France: templates and forms

For a passenger whose flight departing from the EU, or arriving in the EU on an EU airline, arrived three hours or more late, was cancelled less than fourteen days before departure, or who was denied boarding. You ask the airline for the flat-rate compensation of €250, €400 or €600 per passenger under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, and for your expenses. Without a satisfactory answer, mediation has been compulsory before going to a French court since 7 February 2026. The airline's online form works too. In French.

For a traveller whose package holiday (flight and hotel, tour, resort) bought in France did not go as planned: a different hotel, missing services, cancelled transfers. The organiser and the retailer are strictly liable for performance of the package (Article L. 211-16 of the French Tourism Code); you ask for a price reduction for the period of non-conformity and damages (Article L. 211-17). The letter states whether you reported the problems on the spot. In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt after your return.

For a subscriber to a gym, magazine, streaming service or club in France who wants to stop. As you choose: cancellation at the end of the term with the contract's notice; free cancellation at any time when the business did not remind you, one to three months before the end of the term, of your right not to renew (the loi Chatel, Article L. 215-1 of the French Consumer Code); or cancellation for a legitimate reason the contract provides for. For a subscription taken out online, the 'cancel' button is often quicker. In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt.

For a private policyholder in France who wants to leave an insurer or mutual insurer. After a year, car insurance and a tenant's home insurance are cancelled by the new insurer, and a policy taken out online can also be cancelled online. This letter offers, as you choose: cancellation at any time, after a year, of another policy, such as supplementary health cover, effective one month after receipt (Article L. 113-15-2 of the French Insurance Code; Article L. 221-10-2 of the Mutual Insurance Code); cancellation at the annual renewal date; or cancellation of loan insurance at any time, with the lender's approval of the new policy (loi Lemoine). In French.

For closing the voluntary winding-up of a French SAS, SASU, SARL or EURL once the assets are realised and the debts paid: approval of the final liquidation accounts, discharge of the liquidator and of their mandate, sharing of the balance among the members, custody of the records, finding that the liquidation is closed. The decision is taken by the sole member, the meeting or a deed signed by all. The liquidator then files the accounts and applies for deregistration online on the one-stop business formalities portal, after the legal notice. In French.

For someone who must repay a benefit paid in error (an overpayment) and cannot afford it, in mainland France or the overseas departments other than Mayotte. Without disputing the debt, the French letter asks for a full or partial write-off, or a payment plan, setting out the household's income, outgoings and situation; the law allows the claim to be reduced or cancelled for hardship, except for fraud or false declarations. To dispute the overpayment itself, an appeal is needed instead. Sold blank, to complete by hand, social security number included. Sent by registered post.

For a parent, or an adult pupil, who needs a certificate of school attendance (for the CAF, an employer, a grant body), a leaving certificate after a move, the transfer of the school file to the new school, or a copy of the school report book. The certificate is often a free download from the school's digital workspace (ENT), and the report book from ÉduConnect: check there first. In French, the letter to the head identifies the pupil, the document wanted and who it is for.

The French labour ministry's site code.travail.gouv.fr offers free model letters ending the probation period, for the employee and for the employer. This document is a letter by which the employer or the employee ends the employment contract during the probation period (période d'essai) in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte: it says who is ending it, refers to the notice period of article L. 1221-25 (employer) or L. 1221-26 (employee) of the Labour Code and gives the end date. No reason has to be given. Hand it over against a signed receipt or send it by registered post with proof of receipt, before the probation period ends. In French.

A rupture conventionnelle is concluded and approved free of charge online, through the French labour ministry's TéléRC service, and the ministry's site code.travail.gouv.fr has a free model request for a meeting; this document is only the letter that proposes one. For an employee on an open-ended contract (CDI) in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte, it asks for a meeting with a view to ending the contract by mutual agreement (articles L. 1237-11 to L. 1237-16 of the Labour Code), without amounting to a resignation, and can give a preferred end date. Send it by registered post with proof of receipt or hand it over against a receipt. In French.

For a broadband, landline or mobile customer in France who wants to complain about a failing service or a bill, or to end the contract. As you choose: a complaint, a termination, which takes effect at the latest ten days after receipt (Article L. 224-39 of the French Consumer Code), or a termination without penalty after a change to the contract, within four months (Article L. 224-33). If you switch operator and keep your number, the new operator ends the old contract for you. In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt.

For stopping a creditor's direct debits from your account in France: a subscription, a supplier, a lender. The document, in French under French law, holds two letters to send the same day: the revocation of the SEPA mandate, to the creditor, and the opposition, to your bank, which then refuses every debit from that creditor (article L. 133-7 of the French Monetary and Financial Code). A debit presented afterwards is no longer authorised and is refunded. Revoking the mandate does not end the contract.

