office in a department in order to be entitled to publish LDAs in that same department. The criterion of the substantial volume of original information dedicated to the department and renewed on a at least weekly basis is therefore now imposed on all candidate publications.
5) Justify a distribution reaching the minimum set by decree
In application of the 5° of Article 2 of the Law of 4 January 1955 and Article 2 of Decree No. 2019-1216 of 21 November 2019, a publication applying for authorisation in a department must justify a paid distribution corresponding to an effective sale to the public, number or subscription, at least equal to the distribution minima of this department set out in the table (column A) annexed to the aforementioned decree.
(To be noted The minimum fee for broadcasting is fixed by decree of the representative of the State, and not by decree, in Wallis and Futuna, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, French Polynesia and New Caledonia.)
The paid distribution of a press publication cannot be confused with its circulation. Thus, copies distributed to legal professionals and auxiliaries (known as “regular services”) outside the usual conditions of paid sale, as well as all copies distributed free of charge, are excluded from the distribution figures. Similarly, unsold items are excluded from these figures.
The publisher must present in support of his application the figures of his average paid circulation in the department covering the 6 best months of 2022. These figures must be certified, at the choice of the publisher, either by a body offering the guarantee of sufficient means of investigation and recognized as such, or by a public accountant or an auditor.
To be noted : Minimum rates for paid distribution are now fixed for departments only, with the minimum rates for each district having been abolished.
In order to allow press publishers previously authorised in one or more boroughs without being authorised throughout the department to adapt to this reform, a transitional provision had been provided for by decree no. 2019-1216 of 21 November 2019 on judicial and legal announcements. This transitional measure expires at the end of 2022.
In order not to exclude the publishers who benefited from this transitional measure, it was decided to lower in a uniform manner, in all departments, the 10% distribution thresholds. A decree, amending the decree of 21 November 2019, was published to this effect on 31 October 2022.
The prefectorial services are now examining their files on the basis of these new thresholds.
The cumulative requirements for the registration of an online press service (SPEL) on the prefectoral list of media authorised to publish AJL are as follows:
1) Be recorded in the CPPAP’s registers
Only may request their inclusion on the list of media entitled to publish AJL the SPEL justifying their inclusion in the registers of the CPPAP. Thus, any SPEL requesting its authorisation to publish AJL must provide a registration number to the CPPAP in validity. This number consists of 10 characters (4 digits, 1 letter and 5 digits). The 4 digits at the beginning of the number indicate the end date (month and year) of approval, which allows the prefectural services to check if this number is still valid at the time of the application for registration on the list of media authorised to publish LDAs. For example, a SPEL with a CPPAP registration number of 0323 Y 28512 has an accreditation valid until 31 March 2023.
(A write down : this condition is not required in Mayotte, Wallis and Futuna, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, French Polynesia and New Caledonia. )
2) Not having as its main object the distribution of advertising messages or advertisements
Compliance with this criterion is already appreciated by the CPPAP. Indeed, and contrary to press publications (i.e. printed publications), the inclusion of a SPEL in the registers of the CPPAP (cf. 1° above) necessarily implies compliance with this criterion (cf. 8° of Article 1 of the aforementioned decree of 29 October 2009).
3. Be published for more than six months
To be registered on the prefectoral list, a SPEL must be published for more than 6 months. However, a SPEL that fulfils all the conditions provided for by the law in December, except for seniority, could be related to the prefectoral decree at the end of the year with mention of the date on which it can actually begin to publish AJL. If, by that date, the OEPS no longer met any of the required conditions, an amending order should be made to remove it from the list.
The registration of a SPEL resulting from the merger of several titles, at least one of which is already registered on the list, will not be subject to an edition for more than 6 months if the publisher expressly mentions, in the new SPEL, the titles it groups.
It is specified that the obligation on a SPEL to be published for more than six months does not mean that this SPEL must be recorded in the CPPAP’s registers for more than six months.
