What is a public service establishment (ERP)?
Verified 06 November 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Facilities receiving the public (ERP) are buildings, premises or enclosures in which outsiders are admitted.
Access can be free, paid, free, restricted or by invitation.
For example, a town hall, a business, a school, an amusement park, or a place of worship.
Please note
A company not open to the public, but only to company personnel, is not an ERP.
LES are classified by category and by type, for the purposes of fire safety regulations.
The classification proposed by the owner or operator of the establishment is validated by the Departmental Advisory Committee on Safety and Accessibility (CCDSA).
This commission, chaired by the prefect, monitors compliance with regulations on fire safety and panic and accessibility in LES.
ERPs are classified as 5 categories according to their capacity.
The capacity corresponds to the number of people authorized by the SDISSDIS : Departmental Fire and Rescue Service be present at the same time in the establishment.
Eligible workforce | Category |
|---|---|
Over 1,500 people | 1 |
From 701 to 1,500 people | 2 |
From 301 to 700 people | 3 |
Up to 300 people | 4 |
Below the thresholds set for 5e category | 5 |
ERPs are classified by type according to the nature of their holding. The type is designated by a letter.
L'effective of persons admitted is determined according to special provisions for each type of establishment.
For the first 4 categories, employees are counted with the public admitted to the ERP.
For the 5e category, employees are not counted with the public admitted to the ERP.
Nature of the holding | Type | Limits of 5e category | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
In the basement | In stages | All levels | ||
Reception structure for elderly people | J | / | / | Total staff of less than 100 with less than 25 resident seniors |
Reception facilities for disabled people | J | / | / | Total staff of less than 100 with less than 20 disabled residents |
Hearing room, conference room, meeting room, betting room, room reserved for associations, neighborhood room, multimedia room, multi-purpose room, multi-purpose room with a sports-dominated area greater than or equal to 1,200 m2 or with a ceiling height of less than 6,50 m Other multipurpose room not specified in Chapter 12 type X article X1 | L | 100 | / | 200 |
Show room, projection room (including non-fairground circuses), cabarets | L | 20 | / | 50 |
Retail stores | M | 100 | 100 | 200 |
Restaurants or drinking outlets | N | 100 | 200 | 200 |
Hotels or family pensions | O | / | / | 100 |
Dance rooms or game rooms | P | 20 | 100 | 120 |
Nursery schools, crèches, drop-in centers, kindergartens | R | Prohibited activity | 20 (if the establishment has only 1 floor) | 100 |
Nursery home | R | 16 | ||
Other educational institutions | R | 100 | 100 | 200 |
Establishments with sleeping quarters | R | / | / | 30 |
Libraries or documentation centers | S | 100 | 100 | 200 |
Exhibition rooms | T | 100 | 100 | 200 |
Health care facilities | U | / | / |
|
Establishments of worship | V | 100 | 200 | 300 |
Administrations, banks, offices | W | 100 | 100 | 200 |
Sports establishments covered | X | 100 | 100 | 200 |
Museums | Y | 100 | 100 | 200 |
High-altitude hotels and restaurants | OA | 20 | ||
Air Stations | GA | 200 | ||
Outdoor Establishments | PA | 300 | ||
Capitals and tents | STC | 50 | ||
Floating establishment (parked boats) | EF | |||
Underground and mixed stations and floating establishments are never classified in 5, regardless of their sizee category.
Example :
A library that accommodates less than 200 people is classified as type S of 5e category.
A library that accommodates between 200 and 300 people is classified as type S of 4e category.
In order to welcome the public, the establishment respects accessibility rules for persons with disabilities.
One authorization to open to the public must be requested from the Mayor by the LES operator.
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Find who can answer your questions in your region
Classification of establishments
Security obligations
Book I - Provisions applicable to all LES (classification, adaptations of security rules, special cases, control of LES)
Book II - Provisions applicable to establishments in the first four categories
Book III - Provisions for Category 5 LES
Provisions applicable to ERPs located within an existing built environment and to existing facilities open to the public
Ministry of the Environment
Paris Police Department