Financial Markets Authority (AMF): register, licences and requirements
The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is France's independent financial markets regulator, headquartered in Paris and established in 2003. It licenses portfolio management companies, crypto-asset service providers under MiCA (36 with France as home state in ESMA's register) and crowdfunding service providers, and oversees 7,013 registered financial investment advisers. Banking, payment and e-money licences are granted by the ACPR, not the AMF.
How to check a firm on the AMF register
Authorised French portfolio management companies (SGP) and collective investment schemes (OPC) can be verified on GECO by querying entity name, approval number (GP number) or LEI. The result shows approval dates, registered addresses, contact details, authorised investment activities and regulated fund vehicles. Crypto-asset service providers (PSCA) and European crowdfunding service providers (PSFP) are searched by entity name on the AMF's official White Lists, which show trade name, category, authorisation date and the specific approved activities.4
- GECO database: authorised French management companies (sociétés de gestion de portefeuille - SGP), collective investment schemes (OPCVM, FIA), and European management companies4
- GECO database direct registry API: active authorised French portfolio management companies (SGP)13
- AMF White List of Crypto-Asset Service Providers (PSCA / CASP) authorised under EU MiCA Regulation14
- AMF White List of European Crowdfunding Service Providers (PSFP / CSP) authorised under Regulation (EU) 2020/150315
- BDIF database: decisions, prospectuses, takeover bids, and financial disclosures of listed issuers16
At a glance
| Official name | Financial Markets Authority (Autorité des marchés financiers) |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | France |
| Type | Securities regulator |
| Headquarters | Paris1 |
| Founded | 20032 |
| Website | amf-france.org3 |
| Public register | Official public register4 |
| Licence types in the Atlas | 4 |
What AMF supervises
The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is France's independent financial markets authority. It protects savings invested in financial products, keeps markets orderly, and supervises securities markets, collective investment management companies and crypto-asset service providers under EU MiCA.17
- Portfolio asset management companies (sociétés de gestion de portefeuille - SGP) and collective investment schemes (UCITS/OPCVM, AIF/FIA, real estate funds, and private equity funds)17
- Crypto-asset service providers (CASP / PSCA) under the EU MiCA Regulation and issuers of crypto-assets6
- Financial investment advisers (conseillers en investissements financiers - CIF) and crowdfunding service providers (PSFP) under EU Regulation 2020/150317
- Financial markets, trading venues (Euronext Paris), multilateral trading facilities (MTFs), organized trading facilities (OTFs), and benchmark administrators17
- Market post-trade infrastructures including central counterparties (LCH SA), central securities depositories (Euroclear France), and DLT infrastructures under the EU DLT Pilot Regime17
- Listed companies, corporate financial disclosures, prospectuses, takeover bids, and prevention of market abuse17
- Twin Peaks institutional demarcation with ACPR: Credit institutions, payment institutions (PI), electronic money institutions (EMI), and investment firms (PSI) are licensed and prudentially supervised by the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR, Banque de France); the AMF approves investment firms' programs of operations and supervises their market conduct.18
Licences AMF issues
Lesser-known services for applicants
Pre-application meeting / pre-assessment
The AMF's Innovation and Digital Finance team gives free, bilateral pre-application support. Project promoters submit a project presentation, business model, operational flowcharts and legal analysis through an online request form, and the team flags any regulatory perimeter or licensing issues before formal filing.5
Innovation hub
The AMF set up its Innovation and Digital Finance division in 2016 and co-leads the AMF-ACPR FinTech Forum with the ACPR (Banque de France). The Forum runs working groups, workshops and supervisory guidance on tokenisation, artificial intelligence and digital asset regulation.6
Regulatory sandbox
France has no open domestic sandbox for general fintech startups. Instead it runs the statutory EU DLT Pilot Regime (Regulation (EU) 2022/858), coordinated by the AMF, the ACPR and Banque de France. Market operators and investment firms can test distributed ledger technology for trading facilities (DLT MTF) and settlement systems (DLT SS/TSS) under temporary exemptions from MiFIR and CSDR.7
Application portal: Extranet ROSA (rosa.amf-france.org) serves as the primary online platform for management companies (SGP) and intermediaries to submit licensing applications, modify programs of activity, update referential corporate data, and lodge regulatory reporting; listed issuers utilize the ONDE extranet (onde.amf-france.org) for filing prospectuses and financial disclosures.8
Fee schedule: Official Guide on rights and contributions due to the AMF under Articles L. 621-5-3 and D. 621-27 to D. 621-30 of the Code monétaire et financier.9
Compare with other regulators: pre-application meetings · sandboxes and innovation hubs.
