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Training organizations and companies

Set up an apprenticeship training centre (CFA)

Statutes, declaration, Qualiopi, organization of the legal missions and OPCO funding: we build your CFA through to the first intake.

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How do you set up a CFA in France?

A CFA is a training organization that delivers apprenticeship training. To set one up, you need statutes that mention apprenticeship (except for a corporate CFA), a registered activity declaration, suitable premises and Qualiopi certification for apprenticeship actions, which OPCO funding requires. The CFA then carries out 14 missions set by the French Labour Code.

The 14 legal missions of a CFA

They come on top of the obligations of any training organization. Each one must be organized and documented.

  1. Support people towards apprenticeship, including people with disabilities, with a disability officer
  2. Help applicants find an employer
  3. Align training in the centre and in the company, with apprenticeship supervisors
  4. Inform apprentices of their rights and duties, and of health and safety rules
  5. Keep an apprentice whose contract ends for six months, and help them find a new employer
  6. Help solve social and material difficulties, with the public employment service
  7. Promote gender balance and prevent sexual harassment
  8. Encourage gender diversity in occupations and equality at work
  9. Promote diversity and fight discrimination
  10. Encourage national and international mobility
  11. Monitor and support distance learning
  12. Assess the skills acquired, under the certifier’s rules
  13. Guide apprentices who dropped out or did not obtain their qualification towards further training
  14. Support apprentices in accessing financial aid

Source: French Labour Code, article L6231-2 (Légifrance)

Independent CFA or corporate CFA

The missions and Qualiopi are the same. What changes: who runs the CFA, the documents to provide and the apprenticeship tax.

Independent CFACorporate CFA
Who runs itA training organization: company, association, institution.A company (in-house unit or an entity it controls), a group, or several companies with related or complementary occupations.
StatutesThey must mention apprenticeship training in their purpose.No such mention required.
Activity declarationWith the first training agreement and the statutes.With the first apprenticeship contract, without statutes; company certificate if the CFA is not an in-house unit.
Filing with the OPCOContract and training agreement, within five working days of the start of the contract.For an in-house CFA: contract and teaching and financial annex, within the same time limit.
Apprenticeship taxNo specific rule.The company can deduct some of its CFA’s expenses for its own apprentices from the main share, up to a ceiling.

Source: French Labour Code, articles L6231-5, R6351-5, D6224-1, D6241-30 and L6241-2 (Légifrance)

Who it is for

  • Training organizations opening up to apprenticeship.
  • Schools that want to train their students through apprenticeship.
  • Companies and groups creating their own CFA.
  • Industry bodies and business networks pooling a CFA.

What we deliver

01

Opportunity study and choice of certifications

02

Business model based on the funding levels (NPEC)

03

Statutes, activity declaration file, internal rules

04

Qualiopi certification for apprenticeship actions

05

Organization of the 14 missions: disability officer, advisory board, procedures

06

Agreements, OPCO relations and contract invoicing

07

Cost accounting and data to send to France compétences

The steps to the first intake

  1. Scope the project

    Certifications prepared, audiences, partner companies, form of the CFA (independent or corporate), business model.

  2. Set up the entity and statutes

    Statutes mentioning apprenticeship, suitable premises, management. No one may use the name CFA without a registered declaration and compliant statutes.

  3. Declare the activity

    Within three months of the first agreement (or first contract for a corporate CFA). The number is issued within two months of the complete file.

  4. Obtain Qualiopi

    A new CFA can be funded for six months without the certification, provided it sends the contract signed with a certification body within two months.

  5. Organize the missions and governance

    Disability officer, advisory board, internal rules, apprentice follow-up, cost accounting.

  6. Launch the first intake

    Contracts sent to the OPCO, invoicing at the funding level, payment follow-up.

Timing and cost

No regulation sets an overall time frame to open a CFA: it depends on the certifications prepared, the premises and the date of the first intake. You receive a costed proposal within 48 hours of a first conversation.

What affects the cost

  • Independent or corporate CFA.
  • The number of certifications and levels prepared.
  • Whether a declared and certified training organization already exists.
  • The date of the first intake.

Qualiopi support on its own starts at €2,490 excl. VAT, with the certification body’s audit invoiced separately.

Practical PDF guideThe Apprenticeship Tax GuideSOLTéA, funding circuits and collection: understand the reform, secure collections, and optimize your funding potential.Read the guide
Frequently asked questions

Setting up a CFA: what we are asked most

Short answers, based on the French Labour Code in force.

A CFA is a training organization that delivers apprenticeship training. It follows the rules of any training organization, plus its own: statutes mentioning apprenticeship, 14 legal missions, an advisory board and cost accounting.

Yes, to be funded by OPCOs. An organization delivering apprenticeship training for the first time can be funded for six months without the certification, if it sends the contract signed with a certification body within two months. After six months without certification, it cannot take on any new commitment with a funder.

The OPCO funds each contract at the level set by the industry for the certification prepared. It pays a 40% advance within 30 days of the invoice, 30% in the seventh month, 20% in the tenth month, then the balance. For level 6 and higher contracts signed since 1 July 2025, the employer contributes €750, deducted from the funding.

It is a CFA that is in-house, controlled by a company, set up by a group or by several companies with related or complementary occupations. Its statutes need not mention apprenticeship, and the company can deduct some expenses from its apprenticeship tax, up to a ceiling.

Carry out the 14 legal missions, including appointing a disability officer; set up an advisory board; keep cost accounts and send the data to France compétences, certified by a statutory auditor or chartered accountant; file the annual training report every year.

At least 25% of the total length of the contract, unless the certifier of the diploma or title sets different rules. All or part of it can be done remotely.

No regulation sets an overall time frame. The declaration must be filed within three months of the first agreement, and the number is issued within two months of the complete file. The schedule is built backwards from the date of the first intake.

Qualiopi support on its own starts at €2,490 excl. VAT, with the certification body’s audit invoiced separately. For the full set-up of a CFA, you receive a costed proposal within 48 hours of a first conversation.

Further reading

Let’s talk about your CFA

Describe your project and target intake date: you receive a costed proposal within 48 hours.