Checklist: Where and when should I use the French Covid health pass?

Use our quick-look list to check where you may need to show your health pass while out and about in France

France’s highest constitutional authority, the Conseil constitutionnel, approved the extension of the use of the Covid health pass (pass sanitaire) to enter various venues in France on Thursday, August 5.

Since Monday, August 9, everyone aged 18 and over has to present a health pass to enter public spaces including restaurants, cafes, bars, hospitals (in non-emergency situations), retirement homes, long-distance travel services and certain large shopping centres where local authorities decide to impose its use.

Read more: France extends health pass today - Rules for residents and tourists

Children aged 12 - 17 will have to use the health pass from September 30.

What is the French health pass?

The health pass is not a document but a way to prove you do not have Covid-19.

Demonstrating your health pass on entry to a venue effectively means you must show either:

  • proof of vaccination,
  • proof of a negative Covid test taken within the past 48 hours,
  • proof of having been positive with Covid 11 days to six months before entering the space

These documents can be shown in paper format, digitally, or through the phone application TousAntiCovid.

Typically, there will be a QR code attached to the document that staff at the venue can scan to verify your proof.

Where do I need to show the health pass in France?

How does the health pass work for tourists in France?

France has now put in place a system for foreign tourists vaccinated abroad with a Covid-19 vaccine approved in the EU to get a QR code compatible with its health pass system, France’s foreign affairs ministry has stated.

Read more: How tourists can get a Covid vaccine QR code recognised in France

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