(VAE)

Verified 13 August 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)

Do you want your experience (professional or not) to be recognized by a professional title or a diploma? Validation of prior learning (VAE) may interest you. This recognition can allow you to retrain, develop your career or get a better income. If you are an employee, you can ask your employer for 48 hours of leave. We explain the regulations you need to know.

Warning  

France VAE is not again open for public officials. They should contact their usual HR contacts.

The VAE is a way to have professional or extra-professional experience recognized (examples: volunteering, union responsibilities, electoral mandate, high-level athletes, family caregivers...).)

This recognition requires obtaining a professional certification registered in the national directory of professional qualifications (RNCP) :

  • Diploma
  • Professional title
  • Certificate of Professional Qualification (CQP).

It also makes it possible to acquire one or more skill blocks of these professional certifications.

This professional or extra-professional experience must have a direct report with the certification in question.

Example :

The wife of a craftsman, who is responsible for accounting, can obtain a professional title of accounting secretary via the VAE.

It is no longer necessary to demonstrate at least 1 year of experience in relation to the certification in question.

Warning  

The rules for obtaining certain certifications may prohibit their access through the VAE: a medical degree cannot, for example, be obtained by the VAE.

Anyone can have their experiences recognized by a professional certification.

Indeed, you can engage a VAE approach whatever:

  • Your status (examples: private sector employee, jobseeker, volunteer, caregiver, public official)
  • Your age
  • Your nationality
  • Your level of training.

1Submit your application

The 1era step consists in submit your application via the platform France VAE.

One search engine on France VAE allows to find the desired degree and to launch the application procedure immediately.

Public service for the validation of experience acquired (called France VAE)

Please note

If the certification is not available on France VAE or if you are a public official, the process must be carried out directly with the certifier.

In this case, you must submit your feasibility file and then, possibly, your validation file, according to the rules established by this organization.

To identify the relevant certifier, you can consult the certification sheet in the RNCP which indicates the details of the certifier.

2Be accompanied in the validation of acquired knowledge (optional)

From the beginning, and throughout your journey, you can benefit from support.

This accompaniment is optional.

The coach is responsible for guiding you through the essential steps of your VAE journey.

He will work with you to develop a coaching program to:

  • Guide you in the drafting of the feasibility file and then the validation file
  • Prepare for the tests before the jury.

Depending on your needs, it can also offer:

  • Complementary training
  • Periods of simulation in a professional environment to acquire skills specific to the certification in question
  • Support in the search for funding.

A list of accompanying persons is available on the platform.

Public service for the validation of experience acquired (called France VAE)

Please note

If you carry out your approach outside France VAE, you can:

  • Search for an accompanist among the referenced organizations My Training Account
  • Get closer to your employer, if they plan to take care of VAE support.

In case of difficulty, you can get closer to a Council Relay Point.

3Admissibility phase of the application

This phase begins with sending the feasibility file to the certifier.

This file traces your career and must put and must link your experiences and your activities with the repository of the certification targeted.

FYI  

You can only submit one application per full certification per calendar year. In addition, you cannot submit more than 3 applications for different certifications in the same calendar year.

The certifier examines your feasibility file and issues a notice of admissibility or inadmissibility. This notice determines whether or not you can continue your journey.

4Write the validation file

Once the eligibility is acquired, you can continue your VAE journey and write the validation file for the jury.

The validation file describes the activities carried out, the situations and the environment, the skills and knowledge mobilized during your experiences (work, training, volunteering).

During this drafting work, the tour leader helps you organize this file.

You send the validation file to the certifier.

5Interview with the jury

It is the certifier who sets the modalities and the date of presentation before the jury.

This presentation takes place before the end of the 3th the month following the submission of the validation dossier.

Appearing before the jury may take the form of an oral interview and/or one or more professional situations during which you show the jury how you perform certain tasks.

After this presentation, the jury decides whether or not to award the diploma.

The final decision shall be transmitted by the certifier within 15 days.

FYI  

The jury may also decide to partially award you the diploma. This is the case when the jury invites you to follow its recommendations (examples: find additional training, gain more experience).

Your VAE journey can be funded in several ways.

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Via your CPF

You can mobilize your Personal Training Account (PTA) and the abundances several actors (examples: your employer, theOpco, the Regional Council).

Please note

You must participate in the financing up to €150. If you benefit from a abundance of your employer, you are not affected by this obligation.

Via your employer

The employer may also cover the costs of the VAE under the skills development plan.

Via the Transitions Pro association

One Transitions Pro association also referred to as the regional interbranch joint commission may finance the VAE on the basis of a lump sum of €2,000.

You can, or not, mobilize your Personal Training Account (PTA).

Transitions Pro can refuse your funding request in particular when the demand does not match its priorities or when not all demands can be met at the same time.

To be covered by the CPF, the jury fees must be included in the estimate of the tour leader. For these costs to be covered by the CPF, it is therefore necessary to be part of a guided journey.

Thus, if you are an autonomous candidate, you cannot mobilize your CPF to finance the jury costs. In this case, you must seek personal financing or support from your employer, for example.

If you take a VAE approach at your initiative by all or part of your working time, you can request leave from your employer to participate in and/or prepare for the assessment session.

Please note

For public servants, the rules for the implementation of VAE leave (length, notice period)...) are laid down by specific provisions for each part of the civil service.

When to apply for VAE leave?

You send your employer a written request for leave of absence for VAE leave no later than 30 days before the start of VAE's actions.

What should be included in the VAE leave request?

The VAE leave application states:

  • The professional certification targeted
  • The dates, nature and duration of the actions allowing you to validate the achievements of your experience
  • The name of the certifying department or body.

You attach any document certifying the admissibility of your application.

How long does the employer have to respond to the VAE leave request?

The employer has 15 calendar days upon receipt of your request to respond in writing.

What response can the employer give to the VAE leave request?

They can either accept your leave request or postpone it for service reasons (overwork).

This postponement may not exceed one month from the date of the request.

Please note

Failure to respond within 15 days calendars worth agreement.

How long is the VAE leave?

This leave is for a period of 48 hours per evaluation session.

Please note

This period may be extended by convention or collective agreement.

What remuneration during the VAE leave?

Your pay is maintained for the duration of the leave.

What obligation after the VAE leave?

You must present at the request of your employer any proof provided by the certifier or your tour guide attesting to your participation in the actions of VAE.

Different organizations can help you build your VAE project:

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region