Data sources and methodology: where our French company data come from

As of 4 November 2026: 1,577,933 records from Overture Maps, supplemented by email addresses from company websites. Matching with the Sirene database is in progress and not yet included in the published figures. The measured status is shown on the database status page.

Sources for France

• Overture Maps

  Open map data with places, business names and often phone, website and email address, merged from several sources. The places theme is licensed under CDLA Permissive 2.0 for most of its sources; some are under Apache 2.0 or CC0 1.0 (Overture attribution).

  Processed: source of all 1,577,933 records (release 2026-10-21.0, as of 4 November 2026) · overturemaps.org

• Company websites

  Contact pages and legal notices of company websites, which often show the email address, phone number, SIREN and VAT number.

  In progress: 786,048 domains visited, 419,552 websites with an email address as of 4 November 2026; only email addresses count in the figures so far

• Sirene database (INSEE)

  Register of businesses and their establishments: SIREN, SIRET, name, legal form, NAF code, address. Published as open data under the Licence Ouverte 2.0; reuse with the credit “Source: Insee”. Units with restricted publication are not processed.

  Matching in progress, not counted in the published figures · data.gouv.fr

• Official statistics (Eurostat, INSEE)

  Aggregate figures without business names: businesses by sector, local units, creations and failures by region. They put the market size into context and help check coverage by region and sector.

  Used on this website for context · data

The Sirene database is the official register of identifiers, but it contains no phone numbers, email addresses or websites. The following table shows the main public sources and what applies to their use.

The table can be scrolled sideways.

How we count

The figures on this website were counted on 4 November 2026 on the processed data, not extrapolated. These rules apply:

• Record. A place in Overture Maps that passes our filters: confidence score of at least 0.77 and a name; natural features (mountains, lakes, beaches …) are left out. A business with several addresses can appear more than once. In total: 1,577,933.
• Active. The source does not mark the place as permanently closed: 1,568,763 records.
• With contact. At least one of the fields phone, website or own email address is present: 1,505,366 records (95.4%).
• Own email address. An address from Overture or the company website that is not shared by three or more records with different names (at least 14,504 addresses excluded); role mailboxes (dpo@, privacy@, noreply@, webmaster@ …) are not taken over, whether they come from Overture or from websites. This leaves 659,494 records, compared with 763,118 with any email address.
• Phone. Overture numbers only; a number shared by three or more records with different names is not counted. Numbers found on websites are still being checked and not counted yet.
• Website. The website listed in Overture; links to social networks and to a few major international booking, review, map or directory platforms (for example booking.com or tripadvisor.com) do not count. National versions of these domains, such as booking.fr or google.fr, are not yet filtered out and still count.
• Region. Derived from the department of the postcode; without a postcode, from the region or department code in the source. 40,406 records have no region.
• Industry. Not yet assigned to any record; the NAF code will come from the Sirene matching. The industry pages therefore show the market size according to official statistics. Note: according to INSEE, NAF 2025 becomes the reference classification for assigning APE codes from 1 January 2027.

The figure in the quote is binding for a delivery. The database status page documents every published version.

Market figures and their sources

For context we give the market size according to official statistics next to the figures of our own database. France – Eurostat, structural business statistics 2024 (sbs_ovw_act): 5,445,577 businesses in industry, construction and market services (NACE sections B to S excluding O and S94, reference year 2024); the figures per industry come from the same dataset (reference year 2024, data as of 30 September 2026). For comparison, INSEE counts 5,178,283 businesses in 2023 in the market sectors excluding agriculture and finance (published on 26 January 2026). EU – Eurostat, Structural Business Statistics (sbs_ovw_act), enterprises in industry, construction and market services 2024: EU-27 33,978,235 minus France 5,445,577 = 28,532,658 in the other 26 member states (data as of 30 September 2026, retrieved on 4 November 2026). Eurostat data may be reused with acknowledgement of the source (Eurostat copyright notice); INSEE public information is published under the Licence Ouverte 2.0 and may be reused with the credit “Source: Insee” (INSEE legal notice). Official figures describe the market, not the size of an export.

How a record is created

1. Map data as the basis. The open map data of Overture Maps produce one record per place with name, address and the available contact details.
2. Emails from websites. The contact pages and legal notices of the company website add the email address; we never reconstruct addresses (firstname.lastname@).
3. Sirene matching (in progress). A record is only linked to a SIREN if several characteristics match, for example name and address, or name and the company website. Only reliable matches are kept: so far 777,855 SIRENs have been matched to Overture places, including below our 0.77 threshold; the overlap with the counted records has not been measured yet.
4. Region. Department and region follow from the postcode of the address.
5. Duplicates. The same business can appear more than once, for example for several establishments; once matched, the SIRET tells them apart.
6. Format check. Email addresses are checked for formal validity; phone numbers are kept as the source gives them.

