Did you know that entrepreneurs and freelancers in France are paying towards a training fund? And that they can use this fund to pay for FREE training. This article explains how contributions are made and the steps to access your business training fund money.
This article covers the CFP Training Fund including:
- What is Contribution à la Formation Profesionnelle (CFP).
- What can you use your training fund for?
- Check how much funds you have already collected.
- How to use your CFP fund and its limits.
I can hear you think “Now Valerie, you've completely lost the plot! Free money for training via your business… is this some kind of scam? Eh non! Non, I haven't lost my mind and non this isn't a scam. It's fully legit. And chances are that if you have a French business, you've already been adding up training money without realising it.
Now that I have your interest, because who doesn't like free cash… Especially at the end of the year, let's see what CFP is and how it works.
1 - What is CFP Contribution à la Formation Profesionnelle
CFP stands Contribution à la Formation Profesionnelle. It's a training fund that employees and freelancers/ entrepreneurs pay into when they pay their social charges contributions to URSSAF.
If you worked as an employee in France you probably already know about CFP. Every year, your manager would remind you of the timescale to take it. The good news is that if you haven’t used all these funds, this entitlement remains with you (as unemployed or self-employed).
The other good news is that entrepreneurs also get access to the CFP training fund. As a micro entrepreneur, for instance, you've been paying this tax without realising what it was. It probably even annoyed you at the time “Why do I pay this extra note 0.2% or 0.1% on my turnover? Another hidden tax?” Eh non, this was your contribution to the CFP training fund.
The same thing goes for all business types, such as SARL, EURL, Entreprie individuelle réel simplifié, or your salary if you have a SAS/SASU. You added cash to your training fund every year with your social charges contributions. With a maximum of 500€ validated on your CFP account per year.
Now wait before you say “Gosh I haven't used my Training Fund in five years, I must be rich! There is a cap above which the CFP fund doesn’t increase. The French system is based on a mutual fund which means that the fund is shared. This cap is about 3,000€ maximum. Still, imagine the new skills you could develop over a couple of years.
And a final warning if you didn’t declare any turnover or income you will not have contributed towards your CFP fund. No contributions = no training fund.
2 - What can you use your CFP training fund for
Before you start dreaming about your next business coaching retreat in Tuscany or AI training in London, let me reframe what is possible to finance with the CFP training fund.
The CFP training fund has to be used for training related to your business. This could be business development, marketing, SEO, AI, website development, photography, social network, sales, etc. For instance, if you are a beautician you could use your CFP fund to learn new techniques such as hot stone massage or French manicure. I’m also thinking about HACCP training, permis d’exploitation (with UMIH) for those of you in the hospitality sector.
Another great training for any expat in France, especially those with a business visa or carte de sejour entrepreneur is to learn French. Yes, you can fund your French lessons with your CFP training fund, as it will help you better manage your business and validate your A2 French level if you ever plan to go for the French residency card.
2 key elements to be aware of for the CFE fund:
- The training needs to take place in France - It can be online training or on-site anywhere in France. But it won’t include travel expenses to get there.
- The company you use for your training needs to be recognised by CFP as organisme de formation. This means they are vetted for the content of their training and to receive funds from CFP.
The easiest way to find a training company that is recognized by CFP is to search directly on the CFP training catalogue online. I also recommend using reliable sources such as Chambre of Commerce, FIM, AFPA, Chambre de Metiers in order to look for local training.
3 - How much CFP funds have you already collected
If you've been in business for at least one year as an ME, EI, SARL SAS and you have declared some income or turnover you will have some funds available.
You can watch my video on the CFP Training Fund (go to 9:21 mins) where I show you how to check your CFP training fund. This will take you a few minutes if you haven't created your CFP account yet. So, it is best to read this article until the end and book some time to look into it later.
You will need your social security number and date of birth ready to create your www.moncompteformation.gouv.fr account. Please note that you will have to do an ID check before you can spend your CFP fund. This is done using France Connect or LaPoste ID Numerique and takes patience!
Let me know if you've discovered some unexpected funds as this will make my day.
P.S. I don't provide services to help you use these funds, so please refer to the training body you chose to help you with the CFP account and transfer. For students of Manage Your Micro Entrepreneur, there is a section dedicated to CFP in the course and we can talk further about this in our monthly group calls.
4 - How to use your CFP fund and its limits
Let's assume that you have found some training funds and that you are ready to take this training. Here are the steps to follow:
- Log in to your CFP account - www.moncompteformation.gouv.fr
- Search potential training suppliers for the skills you want to develop.
- Check that the training is a good fit and ask them for a quote.
- Ask CFP for training validation with a signed quote. Note that they may reject your request. This is not automatic.
- Wait for the answer to see how much they will pay. It can be 100% but not always (travelling expenses are not included).
- Go back to the training company with the signed convention to enrol in the course and organise the payment.
You may also check with reliable sources such as Chambre of Commerce, FIM, AFPA, Chambre de Metiers in order to look for local training.
Bruno le Maire, the former French minister of the economy announced in 2024, that there would be cuts in the CFP training fund and they will look closer at the quality of the training provided. In 2023 and 2024 many online educators on Instagram have lost their validation and can’t take CFP training anymore.
5 - Did you miss something else?
We've seen how the CFP training works and you might be realising - Gosh I don't know my business set-up as much as I thought!
In that case, I would watch this video on micro entrepreneurs’ homework. it will give you an idea of the things that you need to be aware of and you can also look at Manage Your Micro Entrepreneur Group course.