4. Include a substantial volume of original general, judicial or technical information dedicated to the department and renewed on at least a weekly basis
Only SPEL with a volume of substantial original information dedicated to this same department and renewed at least once a week. It is up to the publisher to provide, by any legible and verifiable means (screen copies in particular), the elements which will enable the prefectural services to assess the sufficient volume of information devoted, on a weekly basis, to general information, judicial or technical department.
The publisher must also provide the URL or name of the SPEL and, in the case of a SPEL for which access is payable, a login ID allowing the prefectoral services to connect to the service.
If it is of course not possible to determine a minimum number of items, the prefectural services must ensure that the volume of information devoted to the department is sufficiently abundant in view of departmental news and the editorial offer that can be expected from the press in the department. The prefectorial services are invited to assess this original and substantial character according to the category of press to which the title requesting the authorisation belongs (press of general, judicial or technical information), analysing in detail all the applications.
Moreover, the content to be taken into account are only those dedicated to the department or to the sub-departmental level. These contents must also be content of general, judicial or technical information, any other type of content not to be taken into account by the prefectorial services.
The above elements must cover a minimum period of 7 weeks before the application for registration in order to assess the regularity and volume of information devoted to the department.
5) Justify a hearing meeting the minimum set by decree
For the year 2023, it was decided to lower the minimum pay and attendance rates set by decree no. 2019-1216 by 10% across all departments. A decree of October 31, 2022 amending the decree of November 21, 2019 has been published to this effect.
For the SPEL, the prefectorial services are now examining their files on the basis of these new thresholds.
In application of the provisions of Article 2 of Decree No. 2019-1216 of 21 November 2019, it is necessary to distinguish two distinct cases in the assessment of the minimum hearing criterion mentioned in Article 2 of the Law of 4 January 1955:
- the case of a SPEL justifying a minimum paid broadcast;
- the case of a SPEL with minimum attendance.
It is up to the applicant SPEL to indicate to the prefectoral services, in the application form, whether it wishes to justify a minimum paid distribution (option 1) or a minimum attendance (option 2). Thus, the fact of having paid access does not necessarily require the applicant SPEL to justify a minimum paid broadcast. On the contrary, a SPEL offering a completely free access to its contents will of course not be able to justify such a minimum paid distribution and will have to justify a minimum attendance.
a) PESLs with minimum pay
A SPEL may choose to justify a minimum paid distribution at least equal to the minimum set, for each department, in column A of the table annexed to the aforementioned decree of 21 November 2019 (with now a uniform decrease of 10% of the thresholds). The threshold to be reached will therefore be the same as for press publications.
(To be noted The minimum fee for broadcasting is fixed by decree of the representative of the State, and not by decree, in Wallis and Futuna, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, French Polynesia and New Caledonia.)
In this case, the publisher must present in support of his application the average number of subscriptions subscribed in the department over the 6 best months of 2022.
The average number of subscriptions must be certified, at the choice of the publisher of the SPEL, either by a body offering the guarantee of sufficient means of investigation and recognized as such, or by a public accountant or auditor.
In accordance with the provisions of Article 2 of Decree No. 2019-1216 of 21 November 2019, the actual sale by subscription must be carried out at a public price that has a real link with the costs. Compliance with this criterion is assessed by the Joint Committee on Publications and News Agencies (CPPAP), which will issue a certificate to the publisher with the same validity period as the CPPAP registration number. It is up to the publisher to produce this attestation when he applies for authorisation.
If a candidate SPEL no longer appears to meet this criterion, the prefectural services are invited to refer the matter to the CPPAP, the only competent body to review its situation (cf. IV. – Contacts infra).
b) SPEL with minimum attendance
A SPEL may choose to justify a minimum attendance in place of a minimum paid broadcast. This minimum attendance, measured in the number of weekly visits, must be at least equal to the minimum fixed, for each department, in column B of the table annexed to the aforementioned decree of 21 November 2019 as amended by the decree of 31 October 2022.
(To be noted The minimum attendance rates are fixed by decree of the representative of the State, and not by decree, in Wallis and Futuna, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, French Polynesia and New Caledonia.)
In this case, the publisher must present in support of his application the average number of weekly visits from the department over the best 6 months of 2022.
The average number of weekly visits must be certified by a body offering the guarantee of sufficient means of investigation and recognized as such. As this figure cannot, for technical reasons, be certified at a sub-regional level, the publisher must present a certified figure for the region to which the department in which he submits his authorisation application belongs. On this basis, the publisher distributes the average number of certified weekly visits for the region between all the departments of the latter. This distribution, established under the responsibility of the publisher, is the subject of a certificate of honour from the latter. As a reminder, the fact of being unduly issued by a public administration or by a body entrusted with a public service mission, by any fraudulent means whatsoever, a document intended to establish a right, an identity or a status or to grant an authorization is punished by two years imprisonment and 30,000 euros of fine (article 441-6 of the penal code).
The publisher of a SPEL who has made the choice to justify a minimum attendance must indicate in his authorisation application the list of departments in the region in which he is applying. He sends to each prefecture to which he is applying a copy of his requests for authorisation in the other departments of the region.
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Important : the same publisher may hold a SPEL and a press publication, these having a separate CPPAP registration number. In this case, the publisher must request a separate authorisation for his SPEL and for his press publication, which will each be examined by the prefectoral services according to the rules specific to each medium. Thus, the authorisation of one of two supports does not automatically carry the authorisation of the second support.
The publisher can choose to request authorisation for only one of its two media. In this case, any of these media that is not authorised may not publish any AJL.
Each application for registration must undergo a specific review. Where deemed necessary, the prefectural services may seek the advice of the Ministry of Culture (Directorate-General for Media and Cultural Industries).
1) Registration
In December of each year, after having fixed the deadline for the submission of applications and having indicated this deadline on the website of the prefecture, the prefect shall determine, by decree, the list of media authorised to receive legal notices for the following calendar year. The decree setting out the list of authorised media shall be published at the earliest and preferably in the first half of December.
This order is sent before 31 January to the Ministry of Culture and the Press Association for Economic Transparency (APTE) managing the Actulegales platform on behalf of authorised publishers (cf. IV. – Contacts infra). The prefectorial services are invited to draw up a report on the investigation of applications, showing, for each candidate title, the elements allowing to assess its compliance with each of the five cumulative conditions provided for by article 2 of law no. 55-4 of 4 January 1955 concerning judicial and legal announcements and specified by decree no. 2019-1216 of 21 November 2019.
2) Rejection of the application for registration
The rejection of an application for inclusion in a press publication or SPEL shall be notified to its publisher by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. The rejection letter shall state the reasons on which it is based and shall include the time limits and remedies available to the publisher.
3) The removal from the list
If it turns out that a medium authorised to publish AJL no longer fulfils, during the year, the conditions required by law and its implementing texts and explained by these guidelines, a prefectoral decree is made to remove it from the list of media entitled to receive from AJL in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of the Law of 4 January 1955, after the publisher of this title has been put on notice to provide explanations to the prefectoral services.
For example, a title which, in the course of the year, would no longer publish a substantial volume of original general, judicial or technical information dedicated to the department and renewed on a at least weekly basis will have to be deleted from the list during the year.
Such cancellation shall be notified to the publisher of the relevant press publication or SPEL by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. The letter of cancellation must include the time limits and the means of appeal available to the publisher.
For any useful information on these guidelines, the prefectural services can contact the General Directorate of Media and Cultural Industries (DGMIC) of the Ministry of Culture at the following address: annonces-legales.dgmic@culture.gouv.fr
For the transmission of the prefectoral decree of authorisation, the prefectoral services will contact the APTE at the following addresses: habilitations@actulegales.fr
In the cases mentioned above where the prefectoral services are invited to enter the CPPAP, the latter must be contacted at the following address: cppap@culture.gouv.fr
Download the forms for press publishers: