Volunteering associations

Verified 13 June 2025 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Do you want to participate in missions of general interest? Voluntary associations are one form of civic service. It is possible in the fields of education, environment, humanitarian, sports, etc. You must be at least 25 years old. Missions are compensated. We present you with the information you need to know.

Volunteering allows you to carry out missions of general interest in the following 10 areas:

  • Health
  • Education
  • Culture and recreation
  • Sports
  • Environment
  • Memory and citizenship
  • International development and humanitarian action
  • Emergency Crisis Response
  • European citizenship.

You cannot perform religious or political missions.

The missions are proposed by the following organizations:

  • Associations approved by the State
  • Foundations recognized as being in the public interest and approved by the State.

For example, an association working on behalf of persons with disabilities or on the rehabilitation of prisoners.

You cannot perform a task normally performed by a permanent employee or an agent of the organization hosting you.

But you can combine the volunteer leadership and volunteer roles within the same organization.

Missions may be performed in France or abroad.

You must meet several conditions.

Age

You must have at least 25 years.

Please note

If you are between 18 and 25 years old, an organization can accept you if it has a waiver obtained from the Civic Service Agency or if it requests it.

Nationality

You must be in one of the following situations:

  • French
  • European national (from a country of the European Economic Area or Switzerland)
  • Foreigners who have been legally resident in France for at least 1 year.

However, if you have not lived in France for at least 1 year, you can apply for voluntary association if you have one of the following residence permits:

  • Temporary residence card or visa bearing the student endorsement
  • Temporary residence card with mention of "private and family life"
  • General multi-annual residence permit
  • Residence card of a foreigner recognized as a refugee (or a receipt of recognition by theOfpra: titleContent).

Please note

In the case of exchange of volunteers between France and another country, the residence requirement does not apply.

Health

A medical check-up prior to the subscription of your volunteer contract is mandatory.

A medical certificate should establish that there is no contraindication to the engagement.

You must apply to a recognized organization.

To find out which organizations are recognized as voluntary associations, you should contact a local civic service representative.

You can also contact the Civic Service Agency.

Who shall I contact

A volunteer mission lasts for 6 to 24 months.

You're signing a contract.

Your mission may be extended (by agreeable to your contract), up to 36 months.

You can perform your assignment with multiple organizations and on a discontinuous basis.

FYI  

In the event of an early termination of your contract with an organization, you can no longer sign a new contract with that organization.

The weekly duration of a mission is between 24 and 48 hours, spread over a maximum of 6 days.

Please note

You can be called up for more than 35 hours on time, provided that these hours are recovered over the following weeks or by additional days off.

Your host organization must sign you up for 2 mandatory training, including one within the first 3 months of your mission.

These courses include:

  • Training First aid Citizen (gestures that save)
  • Training civic.

Civic and civic training lasts at least 2 days.

It focuses on business issues and Republican values (e.g. anti-discrimination, gender equality, democracy, sustainable development).

The content and conduct of such training shall be determined by the host organization, which may organize it internally or call on an external organization.

Please note

Your host organization may offer you additional training.

You benefit from a monthly allowance.

The amount varies, depending on the time spent on your missions, between:

  • Minimum: €127.06 crude (either €114.95 net)
  • Maximum: €850.78 crude (either €769.70 net).

You can benefit from a aid in kind (e.g., meals, transportation). The aid may not exceed 50% the amount of your allowance.

FYI  

An additional allowance may be paid when the volunteer performs his/her duties in a overseas department or a overseas collectivity, if it is not his place of residence.

Your allowance is exempt from income tax.

You are covered by health insurance.

The organization hosting you must declare you and pay the social security contributions.

In case of sick leave (prescribed by a doctor), your volunteer allowance is maintained.

However, you do not receive daily social security benefits.

Your volunteering is considered for your retirement.

Your rights are calculated depending on the contributions paid by the organization hosting you.

You are granted annual leave of 2 working days per month actual service.

The payment of unemployment benefits is suspended for the duration of your mission. Payment resumes when the mission is completed.

The mission has no impact on the amount and duration of your unemployment benefits.

At the beginning and end of your mission, you must update your situation with France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi).

FYI  

If you terminate your employment contract in order to volunteer, such termination shall be considered as a lawful resignation by France Travail. You will be entitled to unemployment insurance at the end of your employment.

Payments of the active solidarity income (RSA) or activity bonus are suspended for the duration of the mission.

They resume at the end of the mission, if you still meet the requirements (the volunteer allowance is not taken into account).

At the beginning and end of your mission, you need to update your situation with the Caf: titleContent or the MSA: titleContent.

Family Allowance Fund (Caf) online

MSA - Special spaces

You continue to collect the AAH.

The assignment does not affect the amount of your AAH.

If your scholarship awarded on the basis of social criteria, being voluntary has no impact on its conditions of award or on its amount.

The compensation is not taken into account in the calculation of your grant. You continue to see it.

Your volunteer time may be taken into account when calculating seniority in the public service (State, territorial and hospital).

Please note

You can apply for a certificate of civic service if you have completed a mission of 6 months or more. Talk to your referral.

You can request a certificate of voluntary service if you have completed a 6 months or more.

Talk to your referral.

Your volunteer time may be taken into account for the length of professional experience required for a validation of experience.

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