Matching is automated and cannot be error-free. With identical or very similar names and no SIREN, the risk of a wrong match is higher.

Legal framework for use

• B2B email: objection rather than consent. According to the CNIL, prospecting professionals “can be based on the legitimate interest of the organisation when the subject of the message relates to the profession of the person approached”; the person must be informed and able to object, and every message must identify the sender and offer a simple way to unsubscribe. Generic addresses such as info@ or contact@ of legal persons are not subject to these principles. Consumers must have given prior consent.
• Reconstructed addresses. The CNIL only accepts reconstructing named business addresses after a case-by-case assessment (CNIL, 16 October 2026). We do not produce any.
• Phone. According to the CNIL, the rules have changed since 11 August 2026: consumers must consent first, while professionals can object. The Bloctel service ended on that date.
• Objection in the RNE. The national business register (RNE) publishes for each legal unit any objection to the reuse of its data for commercial prospecting (Article R.123-320 of the Commercial Code), available via the API Recherche d’entreprises. This flag is not yet reflected in our files, which do not yet include SIRENs; before a campaign, identify the businesses you prospect (SIREN) and check it for each of them.
• Personal data. Details of sole traders and named individuals are personal data. We process them on the basis of legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR); the information under Art. 14 GDPR is on the data subject rights page, the right to object under Art. 21 GDPR on the objection page.
• Buyer’s own responsibility. Anyone who acquires data from us is the controller for their own use within the meaning of the GDPR and needs their own legal basis. We do not provide legal advice.

In detail: B2B email and phone prospecting: the rules.

Known limits

• Contacts go out of date. Businesses change phone numbers, email addresses and websites; time passes between a change and the update of the source.
• No delivery check. The number of email addresses is not a number of verified mailboxes; a phone number does not confirm that the line can be reached.
• Generic addresses. Addresses such as contact@ or info@ are not personal contacts of decision-makers.
• Uneven coverage. Industries where websites are common have far more contact details than industries whose businesses are rarely online; the overseas regions are hardly covered yet.
• Region by address. Department and region follow the address, not the area of operation or further establishments.

Industry registers: meant for look-ups

Several industries have official or professional registers that let you check whether a business is authorised; each register sets its own rules of use. What exists in which industry is described on the industry pages:

• Business and consulting servicesLawyers and notaries: official directories, not mailing lists
• Construction and civil engineeringQualifications, ten-year insurance, RGE: what is public
• ManufacturingClassified installations: the public database of industrial sites
• Estate agents and property managersProfessional card and the condominium register
• Energy, water and wasteInstallations and services: three official sources
• Hospitality, food service and tourismAtout France and licences: checking an establishment, not contacting it
• Agriculture and foodFarms and food establishments: what is public
• Transport and logisticsThe transport register: registration is compulsory
• IT and digital servicesNo professional body, only voluntary listings
• Architects and engineering consultanciesThe register of the Ordre des architectes is online
• Healthcare, social care and wellnessAnnuaire Santé and FINESS: two public reference files with different purposes
• Banking, finance and insuranceORIAS and ACPR: authorisation can be checked online
• Local authorities and public sectorPublic directories: the reference for contacting a town hall
• Motor trade and repairSIV accreditation and used vehicle sales: two regimes to know
• Retail and online retailRetail: general registers and targeted data
• Wholesale and trade intermediariesA separate register for commercial agents
• Pharmacies, opticians and hearing carePharmacists’ Order and Annuaire Santé: public, downloadable lists
• Education and trainingTraining and schools: three official sources to know
• Associations, sport and cultureRNA, Sirene, performing arts licence: what the registers say
• Cleaning, building services and landscapingNo dedicated trade register, but rules that shape the work
• Temporary work and recruitmentDeclaration and financial guarantee: obligations, not a directory

Background: Sirene, SIREN and SIRET: what is public and NAF and APE codes: defining an industry.

Report an error

If you find incorrect information in your own record, write to us and we will correct it.

• Contact formState the company, address and the incorrect detail.
• Objection to processingFor sole traders and other data subjects who want to exercise their rights under the GDPR.
• info@firmdata.frDirect email to the operator.

Details in public registers are kept by the respective registry. We correct our record; a lasting correction also requires a change at the source.