Chapter II: Preliminary investigation

Articles in this section · 17

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Article 75-3

French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
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Updated 8 Nov 2023

The duration of a preliminary investigation may not exceed two years from the first act of the investigation, including if this act occurred as part of a flagrante delicto investigation.

The preliminary investigation may, however, be extended once for a maximum period of one year on expiry of the period referred to in the first paragraph, with the written authorisation of the Public Prosecutor, giving reasons, which shall be added to the case file.


The investigators complete their operations and transmit the elements of the procedure to the Public Prosecutor pursuant to Article 19 before the expiry of the two-year period or, in the event of an extension, the three-year period, in order to allow either the prosecution to be initiated, where appropriate by the opening of a judicial investigation, or the implementation of an alternative prosecution procedure, or the proceedings to be discontinued. Any investigation carried out after the expiry of these time limits is null and void, unless it concerns a person who has been implicated during the proceedings, within the meaning of Article 75-2, for less than two years or, if extended, three years.

Where the investigation concerns crimes or offences mentioned in articles 706-73 or 706-73-1 or falling within the jurisdiction of the anti-terrorist public prosecutor, the two-year and one-year time limits provided for in this article are extended to three years and two years respectively.


For the purposes of calculating the time limits provided for in this article, the period during which the investigation was suspended shall not be taken into account if the investigation was closed and then resumed by decision of the public prosecutor. In the case of international mutual legal assistance, no account is taken of the time between the signature of the request by the issuing public prosecutor's office and receipt by that office of the implementing documents. Where several investigations are combined in the course of the same procedure, the date of commencement of the earliest investigation shall be taken into account when calculating the time limits provided for in this article.

Mariela Petrova

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Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

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The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

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Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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