URSSAF Audit On-Site vs. Desk Review: Key Differences, Your Right to Refuse, and the Pitfalls of Digital Audits
Not all URSSAF audits are equal: the method chosen by the inspector determines your rights — and in particular your right to refuse. Understanding the difference between an on-site audit, a desk review and a digital audit means avoiding a procedure that you could have redirected.
This article is part of the series URSSAF Audits: The Employer’s Guide. Previous step: the audit notice.
The accounting and assessment-base audit: the common core
Whether conducted on-site or as a desk review, the audit aims to verify the accuracy of the declared assessment bases (assiettes) and rates (Articles L.243-7 and R.243-59 et seq. of the French Social Security Code). Any reassessment must be substantiated in fact and in law: this is a requirement whose breach is sanctioned.
On-site audit vs. desk review
- On-site (sur place): the inspector comes to your premises. You control the practical arrangements (a dedicated room, a single point of contact).
- Desk review (sur pièces): everything is decided on the basis of the documents you submit. The temptation to “provide too much” is strong; yet every document disclosed may feed a ground for reassessment.
In both cases, the contributor may be assisted by an advisor at any time (Article R.243-59-1 of the French Social Security Code).
The digital audit (contrôle dématérialisé, or CDA): an agreement you can refuse
The digital desk review (Article R.243-59-3 of the French Social Security Code) is based on the transmission of files (DSN social declarations, payroll files). It requires your consent.
DAIRIA’s advice: systematically exercise your right to refuse within 15 days, and request the precise details of what is expected. This refusal does not constitute an obstruction of the audit and exposes you to no surcharge — it simply gives you back control over the timeline and the scope.
If you accept the digital audit, request the precise list of files consulted and the processing carried out (Article R.243-59-4 of the French Social Security Code). You can only effectively challenge what you know about.
Interviews: fertile ground for nullities
The inspector may interview paid individuals (Article R.243-59-3 of the French Social Security Code; Article L.8271-6-1 of the French Labour Code in cases of undeclared work). The pitfalls surrounding interviews are numerous: interviews without consent, without prior information, or outside the cases provided for by law. An irregular interview may result in the nullity of the findings derived from it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a digital audit be refused? Yes, within 15 days; this does not constitute an obstruction of the audit.
Can interviews be annulled? Yes, if the formal requirements (consent, prior information) are not complied with.
On-site or desk review — what is the difference? The location and the degree of practical control; the adversarial process (contradictoire) remains identical.
Written and supervised by Guillemette Watine, attorney, former URSSAF litigation inspector, head of the URSSAF practice at DAIRIA Avocats.
Next step → How URSSAF Calculates a Reassessment: Flat-Rate Taxation, Sampling and Extrapolation