Legal Status
A company’s Legal Status is a fundamental data point for assessing its activity, stability, and reliability. It indicates whether the company is active, in liquidation, in insolvency proceedings, or has been sanctioned by official bodies.
What is it?
Legal Status represents the operational and legal standing of a company. It helps you understand whether the company is still trading, has ceased operations, or is facing legal issues that could affect its reliability.
The most common legal statuses include:
- Active: Company operating normally.
- Closed: Company that has ceased trading.
- In insolvency proceedings: Company in a legal process due to insolvency.
- In liquidation: Company in the process of dissolution.
- Dissolved: Company removed from the commercial register.
- Sanctioned: Company subject to legal restrictions, such as the withdrawal of its tax ID (NIF).
What is it for?
For data teams and B2B sales teams, knowing a company’s Legal Status is essential to:
- Avoid doing business with insolvent or sanctioned companies.
- Validate customers and suppliers before closing deals.
- Reduce financial risk in commercial operations.
- Optimise sales strategies by focusing on active, solvent companies.
This data helps minimise risk and directs commercial effort towards companies with greater stability.
Legal statuses by country
Each country has its own classification of legal statuses for companies. Below are the most common formats in Spain, France, Italy, and Mexico.
Spain
| Code | Legal status |
|---|---|
ES-ACT |
Active |
ES-INA |
Inactive |
ES-LIQ |
In liquidation process |
ES-EXT |
Dissolved |
ES-CON |
In insolvency proceedings |
ES-SAN |
Sanctioned (NIF withdrawn or restricted) |
ES-SUS |
Temporarily suspended |
France
| Code | Legal status |
|---|---|
FR-ACT |
Active |
FR-INA |
Inactive |
FR-LIQ |
In liquidation |
FR-RAD |
Struck off the commercial register |
FR-RED |
Redressement judiciaire (restructuring) |
FR-LTJ |
Liquidation judiciaire (judicial liquidation) |
FR-SAN |
Sanctioned (ban on trading) |
Italy
| Code | Legal status |
|---|---|
IT-ACT |
Attiva |
IT-INA |
Inattiva |
IT-LIQ |
In liquidazione |
IT-CES |
Cessata (ceased) |
IT-FAL |
Fallita (bankrupt) |
IT-SAN |
Sanzionata (sanctioned) |
Mexico
| Code | Legal status |
|---|---|
MX-ACT |
Active |
MX-INA |
Inactive |
MX-LIQ |
In liquidation |
MX-EXT |
Dissolved |
MX-CON |
In concurso mercantil |
MX-SAN |
Sanctioned (RFC suspended or withdrawn) |
This system makes it possible to filter and classify companies by legal status, improving risk analysis and the management of commercial relationships.