Micro-entreprise
Do I Have to Put EI After My Name as a Micro-Entrepreneur?
Yes, since 15 May 2022: on invoices, quotes, business correspondence and the title of the business bank account. The mention British freelancers most often miss, because it arrived as a setting nobody switched on.
28 Oct 2026 · 4 min read · By Sophie Kazandjian
Yes. Since 15 May 2022 an entrepreneur individuel has to show "EI" or "Entrepreneur individuel" immediately before or after their name on every invoice, quote and business document, and in the title of any bank account used for the business. It is the mention British freelancers in France most often miss, because it arrived as an optional setting in their invoicing app and nobody switched it on.
Where it comes from
The rule is article R526-27 of the Code de commerce, brought in by décret 2022-725 of 28 April 2022 alongside the reform that separated an individual entrepreneur's personal and business assets. The mention is how the people you deal with can tell which of the two estates they are dealing with. It applies to every sole trader whatever the tax regime, so a micro-entrepreneur, an auto-entrepreneur (the same status under its older name) and a sole trader on the régime réel are all caught.
Where it goes
Immediately next to your name, not on a separate line and not in the small print. Invoices, quotes, order forms, business correspondence, the email signature you use for client work, and the title of the bank account. A trading name may appear as well, but not instead of your own name with the mention. Mine reads KAZANDJIAN SOPHIE EI; "Sophie Kazandjian, Entrepreneur individuel" would do the same job.
On the bank account the rule is that the title of any account dedicated to the business carries the mention. French banks will rename an account on request. Whether Wise will let you put EI in the account title is not documented; ask their support, and keep the reply. Wise raises other questions for a micro-entrepreneur, the foreign-account declaration above all.
What happens if it is missing
A missing or inaccurate mandatory mention on an invoice costs €15 per omission, capped at a quarter of the invoice amount, and it is only ever applied after a control: an audit of your business, a visit under the invoicing-inspection procedure, or an audit of a client in which your invoice is read. The inspector records what is missing, you have thirty days to reply, and only then is the fine issued. Nobody scans invoices for it. The real cost of a missing EI is that it sits on the first page of every document you have issued since 2022, and an audit which finds something wrong on the first page tends to be a longer one.
You cannot reissue old invoices to add it. Add it to the template today, check the setting in whatever app produces your invoices, and let the sequence run on. The other eighteen mentions are listed, with the one each freelancer most often misses, in the piece on the UK VAT line.
Questions
- Does the EI rule apply to auto-entrepreneurs?
Yes. Auto-entrepreneur and micro-entrepreneur are the same status under two names, and both are entrepreneurs individuels. The rule applies to every sole trader in France.
- Does EI have to go in my email signature?
On business correspondence, yes. The text covers professional documents and correspondence, and a signature used for client emails is correspondence.
- My old invoices do not have it. Do I need to do anything?
Nothing can be done about invoices already issued, and the fine applies only after a control. Add the mention to the template now and carry on with the same numbering.
The full guide · €19
Invoicing a UK client from France
Thirteen pages, with a bilingual model invoice in sterling to copy. Every figure sourced and dated.
Get the guide →Or all three guides with the URSSAF tracker and the deadlines calendar: Micro Admin 2026/27, €49.
Other questions
- Can a Micro-Entrepreneur in France Invoice a UK Client in Pounds and in English?
- The €40 Recovery Fee and the Late-Payment Line Every French Invoice Needs
- Do I Have to Declare My Wise Account in France? Form 3916 for Micro-Entrepreneurs
- Paid in Pounds: Which Exchange Rate Goes on the URSSAF Declaration?
- Does UK Client Income Count Towards the French VAT Franchise Threshold?
- Invoicing a UK Client from France: Which VAT Line, and Why Autoliquidation Is Now Wrong
Everything answered so far, in one place. If your question is not there, email it to [email protected]; the ones that come up more than once get a page.