A restaurant, a hotel or a boutique is not an apartment. It is an Establishment Open to the Public (ERP - Établissement Recevant du Public). As soon as an external person can cross your threshold – whether a client, visitor or patient – your premises fall within a precise regulatory framework that dictates fire safety and physical accessibility. Many projects suffer delays not during the construction phase, but beforehand, due to a failure to anticipate these procedures. Here is the essential information you need to know before getting started.

The ERP works permit: an obligatory step

Before fitting out or modifying an ERP, you must submit a works permit application (Cerfa form no. 13824*04), even when the works are exclusively internal and invisible from the street. The application file includes, in particular, before-and-after floor plans, a fire safety notice and an accessibility notice. It is assessed in consultation with the relevant safety and accessibility commissions.

Two points deserve particular attention. Firstly, the timeframe: allow approximately four months of processing time from the submission of a complete file. An incomplete file resets the clock, which can delay the entire opening. Secondly, the place of submission: in Paris, the application falls under the jurisdiction of the Prefecture of Police, and not solely the town hall as in most municipalities.

Accessibility is not optional

Since the Act of 11 February 2005, every ERP must be accessible to people with disabilities, regardless of its size. Width of passages, travel pathways, adapted toilets, steps at the entrance: these constraints structure the layout right from the initial sketch. In historic Parisian buildings, where a step on the facade or a narrow staircase are commonplace, exemptions are possible in cases of proven technical impossibility. However, these must be requested through a justified application file, complete with compensatory measures, and are never granted by default.

Our belief: well-designed accessibility is invisible. A ramp integrated into the composition of the facade, a bespoke dual-height reception desk, generous circulation spaces that benefit everyone. The constraint becomes a quality of usability.

Facade, signage, terrace: additional procedures

If your project affects the shopfront or the signage, a prior declaration of works is added to the ERP file. In Paris, the approval of the Architect of the Buildings of France (Architecte des Bâtiments de France) may be required in conservation areas, which are common in the city centre. Meanwhile, a terrace on public land requires a specific occupancy permit issued by the City. These procedures are carried out in parallel, but each has its own schedule. It is their orchestration that saves time.

Before opening: the final step

For establishments in categories 1 to 4 (the largest capacities), an inspection by the safety commission is required before opening to the public. For small 5th category establishments, which include the majority of independent restaurants, an inspection is not automatic, but compliance remains enforceable at any time. Opening without authorisation exposes you to administrative closure. This is a risk that no operator should take.

The difference made by comprehensive support

At Hazard Studio, administrative procedures are an integral part of our method, in the same way as design or site supervision. In concrete terms, this means that the safety and accessibility notices are written in harmony with the architectural project rather than tacked on afterwards, the assessment schedule is integrated into the general planning, and exchanges with the authorities are followed up until approval is obtained. For an operator, it is the difference between a project that moves forward and a project that waits.