French education institutions face December deadline to retain apprenticeship-tax funding eligibility

Education and training institutions in France must complete their annual eligibility formalities by Dec 11, if they want to receive the balance of the country’s apprenticeship tax in 2027.

The SOLTéA platform, the government’s online system for managing the distribution of the apprenticeship tax balance, opened its 2027 authorisation campaign on Oct 26. It says previous approval does not automatically carry over to the next year.

Institutions seeking approval must submit their applications online by Dec 11. Those already included on the national list must also complete the required process, which may involve submitting an application or reporting how they used the 2026 allocation, depending on their status.

Annual approval is not automatic

Only institutions authorised to receive the balance of the apprenticeship tax can benefit from the funds. Employers use SOLTéA to direct this portion of the tax to eligible institutions that provide education and training.

The platform serves as the entry point for applications, updates to institutional information and communication with the authorities reviewing submissions. Applications are assessed by the relevant state or regional services, which determine whether institutions qualify for inclusion on the official lists.

The deadline is significant because SOLTéA says applications submitted after the specified filing period will not be processed. Institutions that fail to complete the required formalities risk not being included on the official lists for 2027.

Official lists expected in 2027

The application period closes on Dec 11 while the wider authorisation campaign will remain open for the review of applications until February 22, 2027. The official lists of authorised institutions are expected to be published before the end of the second quarter of 2027.

Institutions must check their details, including their declared components and training programmes, and ensure that the information submitted is accurate. For declared courses, SOLTéA requires an active RNCP registration code as of Dec 31.

The government platform reported that more than 10,700 institutions were listed to receive the apprenticeship tax balance in 2026. It has not yet published the final list of institutions authorised for 2027.

The notice does not identify how many higher-education institutions could lose eligibility for failing to complete the process, nor does it quantify the share of universities’ or professional schools’ budgets that comes from the tax balance.