Request for administrative documents (France)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in French
The PDF you download is in French — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
For obtaining from a French administration — town hall, préfecture, public hospital, school, public body — a copy of a document it holds: a decision, a report, a file, minutes. The letter, in French under French law, cites the right of access (articles L. 311-1 ff. of the French Code of Relations between the Public and the Administration), lists the documents, the chosen form of access and partial disclosure, and recalls that one month's silence counts as refusal, opening referral to the CADA. Send it by registered letter with proof of receipt.
- Made for use in France
- Last updated October 13, 2026
When to use this document
- You want a copy of a document held by a town hall, préfecture or other public body in France.
- You want to read the minutes of a council meeting or a report your town hall relied on.
- A public body took a decision about you and you want to see the file behind it.
- You asked an administration for a document informally and now want to make a written request with proof.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Applicant
- Applicant's address
- Administration holding the documents
- Recipient's postal address, as it publishes it
- City
- Date
- Documents requested
- How you want to receive the documents
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Which documents can be requested from a French administration?
- Any finished document it produced or received in its public-service work: a decision, report, study, minutes, correspondence, a file about you (article L. 311-1 of the French Code of Relations between the Public and the Administration). Some documents can be disclosed only to the person they concern, others are protected (defence secrecy, a third party's private life, an ongoing investigation); the administration then discloses the part that can be. Describe the documents as precisely as you can.
- What does access to French administrative documents cost?
- Consulting them on site is free, as is sending by e-mail a document available in electronic form. A paper copy may be charged, but not above the cost of reproduction and postage (article L. 311-9 of the French Code of Relations between the Public and the Administration); the administration may ask for payment before sending. Choose in the letter the form of access that suits you.
- What if the French administration does not answer the request for documents?
- After one month without an answer, the request is deemed refused. You then have two months to refer the matter to the Commission d'accès aux documents administratifs (CADA), free, through its online form or by post; this referral is compulsory before any action in the administrative court. DocMuse offers the letter referring the matter to the CADA, and UFC-Que Choisir also publishes a free model.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
Related documents
- Witness statement for court, model to copy by hand (France)
For someone giving written evidence in a civil case in France: a dispute between neighbours, at work or in the family, an accident. Article 202 of the French Code of Civil Procedure requires the statement to be written, dated and signed in the witness's own hand, so this document is not the statement itself but a model in French, filled with your details, to copy by hand on plain paper or on the official form Cerfa 11527, which is free and optional. It holds every compulsory statement. Enclose a copy of a signed ID document.
- Referral to the CADA after a refused document request (France)
For someone to whom a French administration refused a document, or did not answer within a month. The Commission d'accès aux documents administratifs (CADA) is approached free, preferably through the online form on its website. This letter, in French under French law, refers the matter by post: it names the administration, the date of the request, the documents and the answer received, and asks for a favourable opinion. Referral within two months of the refusal is compulsory before the administrative court.
- Sworn statement — attestation sur l’honneur (France)
For declaring in writing, on your own responsibility, a fact about yourself when an administration, employer, school, bank or landlord in France asks for it: family situation, lack of income, residence, a lost document, the accuracy of information. In French under French law, the statement identifies the declarant, sets out the facts, names the recipient if you wish and recalls the penalties for a false statement (article 441-7 of the French Criminal Code). For evidence in court, use the witness statement instead.
- Power of attorney for a specific act (France)
For asking someone to do one specific thing in your place when you cannot be there: collect a document, sign a lease or a contract, sell or buy a vehicle, represent you at an appointment. You describe the act, and the power covers that act only, until the date you choose (articles 1987 and 1989 of the French Civil Code). A voting proxy is made free on maprocuration.gouv.fr, and, for an act before a notary, the notary provides the power of attorney required. Signed by the principal, with a copy of their ID.
- Designation of a trusted person — personne de confiance (France)
For any adult who wants to name a relative, someone close or their GP as their trusted person: that person accompanies them in their dealings and medical appointments if they wish, and is consulted if they can no longer express their will (article L. 1111-6 of the French Public Health Code). The designation is written and co-signed by the person named; hospitals offer their own free form on admission. This French document is sold blank, filled in by hand, and revocable at any time.
- Revocation of a power of attorney, with notice to third parties (France)
For ending a power of attorney, general or for one act, given to a relative or anyone else. The French document holds two letters, sent the same day by registered post with proof of receipt: the revocation to the agent, asking for the original back and an account of what was done (articles 1993 and 2004 of the French Civil Code), and the notice to the bank or body that knows of the power. Without that second letter, third parties unaware of the revocation may still rely on the power (article 2005).