Care Sheet

Verified 01 October 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)

The care sheet proves the reality of medical expenses. It can be in electronic version (Vitale card) or paper. The care sheet is essential to be refunded. The refund procedure differs depending on whether it is an electronic or paper version. We explain the rules to know.

Please note

Health insurance partially reimburses your healthcare expenses. We must therefore think about the install of teletransmission with your mutual.

Vital Card

The Vitale card allows the healthcare professional to send an electronic care sheet to your health insurance organization.

You give your health professional your Vitale card.

The health professional records on his computer the information (your identifier, date of the act, amount of fees...) allowing to note the billing of care and thus to trigger their reimbursement.

It inserts your Vital Card into its reader and transmits an electronic care sheet to your health insurance organization. That's what we call the remote transmission.

Please note

Your minor child may be attached as a right holder to your Vitale card.

So you have no steps to take to be refunded.

FYI  

In the event of failure to issue the electronic care sheet, the healthcare professional shall draw up a duplicate (double) paper copy of the care sheet.

The reimbursement period is in principle one week without the need to send a care sheet.

This period is valid whether you depend on the general scheme (CPAM: titleContent) or the agricultural scheme (MSA: titleContent).

The refunded amount is paid into your bank account.

Before going on holiday abroad, you need to take certain precautions for a care under conditions if you get sick.

Paper Sheet

The paper care sheet is essential to be reimbursed if you have forgotten your Vital Card or if the healthcare professional is not equipped for the Vital Card.

There are several scenarios:

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General scenario

If the healthcare professional has given you a paper care sheet, you have 2 years maximum to send it to the Health Insurance and get you reimbursed. This period corresponds to the period of validity of the treatment sheet.

Disease

If your reimbursements concern a disease, the period starts on the date of the treatment and expires at the end of the same calendar quarter, 2 years later.

Example :

If you see your doctor on April 23, 2026, you can send your care sheet until June 30, 2028 (end of 2th quarter 2028).

Maternity

If your reimbursements concern maternity, this period of 2 years starts on the day of the 1stre medical confirmation of your pregnancy.

The rules vary depending on the plan you depend on: general plan (CPAM: titleContent) or the agricultural scheme (MSA: titleContent).

CPAM

If you send the treatment sheet to your CPAM, this is done by postage-paid postal mail. The CPAM tells you by your postal code where to send your care sheet.

You can also drop it off directly at a reception point in your department.

FYI  

In the event of a lost or unreceived care sheet, you can ask the healthcare professional for a duplicate (double) of the care sheet.

If you have been prescribed a prescription, you must attach it to the care sheet to be reimbursed. This is the case when the care or products require a medical prescription.

If your treatment sheet concerns an amount less than €100, it is possible to send it via the application Ameli account only on smartphone by accessing the section My steps then care sheet - doctor. If the paper care sheets have been transmitted via the app Ameli account, there is no point in sending them to his CPAM. You just have to keep them for 27 months.

Reminder

You have 2 years maximum to send it to your primary health insurance fund (CPAM) and have it reimbursed.

MSA

You can send your treatment form by post.

Who shall I contact

The rules vary depending on the plan you depend on: general plan (CPAM: titleContent) or the agricultural scheme (MSA: titleContent).

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CPAM

You can have an indication of the estimated processing time of your request from your email account:

  • Heading " Steps »
  • Then " Other approaches’
  • Then " Consult the processing times of my health insurance fund ».

Ameli online

You can also get it from the ameli smartphone app available on theApp Store and Google Play.

MSA

You can log in to your space to know the processing time of your request:

MSA - Private spaces

Before going on holiday abroad, you need to take certain precautions for a care under conditions if you get sick.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • Health Info Rights

    Telephone line created by a collective of user associations to provide legal or social information related to health

    By phone

    01 53 62 40 30

    Price of a normal communication

    Open service:

    • Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2pm to 6pm
    • Tuesday and Thursday from 2pm to 8pm.

    By email

    https://www.france-assos-sante.org/sante-info-droits/

    The maximum response time by email is 15 days.