Grounding for advising on the pièces justificatives a démarche requires. This is
about acceptability rules, not reading a scan (see ../documents/). Which exact
pièces a given démarche needs comes from its official checklist — do not invent a
requirement; here you explain the rules for the documents commonly requested.
Discipline: state a rule only if you're sure; for an amount or a list that may have
changed, say it depends and point the user to the official page rather than asserting a
stale figure. The official portal is service-public.gouv.fr (the old service-public.fr
now redirects there).
Justificatif de domicile (proof of address)
- Recency depends on the démarche — there is NO universal "3 months" rule. Verified windows: CNI & passeport → less than 1 year; carte grise / immatriculation → less than 6 months; inscription sur les listes électorales → less than 3 months. Use the window the specific procedure states; never default to 3 months.
- Accepted proofs (CNI/passeport fiche): facture d'électricité, gaz, eau; facture de téléphone — y compris mobile; avis d'imposition or certificat de non-imposition; attestation/facture d'assurance habitation; quittance de loyer issued by an agency or organisme social (a handwritten quittance from a private landlord is not enough on its own); titre de propriété; relevé CAF mentioning the aides au logement.
- A mobile-phone bill is accepted — the old "fixed line / box only" restriction is obsolete.
- Hébergé chez un tiers (living at someone else's address): three documents together —
an attestation d'hébergement sur l'honneur signed by the host, the host's ID, and a
justificatif de domicile in the host's name recent in the window the démarche requires
(e.g. < 1 year for a passport/CNI). A person living with parents or a friend uses this.
- In the attestation the host states, on their honour, that they host the named person at their address free of charge (à titre gratuit). It may be temporary (à titre temporaire) — there is NO minimum-duration rule; do NOT claim the host must have hosted them "> 3 months".
- It carries: host's NOM/Prénom + address (+ phone), the hosted person's NOM/Prénom, the statement of hosting, and Fait à … le … with the host's signature. (Sample wording: "Je soussigné, , demeurant au , atteste sur l'honneur héberger à titre gratuit à mon domicile Monsieur/Madame , à titre temporaire …".)
- Logé à l'hôtel (hotel accommodation): an attestation/certificate from the hotel plus the invoice (facture) for the last month.
- A taxe d'habitation or avis d'imposition in the applicant's name also serves as proof of address.
Contrat d'engagement au respect des principes de la République (CERP)
- Mandatory for EVERY titre de séjour request — first issue AND renewal (since the Jan 2024 immigration law, art. L412-7 CESEDA). The applicant signs a one-page Ministère de l'Intérieur form committing to 7 republican principles (liberté personnelle; expression et conscience; égalité femmes-hommes; dignité humaine; devise et symboles; intégrité territoriale; laïcité).
- Refusing to sign ⇒ the préfet refuses the titre; a later serious breach can have it withdrawn. Signed with place/date, NOM PRÉNOM, NUMÉRO ÉTRANGER, signature.
- Blank form to download (share the link when the user needs it): https://www.immigration.interieur.gouv.fr/limmigration-en-france/l-administration-numerique-pour-les-etrangers-en-France/le-contrat-d-engagement-a-respecter-les-principes-de-la-republique
Pièce d'identité
- French nationals: CNI or passeport, valid — or sometimes expired by less than a set period for a renewal (only if the procedure allows it).
- Foreign nationals: valid titre de séjour + passport. (Which number is which — visa N°
vs passport MRZ vs titre N° — see
../documents/documents-administratifs.md.) - Bring originals to an in-person RDV; online démarches take a scan/photo of the original.
Photo d'identité
- Must be a photo d'identité agréée (norm ISO/IEC 19794-5): recent (< 6 months), 35 × 45 mm, plain light background (not white), head bare and centred, neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open. Taken by a photographe habilité or a cabine agréée — selfies and home prints are rejected.
- The ePhoto / e-photo code (an agréé booth/photographer issues a digital code entered online) is the norm for the permis de conduire flow; for CNI/passeport the standard route is a compliant physical photo from a photographe habilité or cabine agréée. Either way it must be agréée.
- Don't just say "find an agréé booth" — help locate one. If the person's city or
postal code is already known, a locator link with it pre-filled helps, e.g.
https://www.photomaton.com/fr-fr/trouver-un-photomaton/s?q=<address, URL-encoded>. Photomaton is one of several agréé chains, not the only one — offer it as a convenient starting point, not the exclusive option.
Timbre fiscal (électronique) — amounts as of 2026
- Bought online at timbres.impots.gouv.fr (PDF/QR or a 16-digit SMS reference) or at a bureau de tabac agréé; valid 1 year, refundable within 18 months. The amount depends on the document and the applicant's age — confirm the current amount on that page.
- Passeport (métropole): adult 86 €, minor 15–17 42 €, minor < 15 17 € (higher from abroad; reduced in Guyane/Mayotte).
- CNI: free when you present the old card; 25 € when renewing a lost or stolen card (12,50 € en Guyane; exemption possible for précarité).
RIB / IBAN
- Required whenever the démarche pays or reimburses the user: CAF (APL), France Travail, l'Assurance retraite, remboursements Ameli. A French IBAN starts with FR; the account must be in the applicant's name.
État civil — acte de naissance
- Three forms: copie intégrale (full act + filiation + mentions marginales), extrait avec filiation, extrait sans filiation. First passport/CNI, mariage and nationalité usually need the copie intégrale or an extrait avec filiation, and it must be recent (< 3 months) when used as an identity/état-civil proof.
- Where: free from the mairie of the place of birth or online via service-public.gouv.fr — never a paid intermediary. Born abroad (French citizen) → the Service central d'état civil (SCEC) de Nantes (MEAE), via the service-public.gouv.fr téléservice.
- Many communes are dématérialisées (COMEDEC): the mairie fetches the acte directly, so the user does not need to provide it for a passport/CNI. Check before asking for it.
- Foreign-language civil-status documents need a traduction par un traducteur assermenté, sometimes with apostille/légalisation.
General
- A recency window ("< 6 mois", "< 1 an") is counted from the date of the application or RDV, not from when the document was downloaded.
- Expect to show originals at an in-person appointment even when a scan was uploaded.
- Never tell a person a free service costs money, and never send them to a paid look-alike to obtain an acte d'état civil or a timbre.