Who can work as an agent in France

France asks two questions before you work. First, may you work in France at all, and in which status? That depends on your nationality and your residence permit. Second, under whose name may you negotiate a property deal? That depends on the loi Hoguet, and the answer is always the same: under a card holder’s. This lesson answers both.

Three roles, one card

The card holder. The person or company holding the carte T issued by the CCI. Only the holder signs mandates, may hold client funds where its guarantee allows it, and runs the agency (lesson 3).

The salaried négociateur. An employee of the card holder. CNACIM, a training body, is clear: the employment contract does not replace the attestation d’habilitation, and no personal card is needed. Pay follows the collective agreement IDCC 1527 (lesson 8).

The agent commercial immobilier. A self-employed adviser under contract with one card holder, often a network. Before working, CNACIM lists four things the person must have:

1. Registration on the RSAC, the special register of commercial agents kept by the commercial court’s registry.
2. A signed agent commercial contract with the card holder.
3. A valid attestation d’habilitation.
4. Their own professional liability insurance (RCP).

RSAC registration does not replace the attestation. Most agents commerciaux run their activity as a micro-entreprise, the simplified self-employed regime.

The network model is now a large part of the market. La Maison des Mandataires counted 47,000 network advisers at the end of 2025.

The attestation d’habilitation

This is the document that makes your work legal. According to CNACIM and CCI Bretagne:

• It is named and tied to one card holder. It does not let you work for anyone else.
• The card holder requests it from the CCI, on form Cerfa 15315, not you. CCI Bretagne charges €55 per collaborator.
• It must be issued before you start negotiating.
• It is redone when the holder’s card is renewed, when you change agency or when your details change.
• It sets your powers. You cannot go beyond them.

What an agent commercial may not do (CNACIM): receive or hold client funds, run an agency or an establishment, carry out missions reserved to the card holder, or act beyond the powers delegated.

Everyone who negotiates, salaried or independent, must also follow the continuing training duty of 42 hours over three years (lesson 3).

Route 1: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

If you hold a passport from an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, LegalPlace (June 2026) confirms you can work in France and register as a micro-entrepreneur freely, with no residence permit, on the same terms as a French national.

1. Find a card holder that will sign you, as an employee or an agent commercial.
2. As an agent commercial, register your business and enrol on the RSAC, and take out your RCP insurance.
3. Wait for the card holder to obtain your attestation d’habilitation.
4. Start work.

If you were already a licensed agent in another EU country and want your own carte T, ask the CCI how your experience and qualifications are assessed. We did not confirm the exact procedure for this course.

Route 2: non-EU nationals

Read this part carefully. The question is whether your residence permit allows the status you want.

Self-employed (agent commercial). LegalPlace lists the permits that allow self-employed work:

• Carte de résident and résident longue durée-UE.
• Passeport talent “créateur d’entreprise”.
• “Vie privée et familiale”.
• “Entrepreneur / profession libérale”.

Student and salaried permits do not allow self-employed work. So a student cannot simply sign up with a network as a mandataire.

The “entrepreneur / profession libérale” card is issued for one year. The activity must last more than three months, be your main occupation, be declared and be economically viable. At renewal, the prefecture checks that you earn at least the annual minimum wage, about €21,876 at 1 January 2026 (LegalPlace).

Salaried négociateur. As a general rule, a salaried job needs a residence permit that allows salaried work, and the employer handles the work authorisation. We did not confirm the details for this course, so check with the prefecture or an immigration lawyer before you sign.

Language and diplomas

• No French test is required by law for the card or the attestation. In practice, mandates, compromis and every consumer document are in French, so you need fluent French.
• Diplomas only matter if you want your own card (lesson 3). If your diploma is from outside France, ask the CCI how it will be assessed before you apply.

Your quick check

You are	You need
EU citizen, salaried	A job with a card holder and an attestation obtained by your employer before day one
EU citizen, agent commercial	Business registration, RSAC, your own RCP, a contract and an attestation
Non-EU, salaried	A permit that allows salaried work, then the same attestation
Non-EU, agent commercial	A permit that allows self-employment, such as a carte de résident or an entrepreneur card, then RSAC, RCP, contract and attestation
Non-EU on a student permit	No self-employed work as a mandataire

What is not allowed

• Negotiating without an attestation, or for a second card holder.
• Taking money from a client as an agent commercial, even a deposit.
• Calling yourself an agency or opening an office in your own name without a carte T.
• Working on the wrong permit. A self-employed activity on a salaried or student permit puts your residence at risk.

Immigration rules move fast, so check the official source before you act. Practise these points in client skills.

This lesson is general information, not legal or immigration advice.