Statistics
- 36 crypto-asset service providers with France as home member state in ESMA's interim MiCA register (2026-10-16)19
- 7,013 financial investment advisers (CIF) registered in France (AMF CIF Annual Key Figures report, 2026-09-24)20
- EUR 5,265 billion in assets managed by French asset management companies across 24,247 employees (AMF Asset Management Key Figures, 2026-09-24)21
Fees and timelines
| Licence | Fee | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Crypto-asset service provider authorization under EU MiCA Regulation | annual | EUR 10,000 fixed annual contribution (Article D. 621-27 II 14°), plus 0.0094‰ (0.00094%) of assets under custody for custodians (minimum EUR 1,500)9 |
| Financial investment adviser status | annual | EUR 450 annual contribution to the AMF (Article D. 621-27 II 11°), collected via the single register ORIAS9 |
| European crowdfunding service provider authorization | annual | EUR 2,550 annual supervisory contribution (Article D. 621-27 II 12°)9 |
| Licence | Statutory deadline | Observed |
|---|---|---|
| Crypto-asset service provider authorization under EU MiCA Regulation | 40 working days from receipt of a complete application, preceded by a 25 working days completeness assessment (MiCA Art. 63)10 | not published |
| Portfolio management company authorisation | 3 months from receipt of a complete application, extendable by up to 3 additional months (Article R. 532-15 CMF / Instruction DOC-2008-03)11 | not published |
| European crowdfunding service provider authorization | 3 months from receipt of a complete application under Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 Art. 12(8)12 | not published |
Changing the owner of a licensed firm
Prior approval required. Acquiring or increasing a qualifying holding needs the AMF's prior approval. For portfolio management companies (SGP) the thresholds are 10%, 20%, 33.33% and 50% of capital or voting rights (Code monétaire et financier, Article L. 532-9-1). For crypto-asset service providers MiCA Articles 83 and 84 apply: the thresholds are 20%, 30% and 50%, and the AMF assesses the acquirer within 60 working days of a complete notification.22
Laws AMF applies
- Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation: Regulation (EU) 2023/1114
- Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments: Directive 2014/65/EU
- Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012: Regulation (EU) No 600/2014
- Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive: Directive 2011/61/EU
- UCITS Directive: Directive 2009/65/EC
- Digital Operational Resilience Act: Regulation (EU) 2022/2554
- European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation: Regulation (EU) 2020/1503
- Transfer of Funds Regulation (travel rule): Regulation (EU) 2023/1113
- Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (single rulebook): Regulation (EU) 2024/1624
Recent and upcoming changes
- 2026-07-01: Expiration of the French transitional grandfathering period for digital asset service providers (PSAN); from this date, only fully authorised crypto-asset service providers (PSCA) under EU MiCA Regulation are legally permitted to operate in France.23
- 2025-01-17: EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA, Regulation (EU) 2022/2554) took effect across France, requiring all AMF-authorised investment firms, management companies, and market infrastructures to comply with strict ICT risk management, incident reporting, and third-party vendor oversight rules.24
- 2024-12-30: Full entry into force of Titles V and VI of EU MiCA Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114), establishing AMF as France's competent authority for CASP authorization and supervision.10
- 2024-07-01: The AMF opened a pre-instruction window for firms preparing MiCA crypto-asset service provider (PSCA) applications.25
- 2023-03-23: Application of the EU DLT Pilot Regime (Regulation (EU) 2022/858), enabling AMF, ACPR, and Banque de France to grant temporary regulatory exemptions for blockchain-based trading and settlement infrastructures.7
Contacts and public register
Address: 17, place de la Bourse, 75082 Paris Cedex 02, France1
Website: amf-france.org3
Check whether a firm is licensed: official register4 · official register13 · official register14 · official register15 · official register16.
