Procedures, letters and deadlines in French administration

Service-Public.fr brings together the guides and services of all administrations: search with a simple phrase (such as carte grise or changement d'adresse) and you find procedures, documents, forms (Cerfa) and electronic links.

• You use FranceConnect to access state services with one account.
• Each administration has its account: ameli for health security, caf.fr, impots.gouv.fr, francetravail.fr, ANEF for residence, ANTS for vehicles and identity cards, and Mon Espace Santé.
• Create your account carefully and save your data in a password manager, and use two-factor authentication.
• Official sites end in .gouv.fr or .fr, so beware of imitation sites that charge extra fees on free services (such as requesting a birth certificate).
• And those unable to use the internet find free help at France Services and in municipalities and libraries, and via the number 3939 (Allô Service Public) for information.

Open every official letter and do not ignore it, read it at once and record its arrival date and reply deadline.

• Sort documents in a folder: ID and residence, housing, work and taxes, health, banks and school.
• Keep important letters for years (taxes and pay for life or at least five years), and take photos and upload them to a secure cloud store, especially documents such as the birth certificate and every contract.
• State the reference number and letter date in every reply.
• For important letters use lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception (LRAR) or certified electronic sending to keep proof, and attach pièces justificatives as copies not originals.
• Do not send originals of your documents except at an explicit request.
• And do not let your documents expire, and record renewal dates.
• And if you do not understand a letter ask a friend, France Services or an association.
• And put a watermark (filigrane) on copies of your ID.

Each procedure has a deadline: two months for most administrative requests (and if the administration is silent it is often approval SVA, with exceptions: for residence, citizenship and nationality its silence is refusal), three days to register a birth, one month to change a car registration address, four months to renew a residence card before expiry, two months to appeal an administrative decision (recours) and 30 days for some appeals (OQTF), and months for others.

• Meeting the deadline matters more than perfection, so send what you have then complete.
• And delay may produce penalties: a 10 percent increase on late tax, a parking fine (amende) reducible if paid early (amende minorée) or contested, and administrative late fees.
• For traffic fines you can appeal within 45 days.
• Do not pay at once if you think it is wrong, but appeal first with evidence.
• And note the deadlines in your phone calendar with alerts a week before.

For an administrative decision you think wrong, submit a recours gracieux (an amicable appeal) to the same body within two months with your reasons and evidence, or a recours hiérarchique to its superior, then a recours contentieux before the tribunal administratif within two months of the decision (or its refusal), and you can use a lawyer (not compulsory in all cases).

• For social disputes (CAF and CPAM) there is the commission de recours amiable (CRA) then the pôle social du tribunal judiciaire.
• And for service quality disputes use the médiateur in each body (médiateur de la CAF, des finances publiques and des ministères), free of charge.
• And the Défenseur des droits (09 69 39 00 00) receives complaints against administrations and discrimination via délégués in every prefecture free of charge.
• And keep a copy of every appeal.
• And for legal help aide juridictionnelle for the low-income and the Point d'accès au droit and the Maison de justice et du droit free consultations.

For free help: France Services (accounts and procedures), the CCAS at the mairie, the Point d'accès au droit for legal consultation, ADIL for housing, the Défenseur des droits, the Cimade for foreigners, the UDAF for families, and associations such as the Secours populaire, Restos du Cœur and Emmaüs Connect for digital help.

• And your data is protected by the RGPD law and the CNIL (the data protection body): you have the right to access, correct and erase, and you file a complaint via cnil.fr.
• Do not send copies of your ID and RIB by insecure email, and put a filigrane on copies.
• And beware of fraudsters in the name of the government: messages asking payment of an amende or a remboursement or your card details or security code, and fake links, and calls claiming to be from ameli or the tax office.
• End the call and call the body from its site.
• And report on Perceval, cybermalveillance.gouv.fr and signal-arnaques.com.
• And you are not alone in procedures.

What is the official administration site?