Where to find help with important admin in France
A website and phone helpline exist to help with all kinds of complex documents and processes
If French bureaucracy has you perplexed, help is at hand on the official Service-Public.fr website
Prostock-studio / HJBC / Shutterstock
Need help and advice when it comes to admin, legal matters, or other practical processes as a resident or second-home owner in France? A website and telephone number exist to provide just that.
France is well-known for its bureaucracy, and there is a set process for almost everything when it comes to paperwork, tax, money, and the law. This can prove challenging for people moving to France or dealing with bureaucratic hurdles when managing their second home.
This is where the Service Public website comes in. Provided by the state but politically impartial, it includes information and step-by-step help on common needs and administrative processes, including:
It also has many calculators and simulators, to (for example) help you work out how much tax you might pay, the fees due when buying a house, how much your pension will be, or how much benefit you are due.
The site is organised depending on your circumstances. For example, the navigation bar at the top of the site breaks down the information by:
Life event (e.g. moving house, work, mortgage, childcare, retirement, death)
Theme (e.g. documentation and voting; family and education; work; housing; money)
Tools (e.g. Financial help, letter templates and simulators)
Help in English
Many of the website’s pages can be viewed in English. If there is a ‘dropdown’ menu in the top-right corner of the page that says ‘FR-Français’, you can click on the downwards arrow and change the page to ‘EN-English’.
The translation is usually automatic, so it may contain errors, but it can still be a very helpful tool for anyone who does not speak French, when it comes to understanding a complicated administrative procedure.
The website will also read out the contents of the page in French or English, if you highlight the text and then click the ‘Écoute / Listen’ button that appears.
Letter templates
One useful areas of the site, particularly for those who may speak no or little French, is the ‘modèles de lettres’ section. This page has 333 ‘model letters’ that you can use as templates to write important, official letters and emails for all aspects of life.
For example, there are templates for:
Asking for compensation if your bags are damaged by an airline
Requesting mediation for a problem with your bank
Informing your bank of a loved one’s passing
Making a legal complaint or requesting legal mediation
Declaring a burglary and making an insurance claim
Getting permission to organise a protest
Closing a bank account or stopping an automatic payment
Ending your car insurance policy after selling a car
Useful forms
Anyone who has lived in France will know that many processes require you to fill in a dedicated form to access certain services or exemptions. These are known as ‘Cerfas’, with a number for each, e.g. ‘Cerfa 11573*09’.
The website gives easy online access to 878 of these, including:
Tax exemption for unfinished buildings
Submitting a planning permission request
Voting by proxy
Requesting a doctor’s certificate
Declaring an accident at work
Some are there simply as an example to help you understand or read through them; many will be given to you by the professional dealing with the situation, e.g. your doctor.
Phone line help
If you cannot find what you need on the website, you can call the Allô Service Public 3939 phone line for extra help and step-by-step advice.
The free service is reached by:
This will connect you to a specialist advisor, typically a civil servant who works for the Ministry of Work, the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Housing.
When you first dial, you will be asked to choose from several options via an automated voice system, to ensure you are put through to the most relevant department.
You can also request a call back through the service on some pages of the Service Public website, which aims to ensure that someone will call you back within 45 minutes to help you with a procedure.
The phone line opening hours are:
Mon: 08:30 to 18:15
Tues: 08:30 to 13:00
Weds: 08:30 to 13:00
Thurs: 08:30 to 18:15
Fri: 13:00 to 17:00
Further help
The Service Public website can also point you in the right direction if you need assistance from another service or website.
For example, this page contains contact information for other services, including:
If you are unable to find the help you need either online or by phone, you can also get help in-person.
Sometimes this is available at one of the digital counters (Point d'accueil numérique), which can offer technical hardware that you may not have at home to complete your forms, such as a scanner and printer. You can find a digital counter near you here.
There are also ‘France Services’ counters staffed by real people who can help guide you through administrative processes. You usually do not need an appointment. You can find the closest one near you here.
Of course, at The Connexion, we also aim to simplify and demystify often-complex processes required when living in France. As well as our website, we also have our own page of dedicated, regularly-updated helpguides in English on:
