France sets its own requirements for foreign public documents (birth/marriage certificates, diplomas…) submitted to a consulate, préfecture, university or town hall. The requirement is the same whatever the country the document comes from — that country only provides the mechanism to authenticate its own paper (see, for a Nigerian document, ng/demarches/authenticate-documents).

France asks for two things:

1. Proof the document is genuine — apostille OR legalisation

If the issuing country is a Hague Apostille Convention member, an apostille from that country is enough.
If it is not a member, the document needs consular legalisation (authenticated in the origin country, then legalised by the French embassy/consulate there).
Which applies depends on the origin country's status — check it, then follow that country's authenticate-documents guide for the exact chain.

2. A sworn French translation

Unless the receiving body explicitly accepts the original language, the document must be translated into French by a traducteur assermenté — a translator enrolled on a French Cour d'appel list. (The layout of the translation varies by translator; what matters is only that the translator is sworn.)

Practical notes

Order matters: translating before the document is apostilled/legalised can mean redoing it — confirm the sequence the receiving body wants first.
Original + copy: French authorities usually want the original plus a photocopy.
Requirements vary by the specific authority (consulate, préfecture, university) — confirm with the one handling your file.

Pièges connus

Assuming a plain photocopy or an English document is accepted (it usually isn't).
Using a non-sworn translator (a regular/agency translation is rejected).
Getting the translation done before legalisation, then having to redo it.

Sources

service-public.gouv.fr — « Légalisation et apostille d'un document » / « Traduction d'un document » (checked 2026-07)
French consulate general checklists (per-file requirements) (checked 2026-07)

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