SIREN
SIREN. The French 9-digit identifier that designates a unique legal entity.
Definition
The SIREN is the French 9-digit identifier issued by INSEE for every legal entity (company, association, public body). It is assigned at entity creation, remains valid for its entire life, and only disappears upon dissolution. It is used as the root of SIRET to identify establishments, of the intra-community VAT number, and of the French EORI.
Origin
SIREN is defined by Decree no. 73-314 of 14 March 1973 (same origin as SIRET), within the Système d'Identification du Répertoire des Entreprises et des Établissements (SIRENE) maintained by INSEE. The 9th digit is a Luhn check digit computed on the first 8. SIREN appears in EDI in most French messages: invoices (NAD+SE), public procurement (Chorus Pro), social declarations (DSN).
Example in context
NAD+SE+123456789::FR-SIREN++ACME SAS'
RFF+VA:FR12123456789'Here, SIREN 123456789 identifies the Acme company. The VAT ID FR12123456789 is built as FR + 2-digit tax key + SIREN. This construction lets any receiving system recover the SIREN by decomposing the VAT ID, without an external directory.