Is the French training activity number (NDA) mandatory? What the law says

“Do I really need a training activity number?” Every founder asks it sooner or later: independent trainers, consultants adding a training module to their offer, companies wanting to invoice a workshop. The answer is more clear-cut than many hope: yes, the NDA (numéro de déclaration d’activité, France’s registered training activity number) is a legal obligation — but it has a precise scope, and knowing it spares you both pointless filings and unintentional offences.

What the law says: an obligation, not an option

Article L. 6351-1 of the French Labour Code sets the rule: anyone providing vocational training services for a fee must declare the activity to the authorities. The declaration is processed by the DREETS (the regional inspection service for vocational training), which issues the activity number — the NDA, an 11-digit number tied to your company registration (SIREN) and your region.

Two features make this obligation unusual:

• It is triggered by your first contract. The declaration must be filed within three months of concluding the first training agreement or contract. You do not register “to reserve a spot”: you declare an activity that has already started. This counter-intuitive sequence is covered in detail in our article on signing your first training contract before the NDA.
• It is universal. Sole trader, one-person company, limited company, non-profit, or a business for which training is only a side activity: legal form and size change nothing.

Who is concerned, in practice

The legal wording — anyone providing vocational training services for a fee — covers more situations than people assume:

Profile	Concerned?	The point most often missed
Independent trainer selling directly	Yes	From the first agreement or contract, even for a single invoiced day
Subcontracting trainer	Yes	Working for an already-registered organisation does not replace having your own NDA
Consultant with a mixed consulting + training offer	Yes, for the training part	Qualification depends on the real nature of the service, not its label
Company selling training to its clients	Yes	The share of training in total revenue is irrelevant
Non-profit charging for its courses	Yes	Being not-for-profit does not exempt you from declaring

The decisive criterion is never your legal status: it is the delivery of an action that develops competencies, invoiced to a third party within a vocational training contract or agreement.

When the NDA is not required

The obligation has genuine limits, equally worth knowing:

• In-house training. A company training its own employees, with its own resources and without invoicing a third party, is not a training provider within the meaning of this obligation.
• Genuinely free services. The law targets services delivered for a fee: a truly unpaid intervention is out of scope.
• Services outside vocational training. A one-off conference, event facilitation, pure consulting, leisure activities: if the service is not vocational training, it does not trigger the obligation — but what counts is the reality of the service, not the label you put on it. In case of doubt, the authorities requalify.

Watch out for the most common grey area: calling something a “workshop” or “coaching” when it is, in practice, a structured training course with learning objectives and assessment. Requalification cuts both ways, and an undeclared activity is expensive.

What do you risk by training without an NDA?

Delivering training services without a valid activity declaration is not a minor administrative slip. The French Labour Code contains a chapter of criminal provisions (articles L. 6355-1 and following) that makes it an offence, punishable by a fine — our overview of the sanctions faced by training organisations explains the mechanics.

Immediate commercial consequences add up:

• No VAT exemption for continuing vocational training: the tax attestation requires a declared organisation.
• No access to funding: OPCO (sectoral funding bodies), the CPF (personal training account), France Travail and public buyers all require a valid NDA — and, for public and mutualised funds, Qualiopi certification on top.
• Clients who check: any organisation’s NDA can be looked up on the public list of training providers; a provider who cannot be found loses the deal before negotiations even start.

And since the French anti-fraud law of 25 June 2026, scrutiny has tightened both at entry and during the life of the number: broader grounds for refusal, possible cancellation, more frequent inspections.

Why the State chose a simple registration rather than a licence

It may seem surprising that such a regulated activity rests on a free declaration rather than prior authorisation. It is a deliberate regulatory design choice, and economic research illuminates the trade-off: the landmark study by Djankov, La Porta, Lopez-de-Silanes and Shleifer, published in 2002 in the Quarterly Journal of Economics and based on business entry procedures in 85 countries, shows that heavy, costly entry regimes do not produce better goods or services — they mostly feed corruption and the informal economy (The Regulation of Entry).

France’s NDA regime follows that logic: a deliberately low entry barrier (declaratory, free, online), offset by continuing obligations — the annual pedagogical and financial report (bilan pédagogique et financier), DREETS inspections, criminal sanctions — and, for access to public money, a separate quality layer: Qualiopi certification. That division of roles is exactly what we unpack in NDA vs Qualiopi: what’s the difference?.

The obligation in practice: your checklist

1. About to invoice your first training service? Get the agreement or contract signed, with a detailed programme.
2. File the declaration on the “Mon Activité Formation” portal within three months — without waiting for the deadline.
3. Once the number arrives, add the regulatory wording to your documents: “Déclaration d’activité enregistrée sous le numéro [NDA] auprès du préfet de région de [region]” — never “State-approved”.
4. Diarise the annual pedagogical and financial report (due before 31 May) to avoid your declaration lapsing.

Take action

The NDA is mandatory from your very first training contract — so turn the constraint into a solid foundation. Our complete guide to the French training activity number (NDA) covers the legal status, the step-by-step process and the frequently asked questions, with a free ebook to secure your declaration from start to finish.