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Training organizations

Start a training organization or training centre in France

From idea to first trainee, we structure your training centre: offer, activity declaration, Qualiopi and access to funding schemes.

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How do you open a training centre in France?

To open a training centre in France, you sign a first training agreement, then declare your activity to the regional prefect, through the DREETS, within three months. Qualiopi certification is only required to access public or pooled funding: OPCOs, the CPF, France Travail, regions. Every year, a training activity report (BPF) must be filed.

From idea to first trainee

Six steps, in the order set by the regulations. Choose your situation to see the ones that apply to you.

Where are you now?

You have expertise and a training project, but no structure yet. We start from the offer and the business model, then go through every step to the first session.

You have an activity declaration number and want access to funding. We pick up from Qualiopi and funding listings, and review what is already in place.

See our Qualiopi support

You want to train your staff, customers or network through your own training organization. We scope the project, then the same roadmap applies.

See corporate academy set-up

  1. Define the offer and the business model

    Audiences, programmes, formats (in person, remote, blended), prices, targeted funding sources. This determines whether Qualiopi and the CPF are needed.

    Deliverable: scoping note and business model.

  2. Set up the entity and sign the first agreement

    Choice of legal form, terms of sale, agreement and programme templates. The first training agreement or contract triggers the declaration obligation.

    Deliverable: standard contract documents.

  3. Declare the activity and obtain the number (NDA)

    Declaration to the regional prefect, through the DREETS, no later than three months after the first agreement. The prefect issues the number within two months of receiving the complete file; until then, the organization is deemed declared.

    Deliverable: complete declaration file.

  4. Obtain Qualiopi certification

    Required if you target public or pooled funding. Mock audit, action plan, preparation for the certification body’s audit: allow 4 to 9 weeks of support, plus the certification body’s availability.

    Qualiopi support, from €2,490 excl. VAT

  5. Get listed on funding schemes

    For Mon Compte Formation (EDOF): an active declaration number, Qualiopi certification for the relevant category of action and, for an RNCP or RS certifying course, authorization from the certification holder. OPCO procedures run in parallel.

    Deliverable: EDOF listing file.

  6. Run the first session and meet the annual obligations

    Internal rules, attendance sheets, evaluations, then the training activity report (BPF) every year. If the report is not filed, or shows no activity, the activity declaration lapses.

    Deliverable: launch plan and compliance calendar.

Source: French Labour Code, articles L6351-1 onwards (Légifrance)

Who it is for

  • Trainers and experts setting up their own training centre.
  • Already declared organizations that want access to OPCO and CPF funding.
  • Companies creating an in-house training organization.
  • Schools and organizations adding a professional training activity.

What we deliver

01

Positioning, target audiences and course catalogue

02

Business model: delivery cost, prices, available funding

03

Contract documents: terms of sale, agreements, programmes, internal rules

04

Activity declaration file

05

Qualiopi compliance: processes, indicators, evidence

06

EDOF listing and preparation of OPCO procedures

07

Commercial launch plan through to the first session

How much does opening a training centre cost?

The real cost depends on three items: the Qualiopi certification body’s audit (invoiced by that body, if you target public or pooled funding), your internal time and the support.

What affects the cost

  • The number of courses and formats.
  • The targeted funding: companies only, OPCOs, CPF.
  • RNCP or RS certifying courses.
  • The documents and processes already in place.

For a full set-up, our fees combine a fixed structuring part and a variable part indexed on results. Qualiopi support on its own is the exception: from €2,490 excl. VAT, with no variable part.

You receive a costed proposal within 48 hours of a first conversation.

Frequently asked questions

Opening a training centre: what we are asked most

Short answers, based on the French Labour Code.

Any individual (independent trainer, sole trader) or legal entity (company, association) can open a training centre. No diploma is required to create it, but the organization must document its trainers’ qualifications and how they relate to the courses offered. A person convicted of offences against probity, morality or honour may not manage or administer it.

None in legal terms: both refer to a provider of training actions subject to the activity declaration. The apprenticeship training centre (CFA) is a separate case, with its own missions and obligations.

Define the offer, set up the entity, sign a first agreement, declare the activity within three months, obtain Qualiopi if you target public or pooled funding, then get listed (EDOF for the CPF) before the first session.

No. Qualiopi is only required for courses funded by public or pooled funds: OPCOs, the CPF, France Travail, regions. A course paid for directly by a company or an individual does not require it.

The declaration must be filed within three months of the first agreement, and the number is issued within two months of the complete file. If you target Qualiopi, allow 4 to 9 weeks between the mock audit and the certification audit, plus the certification body’s availability.

You need an active activity declaration number, Qualiopi certification for the category of action offered and, for an RNCP or RS certifying course, authorization from the certification holder. The application is made on EDOF.

The activity declaration lapses, as it does when the report shows no training activity. A new declaration must then be filed.

Yes. We handle the whole process: positioning and catalogue, business model, contractual documents, activity declaration file, Qualiopi compliance, EDOF listing and OPCO procedures, through to the launch plan for the first session. Each step produces a deliverable that you approve.

Not automatically. A private organization is exempt if it obtains a certificate from the DREETS (form 3511-SD, article 261, 4, 4° a of the General Tax Code); without a request, it charges VAT. The exemption is not always worthwhile: the organization can no longer recover VAT on its purchases and may become liable for payroll tax. We assess it with you based on your clients.

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

Further reading

Opening a training centre abroad

Let’s talk about your training centre

Describe your project in a few lines: you receive a costed proposal within 48 hours.