Proof of address and change of address in France

The document must be recent (often under three months) and in your name and current address.

• Accepted: an electricity, gas, water, landline or internet bill (and sometimes mobile), a rent receipt (quittance de loyer) from a landlord or agency, an income tax or housing tax notice, a home insurance certificate, a bank statement with the address, the lease, or an attestation d'hébergement, an accommodation certificate from a friend or relative with whom you live with a copy of his ID and proof of address.
• For new housing before bills arrive the lease may be submitted with the inventory.
• And some bodies request two documents.
• Keep digital and paper copies.
• And forged documents are a crime punishable, so do not submit a bill belonging to another.
• And if you are hosted ask the host for an accommodation certificate and a copy of his proof of address and ID.

On moving you can inform several bodies via the electronic service Service-Public — Changement d'adresse: CAF (family allowances), CPAM (health social security), Carsat (pensions), France Travail (unemployment), taxes (impots.gouv.fr), the vehicles office (ANTS) and electricity and gas suppliers.

• And you must inform some bodies yourself: the employer, bank, insurance, school, the prefecture for residence card holders (within three months), the attending doctor and the municipality for elections.
• Record your new address in your accounts on ameli.fr, caf.fr and impots.gouv.fr.
• And change the address of the carte grise (vehicle registration) via ANTS within one month or a fine.
• And inform La Poste and internet and phone providers.
• And make sure your old letters arrive.
• And ask official bodies to confirm the change in writing.

La Poste offers a réexpédition du courrier service redirecting your mail from the old address to the new for 6 or 12 months for a fee (about 30 to 50 euros), requested on laposte.fr or at a post office with proof of identity and the new address.

• And after it inform bodies to update your address directly.
• To keep your mail in your absence the service garde du courrier is available.
• And for safety: write your name on the mailbox, shred sensitive letters before disposing of them, and do not give your address to those you do not trust.
• And fraudsters may use your old address to open accounts in your name, so inform bodies and monitor your bank account.
• To verify any message requesting your data call the body directly from its official site.
• And report fraud on Perceval or 17Cyber.

For French citizens you must register on the listes électorales via service-public.fr or at the municipality with proof of identity and address before the end of the year (or six weeks before the election), and since 2019 registration is possible up to six weeks before elections.

• And European citizens have the right to vote in municipal and European elections by registering.
• As for non-Europeans they do not vote.
• And for those without stable housing (homeless or living in a car or with friends) the domiciliation provides an administrative address via the social action centre (CCAS) or an approved association, to submit rights claims (RSA, health and voting), and it is a free right.
• And foreigners holding a residence card are asked to inform the préfecture of any change within three months via administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr.
• And keep a copy of every correspondence.

Is there compulsory residence registration at the municipality in France?