Frequently asked questions
How are crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) regulated by the AMF in France?
Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA), the AMF is France's competent authority for crypto-asset service providers (PSCA). France's national transitional regime ended on 1 July 2026. Since then, firms offering crypto-asset services to French clients need a full MiCA CASP licence, or must notify under Article 60 as an authorised credit institution or investment firm.
What is the difference between the AMF and the ACPR in French financial regulation?
France runs a Twin Peaks regulatory model. The ACPR, backed by Banque de France, licenses and prudentially supervises credit institutions, payment institutions (PI), electronic money institutions (EMI) and investment firms (PSI). The AMF regulates capital markets and investor protection, oversees asset management companies (SGP) and crypto-asset service providers (CASP), and supervises market conduct.
What are the regulatory fees for licensing a fund management company (SGP) with the AMF?
Under the French Monetary and Financial Code, the AMF charges no upfront examination fee for portfolio management company (SGP) applications. Instead, authorised SGPs pay an annual supervisory contribution based on assets under management, 0.0085‰ for discretionary mandates and 0.0094‰ for collective investment funds, with a statutory minimum of EUR 1,500 a year.
Does the AMF offer a regulatory sandbox or pre-application support for fintechs?
Yes. The AMF's Innovation and Digital Finance team gives free pre-application support and holds bilateral exploratory meetings to assess regulatory qualification before formal submission. France runs no open domestic fintech sandbox, but it takes part in the statutory EU DLT Pilot Regime, which grants temporary exemptions from MiFIR and CSDR for blockchain trading and settlement venues.
What regulatory approvals are required to acquire a stake in an AMF-licensed institution?
The AMF must approve the acquisition in advance. For a portfolio management company (SGP) the thresholds are 10%, 20%, 33.33% and 50% of capital or voting rights; for a crypto-asset service provider MiCA sets them at 20%, 30% and 50%. The AMF assesses the acquirer's reputation, financial soundness and AML/CFT risk within 60 working days of a complete notification.
Sources
- amf-france.org: contact us · retrieved 2026-09-24
- en.wikipedia.org: Autorité des Marchés Financiers (France) · secondary · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org · retrieved 2026-09-24
- geco.amf-france.org: accueil · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: information request · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: discuss amf about my project · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: regime pilote lacpr la banque de france et lamf precisent le · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: evolution des procedures dagrement des sgp · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: 2025 guide des contributions fr modifie coquille (PDF) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- EUR-Lex: CELEX 32023R1114 · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: DOC 2008 03 FR(19) BMR (PDF) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- EUR-Lex: CELEX 32020R1503 · retrieved 2026-09-24
- geco.amf-france.org · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: listes blanches · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: listes blanches · retrieved 2026-09-24
- bdif.amf-france.org · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: our missions · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: my investment services providers space · retrieved 2026-09-24
- esma.europa.eu: CASPS.csv · retrieved 2026-10-19
- amf-france.org: chiffres cles cif 2024 (PDF) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: chiffres cles 2024 de la gestion dactifs · retrieved 2026-09-24
- EUR-Lex: CELEX 32023R1114 · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: entree en application du reglement europeen mica quelles con · retrieved 2026-09-24
- EUR-Lex: CELEX 32022R2554 · retrieved 2026-09-24
- amf-france.org: instruction doc 2025 05 1 (PDF) · retrieved 2026-09-24
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