Apostille Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates in France for use in the United States and abroad
We can obtain apostille stamps to certify extracts and copies of French birth, marriage and death certificates (Acte d'état civil: Acte de naissance, de reconnaissance, de mariage ou de décès) from the Court of Appeal.
Authorities of countries that have signed the 
Hague Apostille Convention will recognise the Apostille directly as confirmation of authenticity. The Apostille process normally takes 1-2 weeks from receipt of the original document.
When required for submission to countries that do not recognise Apostilles (e.g. Qatar - Kuwait - United Arab Emirates - Taiwan - Vietnam), we legalize original certificates at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then at the embassy of the recipient country in Paris.
Apostilled and legalized certificates are delivered to clients worldwide by secure courier.
To legalize a French Civil Status Certificates, we need an original certificate issued by the Town Hall (Marie) for acts registered in France, or by Service Central d'État Civil - births, marriages or deaths registered by French consulates abroad.
The certificate must have been issued within the last 3 months.
To obtain an Apostille on a French Family Book (Livret de famille), you can send us a certified copy (copie certifiée) of the original book made at a French town hall, notary or consulate abroad.
Extracts from French civil status records should not require an Apostille Stamp if being submitted to the authorities of another EU country.
Submission within the European Union
French certificates of civil status (marriage, death and birth certificates) do not require an Apostille stamp when required for submission in another Member State of the European Union. For further information, see:
Regulation (EU) 2016/1191
Civil status certificates (multilingual extracts from the civil status registers)
French birth, marriage and death certificates) issued in accordance with the conventions of the International Commission on Civil and Civil Status should not require Apostille Stamps when being submitted to one of the following countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cape Verde, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey.
How to obtain a copy of a French Act of Civil Status
We can obtain French death certificates and short form birth and marriage certificates for clients outside France requiring apostilles, but long form birth and marriage certificates must be requested directly by the parties named in the certificate or immediate family.
If you need to obtain a certificate for an apostille and need advice on how to obtain a valid copy, please contact us.
French Birth Certificate
There are 3 types of Birth Certificate (Acte de naissance) available in France:
Full copy (Copie intégrale) - a long form certificate that includes all the information available in the civil register, including given names, surname, sex, date and place of birth and details of parents. This is the type of certificate required for most legal procedures, including visa and residency applications.
Extract with details of parents (Extrait d’acte de naissance avec filiation ) - a long form certificate with a summary of the details available in the civil register, including details of parents. A standard Plurilingual form is also available with an official translation into other European languages (may take longer to receive).
Extract without details of parents (Extrait d’acte de naissance sans filiation) - a short form certificate with a summary of the details available in the civil register, without details of parents.
The full copy and extract with details of parents can only be obtained by the person named or immediate family. An extract without details of parents can be obtained by anyone without justification.
Birth Certificates can be obtained directly from the town hall of the municipality where the birth was registered. For most municipalities, certificates can be ordered online and will be delivered to the applicant by post; otherwise, applications can be made by mail by writing to the town hall directly. Certificates are issued free of charge, normally within a few days (20 days for births registered abroad).
Birth certificates will include marginal endorsements added automatically by the civil registry to reference subsequent relevant events such as a change of name or gender, marriage or death.
- French nationals born in France ( FranceConnect required)
Apply online (Births in France) - French nationals born outside France (e.g. Tunisia, Algeria)
Apply online (Births outside France) - List of French town halls for postal applications
French Town Halls (Search)
- French nationals born in France ( FranceConnect required)
French Marriage Certificate
There are 3 types of Marriage Certificate in France (Acte de mariage) available in France:
Full copy (Copie intégrale)
Extract with details of parents (Extrait d’acte de mariage avec filiation)
Short form Extract without details of parents (Extrait d’acte de mariage sans filiation).
Certificates will include marginal endorsements made automatically by the civil registry, referencing relevant subsequent events such as a divorce).
Marriage certificates are issued free of charge and take a few days to arrive (marriages in France) or 20 days (marriages outside France)
- Marriages in France
Apply online (Marriages in France) - Marriages outside France
Apply online (Marriages outside France) - List of French town halls for postal or in-person applications
French Town Halls (Search)
- Marriages in France
French Death Certificate
Death Certificates in France (Acte de décès - Copie intégrale) are issued free of charge and available without restriction. Applications for copies can be made online or by post to the town hall where the death took place.r
- Deaths occurring in France
Apply online (Deaths in France) - Deaths occurring outside France
Apply online (Deaths outside France) - List of French town halls for postal or in-person applications
French Town Halls (Search)
- Deaths occurring in France
Certified translations of French death, marriage and birth certificates
When presenting French marriage, death and birth certificates and other vital records in countries outside the EU which do 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, to be valid, a translation done locally in France must be certified with an additional apostille. To obtain a French apostille on a translation of an official document, the translator certifying the translation must be registered with the Court of Appeal (traducteur agréé).
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 service and about legalizaing birth, death and marriage certificates issued in France for use in the United States and abroad, use our online quotation form or send us an email us. We will get back to you directly with a quotation and details of how to proceed: