How to request a social security number online
A numéro de sécurité sociale is unique to each person
People born in France are given a social security number at birth.
The numéro de sécurité sociale (or 'numéro de Sécu') consists of 13 digits plus a two-digit 'key'. It is unique to the person. Officially it is also referred to as the NIR (numéro d’identification au répertoire); it is held in a file by the national information body Insee, and is used by Cpams and other social security bodies to identify you.
This number starts with a 1 for men, a 2 for women, or a 7 or 8 in the case of the temporary numbers (numéro de sécurité sociale provisoire) attributed to those who recently moved to France.
The provisional number can be used to claim refunds using feuilles de soins forms, but not to create an account on the Ameli website (where you can manage your personal record and track reimbursements online) nor to order a carte Vitale health card so as to simplify the reimbursements process. It takes at least two months for the Cpam to check a person's paperwork and for Insee to attribute the definitive number.
It is a good idea, having moved over, to locate your local Cpam and apply to be registered to launch the process.
Cpams can be contacted via 3646 or you can visit in person during working hours.
Once you have obtained your definitive social security number from your Cpam you can log in here to create your Ameli website account.
Here you will manage your carte Vitale request and, later, you will be able to track progress on your medical reimbursements.
To create your Ameli account, you will be required to register your surname, your social security number, your date of birth, and the postcode which indicates the local Cpam authority to which you belong.
What's in a number?
Many French people know their social security number by heart.
The first digit is for the person's sex, the next four digits stand for year and month of birth, the following four the French department you were born in (or 99 if born abroad) and the commune or country code as established by the Insee state statistics agency, next an 'order' number which distinguishes between people born in the same place at the same time, and lastly, a two-digit security code.