For someone in hardship or poverty who cannot pay their income tax, property tax or council tax, or the surcharges added to it, even with extra time. The request can be made free through the secure messaging of your personal space on impots.gouv.fr. This French letter to the tax office is for sending it by post: the tax concerned, the hardship or poverty, the household's income and outgoings, and the full or partial remission sought (article L. 247 of the French Tax Procedures Book).

For a taxpayer whose complaint, request for remission or request for time to pay was rejected in whole or in part by the tax office, and who asks for a fresh look. The referral is free and can be made by simple e-mail; the conciliator's contact details are usually given on the refusal and on impots.gouv.fr. This French letter recalls the request, the decision disputed and your reasons. The referral stops neither payment nor the deadlines for going to court.

For a consumer in France whose order never arrived, arrived late or shows as 'delivered' without being received. The letter goes to the seller, not the carrier: the seller answers for the goods until you receive them. You choose either to give the seller formal notice to deliver within an extra period or, once that period has passed, to notify the end of the contract; the seller must then refund everything paid within 14 days (Articles L. 216-6 and L. 216-7 of the French Consumer Code). In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt.

For a consumer in France whose faulty item was not repaired or replaced: the seller refused, did nothing within thirty days, the defect persists after repair, or it is too serious to wait. You choose between ending the sale, with the price refunded against return of the item, and a price reduction while keeping it (Article L. 217-14 of the French Consumer Code). In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt, with the proof of purchase and your first request.

For a consumer in France who bought online, by phone, from a catalogue or from a doorstep seller and has changed their mind: you withdraw within 14 days without giving reasons under Article L. 221-18 of the French Consumer Code, and ask for everything you paid back within 14 days. The model withdrawal form, which the seller must give you free, works too, and since 19 June 2026 online shops must offer a withdrawal function. A letter in French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt or by e-mail so that you keep proof.

For a business that had opted to pay VAT and wants to return to the VAT exemption scheme (franchise en base), its turnover staying below the thresholds. The withdrawal is made at the end of the two-year period (article 293 F of the French General Tax Code), free through the secure messaging of the professional space or by this French letter to the business tax office. Ceasing business altogether is declared free on the one-stop business formalities portal. Registered post with proof of receipt is advised.

For a landlord in France ending the lease at its term: at least six months ahead for an unfurnished home, three months for a furnished one. The French letter states the ground — taking the home back to live in, with the beneficiary and the relationship; sale, with the price and terms, which are an offer to the tenant; or a legitimate and serious reason — and lists the enclosures, including the information notice of the arrêté of 13 December 2017. By registered letter with proof of receipt, commissaire de justice, or by hand against a receipt.

For the annual ordinary general meeting of a French SAS or SARL, or the sole member's decision in an SASU or EURL: approval of the year's accounts, allocation of the profit or loss with the legal reserve, statement of the dividends of the three previous years, related-party agreements where there are any, powers to file. To be held within six months of the year end. The accounts are then filed online on the one-stop business formalities portal within a month of approval. In French.

A letter for an employee whose contract has ended in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte and who has not received the documents due: the certificat de travail (article L. 1234-19 of the Labour Code), the certificate for France Travail, the public employment service (article R. 1234-9), and the final-settlement receipt (article L. 1234-20). It lists what is missing, sets a deadline and says that, failing that, the employment tribunal's urgent-applications judge will be asked to order it. Send it by registered post with proof of receipt. In French.

For recording the move of the registered office of a French SAS, SASU, SARL or EURL, by decision of the sole member, the members' meeting or a deed signed by all, or for ratifying a move decided by the manager. The minutes give the old and new address, the date it takes effect and the new wording of the article of the articles of association. The change is then declared online on the one-stop business formalities portal, with the legal notice and proof of the new premises. Does not cover a move abroad, or a decision of an SAS president whom the articles empower to move the office. In French.

For recording the appointment of a new president of a French SAS or SASU, or manager of an SARL or EURL, the end of the previous one's office (removal, resignation or end of term), or both, by decision of the sole member, the meeting or a deed signed by all. It gives the effective date, term and pay, and the person appointed signs to accept. The change is then declared online on the one-stop business formalities portal, with the legal notice and the new officer's declaration of no conviction. In French.

For deciding the early dissolution of a French SAS, SASU, SARL or EURL and its voluntary winding-up: date of dissolution, appointment of the liquidator, their powers and pay, the address of the liquidation. The decision is taken by the sole member, the meeting or a deed signed by all, and is then declared online on the one-stop business formalities portal, with the legal notice. The winding-up ends with a second set of minutes, sold separately. Does not cover a universal transfer of assets of a company owned by another company, or insolvency proceedings. In French.

For closing a current account or a savings account at a French bank. If you are moving to another bank, its free account-switching service (aide à la mobilité bancaire) can do it for you. Otherwise this letter, in French under French law, asks for the account to be closed and the card, chequebook and overdraft ended, the balance transferred to the account you choose and a closing statement sent. Closing is free (article L. 312-1-7 of the French Monetary and Financial Code). Send it by registered post or hand it in at the branch.