CNAS employer up-to-date certificate: conditions and download

The up-to-date certificate is the document showing that an employer owes nothing to CNAS at the time it is issued. It is in the name of the business, with its employer number, not in the name of an employee.

It is requested wherever someone wants to be sure the business meets its social obligations: public tender files, licences, some partners. In a tender, it almost always goes with the CASNOS certificate of the self-employed manager and, in building, public works and water engineering, with the CACOBATPH certificate.

to register each employee after hiring

10 days

to declare and pay after each quarter or month

30 days

to file the DAS after the end of the year

30 days

standard overall contribution rate

34.5%

Three documents that are often confused

The certificate concerns every employer registered with CNAS, meaning any organisation that pays at least one person:

• a company (SARL, EURL, SPA, SNC) with employees, including a salaried manager;
• a trader, craftsperson or liberal professional who has hired staff;
• any other organisation that pays staff.

With no employees, a business is normally not registered as an employer with CNAS. In that case, tender specifications that require a CNAS certificate may provide for another document: read them and, if in doubt, ask the contracting authority in writing.

1. 1

   Review your account

   Every past period declared and paid, employees registered, last year's DAS filed.

2. 2

   Settle what is missing

   Declare the missed period, pay contributions and any penalties, file the DAS if it is missing.

3. 3

   Log in to the portal

   Open your employer account on the CNAS e-declaration portal with your login.

4. 4

   Download the certificate

   Go to the printing section, then "Attestation MAJ". If it is not available, your account is not up to date: contact the office.

5. 5

   Check it

   Company name, employer number, date and period. If needed, check it is genuine with the online check service.

6. 6

   Add it to the file

   Printed original or certified copy, as the file requires. Keep a scanned version.

Online, on the e-declaration portal

The CNAS e-declaration portal handles employer returns and lets you view the up-to-date certificate. According to the CNAS guide, you download it from the "Impression" (printing) menu, under "Attestation MAJ". Screens may have changed: look for the printing or certificate section of your account.

At the CNAS office

The CNAS office of the wilaya your business belongs to can also tell you about your position and what is blocking the certificate. Bring your employer number and your latest proof of payment.

Checking a certificate you receive

CNAS runs a public online check: you enter the certificate number and the portal says whether it is genuine. It covers certificates issued after 7 July 2020. A contracting authority can check yours this way, and you can check a subcontractor's.

What Neuron does

Neuron only fills in business setup forms and does not do bookkeeping or routine returns: this guide is free and all you need to do it yourself.

You request the certificate when a file requires it. Your employer deadlines decide whether it can be issued: a single undeclared period, an unpaid contribution or a missing DAS is enough to make the account "not up to date".

Tender specifications often state that the certificate must be "valid". We found no official text setting a single period: look at the date and period on the document, and download a new one after each settled due date if your file goes in later.

• Trying to download the certificate while a quarter has not been declared: one missing period is enough to block it.
• Forgetting last year's DAS, thinking payments are enough.
• Providing an employee's registration certificate instead of the employer's up-to-date certificate.
• Providing the manager's CASNOS certificate when the file asks for the company's CNAS one, or the other way round.
• Attaching an old certificate when the file requires a valid one.
• Paying contributions without declaring them, or declaring without paying.