The birth certificate is a legal document drawn up by a civil status officer when the birth is declared. It certifies the person’s civil status: a copy must be produced during certain official procedures. The birth certificate can be issued in the form of a complete copy, an extract with or without filiation.

The birth certificate is established at the time of the birth declaration. For the child to have a birth certificate, a person who attended the birth – in practice it is often the father – must therefore declare the child within five days of the birth. For this, he must bring the parents’ identity papers and the birth certificate issued by the doctor or midwife. The declaration is made to the town hall of the place of birth, or directly to the hospital if the structure ensures a permanent status of the registrar within the maternity service. Once the birth of the child has been declared, his birth certificate is immediately drawn up. Several copies of the birth certificate are then drawn up and given to the parents so that they can carry out certain administrative procedures.

The birth certificate contains all the legal and administrative information relating to the child.

The child’s birth certificate includes:

• The surname, first name, place of birth, date and time of birth of the child.
• The family names, first names, dates of birth, professions, addresses and matrimonial regimes of the parents. This information does not appear on the birth certificate extract without filiation.

The birth certificate is amended or supplemented as soon as an event occurs that could change the legal or family situation of its holder. The modifications and additions are transcribed in the margin of the birth certificate. The following events are subject to marginal mentions in the birth certificate:

• A change of surname or first name.
• A placement under guardianship, under guardianship or under safeguard of justice.
• A marriage, a change of matrimonial regime, a divorce or a legal separation.
• The conclusion, the change of regime and the dissolution of a PACS.
• The recognition of a child.
• The death.

The birth certificate is an essential document insofar as it must be produced in order to complete certain procedures.

At the time of the child’s birth, parents must present a copy or extract of the birth certificate to certain organizations:

• To the Family Allowance Fund (CAF) in order to obtain the aids and benefits to which they are entitled.
• To the Health Insurance as well as to their mutual in order to obtain the attachment and the protection of their child.
• To the employer to benefit from maternity leave for the mother, paternity leave for the father.
• Home insurance.
• At the nursery if the parents have applied for registration.

During the person’s life, the birth certificate is required in particular in the following situations:

• Application for French naturalization.
• Establishment or renewal of identity papers: CNI, passport and family record book.
• Registration of marriage, PACS or divorce.
• The liquidation of a succession.
• Completion of a donation

The following persons can obtain a complete copy of the birth certificate or the extract of the birth certificate with filiation:

• The person concerned if he is of age or emancipated, his legal representative if he is a minor.
• His husband.
• An ascendant or a descendant.
• A legally authorized professional – a notary or a lawyer on behalf of his client, in particular.

Anyone can request to obtain the birth certificate extract without filiation from another person, without having to justify any quality or any reason. Copies and extracts with filiation of birth certificates which have become public archives are also freely available: this concerns in particular the birth certificate of a person who has died for more than 25 years.

To obtain the full copy or the extract with or without filiation of the birth certificate, you must contact the town hall of the place of birth of the person concerned. The request is made online, by mail or by going directly to the site. When the person concerned was born abroad, the request must be made to the central civil status service in Nantes (1).

The issue of a copy or extract of the birth certificate is free, except postage charges required by certain municipalities.

Most town halls in France offer the possibility of requesting a copy of the birth certificate online (2). The procedure is simple: all you have to do is enter the postal code of the place of birth, then complete the birth certificate request form directly online. The document is sent by post within five days of the request.