For more information, please contact David Menin: david.menin@diplomatie.gouv.fr or 310 235-3224.
Diplomatic and consular representatives are not authorized to perform marriages. You must contact the proper local authorities (Marriage License Bureau).
Registration of a marriage with the French Civil Registry (Southern California, Southern Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona). Please check the procedure on our french page.
Marriage in France (or in French territories) for foreign nationals
Visa Requirements: Please check with our visa section.
For American citizens with a valid passport, no visa is required for a stay in France not exceeding 90 days.
Documents to be produced at the City Hall in France for Marriage but check with them before :
1- Certified copy of birth certificate issued by the Health Department not older than 6 months (in case of impossibility an "Affidavit of Notoriety" signed by three witnesses and notorized, stating the place and date of birth of party and name of parents).
2- A notarized "Affidavit of Law" (in French "Certificat de coutume" - view english translation of document), executed by an Attorney at Law, licensed in the State of residence of the party, certifying that this person is free to marry, that the marriage performed in France will be recognized as valid in his country, and that publication of the marriage announcements are not required under State or Federal Laws.
3- In case of previous marriages, a certified copy of the death certificate of deceased spouse or a certified copy of the final decree of divorce shall be produced.
4- A residence affidavit showing at least that one of the parties has maintained residence of one month or more (40 days exactly) in the particular town or "Arrondissement" where the marriage will be performed.
In any case, you must consult the Marriage Bureau of the City Hall (Mairie) in France where the ceremony is to be performed, should extra documents be needed.
MARRIAGE ANNOUNCEMENT must be posted at the City Hall (Mairie) at least ten days prior to the ceremony.
LEGALIZATION: All foreign documents must bear the "APOSTILLE" issued by the Secretary of State having jurisdiction over the place of issuance of the documents (article 3 of the Convention de La Haye).
TRANSLATIONS: All documents listed above must be translated into French before presentation at the City Hall Marriage Bureau in France. Translations can be done in the United States by "a Translator accredited by the French Consulate ". (See list) Translations must be legalized at this Consulate. *No translation will be legalized unless the original document bears the apostille. For legalization fee, please contact our Chancery Department at: (310) 235-3200.
RELIGIOUS CEREMONY: In France, religious ceremonies have no legal force.
Therefore religious marriages are not celebrated unless the parties have been previously married by the civilian authorities (City Hall-Mairie).
Registration in France of a divorce decree issued in another country (verification of opposability)
A divorce must be registered with the French authorities as soon as possible. The documents should be sent directly to the competent Procureur who will acknowledge receipt of them. The Consulate General of France may not register a second marriage until the divorce has been registered and the fact included on the birth certificate.
The following documents must be submitted:
-Letter of request on plain paper addressed to the Procureur de la République, signed, dated and including your full address.
-Certified copy of final judgement of dissolution of marriage translated into French by an accredited Translator. (See list of Translators)
-Certificate of non appeal or certificate of divorce absolute stipulating that the divorce is irrevocable and that the time for filing notice of appeal has expired. This document must be obtained from a lawyer and translated by an accredited translator.
-Birth certificate of the French spouse - original issued within the last 6 months and including the date of marriage (not a photocopy of the livret de famille).
-Marriage certificate, registered in the consular registry if the marriage took place outside of France (original, not a copy of the livret de famille)
-Proof of address of French spouse - Photocopies of bills and Consular registration certificates if registered with a Consulate.
-Proof of French nationality of French spouse(s) (consular registration card, French passport, or French national identity card, or certificate of French nationality).
These documents must be sent to:
…if the marriage was performed outside of France:
Monsieur le Procureur de la République
Tribunal de Grande Instance de Nantes
Quai François Mitterrand
44000 Nantes, France
…if the marriage was performed in France:
Monsieur le Procureur de la République
près du Tribunal de Grande Instance de (jurisdiction where the marriage was performed)
or of Paris: Monsieur le Procureur de la République
près le Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris
75000 Paris Louvres, France
Model of Letter of Request:
Monsieur le Procureur de la République,
J’ai l’honneur de solliciter la vérification de l’opposabilité en France de mon jugement de divorce étranger, rendu le (date) par le Tribunal de (ville, état), afin d’apposer les mentions nécessaires en marge de mes actes de naissance et de mon mariage.
Ci-joint les documents nécessaires.
Veuillez agréer, Monsieur le Procureur de la République, l’expression de mes sentiments distingués.
You were born in France: you must send a written request to the city hall where your birth was recorded. The request must state your full name, date and place of birth as well as the full names of both parents (the mother’s maiden name must be specified) and you should enclose a copy of a proof of your ID (passeport, French ID, etc..).
Your were born abroad and your birth was recorded at a French Consulate: you can order your birth certifcate online at www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/etrangers/scec/demande_internet.html
or send a written request to:
Service central d’Etat Civil
11, rue de la maison blanche
44000 Nantes, France.
The request must state your full name, date and place of birth as well as the full names of both parents (mother’s maiden name must be specified) and you should enclose a copy of a proof of your ID (passport, French ID, etc..).
Death of a French citizen or foreign spouse
The following documents must be submitted to the Civil Registry Department:
-Letter from a relative
-Proof of French Nationality of the deceased (consular registration card and French passport, or valid French national identity card, or certificate of French nationality)
-Livret de famille and birth certificate
-Death certificate issued by the Registrar of Vital Statistics of the state where the death occured with apostille (check on our french page).
Important: A photocopy, even if certified by a Public Notary, or a certificate without a registration number, will not be accepted. Also, a certificate with errors must first be corrected by the local authorities before it may be registered with the Consulate.
Shipment of Human Remains
In order to ship human remains to France, you must provide this Consulate General with the following documents :
· A certified copy of the death certificate issued by the Department of Public Health (Registrar of the County where death occured).
· A permit for disposal of human remains issued by the Department of Public Health.
· A medical certificate issued by the coroner or the County Health Officer, stating the cause of death, and that it was not related to any contagious disease.
· An authorization filled out by a relative or the person legally appointed to request the shipment of human remains; duly signed.
· A permit for burial ("permis d’inhumer") issued by the French Municipality.
· A credit card payment authorization to cover the Chancery fee of issuance of a permit.
· An affidavit from the funerarium stating that the remains are properly embalmed and encased.
· A copy of an ID with picture and, for French citizens : proof of their citizenship (passport, "carte nationale d’identité", birth certificate or "livret de famille" if married, also state date and city of birth if not mentioned on the death certificate).
Kindly arrange at least two days in advance, with an officer of this Consulate General, an appointment for the sealing of the casket to be performed at our location. Be aware that the law requires for the consular officer to conduct a visual search of the inside of the casket before puting the seal (david.menin@diplomatie.gouv.fr or 310.235.3224).
TRANSLATIONS: All documents listed above must be translated into French before presentation at the Consulate. Translations can be done in the United States by "a translator accredited by the French Consulate". Translations must be legalized at this Consulate. No translation of official document will be legalized unless the original document bears the apostille.
Shipment of Cremated Remains
In order to ship cremated remains to France, you must provide this Consulate General with the following documents :
· A certified copy of the death certificate issued by the Department of Public Health (Registrar of the County where death occured).
· A certificate of cremation and permit for disposal of human remains issued by the Department of Public Health.
· An authorization filled out by a relative or the person legally appointed to request the shipment of human remains; duly signed.
· A credit card payment authorization to cover the Chancery fee of issuance of a permit.
· An affidavit from the Crematory stating that the deceased was cremated and placed in the urn containing only the remains of the deceased.
· A copy of an ID with picture and, for French citizens : proof of their citizenship (passport, "carte nationale d’identité", birth certificate or "livret de famille" if married, also state date and city of birth if not mentioned on the death certificate).
The urn containing the ashes should be made of plastic, the lid sealed, and bear, on the outside, an identification tag with the references of the death certificate or the name of the deceased.
Click here for important information.
Kindly arrange at least two days in advance, with an officer of this Consulate General, an appointment for the sealing of the urn to be performed at our location (david.menin@diplomatie.gouv.fr or (310) 235-3224).
A child adopted outside of France by at least one French parent does not automatically have French nationality. For an adoption order to be recognized in France and for the adopted child to acquire French nationality an application must be filed with a Tribunal de Grande Instance de France, or by default, with:
Parquet du Tribunal de Grande Instance de Nantes
Quai François Mitterrand
44000 Nantes, France
The application must be submitted with the following documents:
-Application for full adoption in the form of a handwritten letter by the parent asking for the foreign adoption order issued on (date) in (place) to be recognized in France.
-Birth certificate of each parent
-Parents’ marriage certificate, issued by the mairie (Town Hall) of the place of the marriage in France, or registered with the Consulate if the marriage took place outside of France
-Proof of French nationality (consular registration card and French passport, or valid French national ID card, or Certificate of French nationality)
-Proof of residence (certificat de résidence) issued by the Consulate, rent receipt, utility bills, etc..
-Foreign adoption order translated into French
-American birth certificate of child translated into French.
On completion of this procedure, the child will receive a French birth certificate. He/she will be recognized as French and may be listed in the livret de famille as well as the passports of the parents.
The Tribunal de Grande Instance (TGI) chosen has sole authority to render a decision on the application. Additional documents may be requested.
Important: While the Consulate may be asked by the TGI to forward certain official correspondence to you, it may not intervene in the processing of the dossier in France.
The recourse to such contracts is against public policy in France as they violate the principle of the integrity of the human body and the status of the human person. Under article 16.5 of the Civil Code, such contracts are null in law.
