Certify French Criminal Record Extracts (Extrait de Casier Judiciaire) for use in the United States and abroad
Isarey provides specialist Apostille and attestation services to certify documents in France. We authenticate French Criminal Record Extracts required for submission to authorities in other countries or in support of visa and residency applications.
Criminal record certificates issued in the France can be authenticated for official use in countries which are signatories to the 
Hague Apostille Convention by obtaining an Apostille stamp from the Court of Appeal in Rennes (Cour d'appel de Rennes). This normally takes 1 - 2 weeks.
Extracts required for other countries must be legalized by the Legalization Office of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères). Non-Apostille countries include: Qatar - Kuwait - United Arab Emirates - Taiwan - Vietnam
Isarey will take care of the entire process for you. We offer individual assistance certifying your documents and a dedicated project manager to ensure that each process is carried out efficiently and securely.
We'll arrange an insured courier to collect your original certificate and then obtain all necessary apostilles, legalizations and certifications. We also provide notarized and certified translations into Spanish, French, Portuguese and other languages, so that your certificate is properly legalized and ready to submit in the country where you need to present it.
We arrange secure delivery by courier worldwide.
Submission within the European Union
French certificates of no criminal record do not require Apostilles when being submitted to other states of the European Union where the certificate is for a citizen of France and where the criminal record is clean. Non-French nationals may still require an Apostille. For further information, see:
Regulation (EU) 2016/1191
How to obtain a French criminal record certificate
French Criminal Background Checks can be obtained online. Certificates cannot be lawfully obtained by third parties. The certificate needed for submitting proof of no criminal record to authorities abroad and in visa applications is the Extrait de casier judiciaire (bulletin n°3).
Extrait de casier judiciaire (bulletin n°3)
French Criminal Record certificates can be obtained online by the applicant only (by law they cannot be obtained by third parties). Certificates are issued free of charge. As soon as your application has been processed, you will be emailed a link to obtain your answer. This digital certificate can then be used to obtain an apostille or legalization.
For applicants born in France or applying using FranceConnect, the certificate is provided within 24 hours, otherwise it can take 5 days after verification of your identity.
Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia and French Polynesia
To obtain a criminal record certificate, applicants born in Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia or French Polynesia should contact:
Registry of the Court (French)
Most authorities requiring criminal record certificates ask for a recent certificate (usually issued within the last three months). French certificates must have been issued within the last six months to be valid for legalization.
Certified translations of French Criminal Record Certificates
When presenting a criminal record certificate in a country which does not have French as an official language, then a certified translation may be required. The certified translation must meet the requirements of the destination country, so that a translation done locally in France may not be valid and may require additional authentication via legalization.
Isarey works with local notaries and sworn translators in a wide range of destination countries. We'll take care of the entire legalization and translation process, so that your certificates are correctly translated and ready to submit:
- BRAZIL: translations into Brazilian Portuguese must be certified by an Official Public Translator in Brazil ("Tradução juramentada")
- GERMANY: translations into German must be certified by an officially authorized and appointed sworn translator.
- SPAIN: translator must be authorised by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs ("Traducción Jurada")
- ITALY: translations must be authenticated by a Court Clerk or by a Notary Public in Italy
- PORTUGAL: translations into Portuguese can be certified in Portugal by a local notary
For further information about our French Apostille and legalization service for Criminal Record Extracts, use our online quotation form or send us an email. We will get back to you directly with a quotation and details of how to proceed: