Appeal to the Administrative Court of Appeal (CAA)

Verified 20 November 2025 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

You have received a judgment from the Administrative Court and you consider that the solution given to your dispute is not in accordance with the facts of your case or the applicable legal rules? You can appeal the judgment to an Administrative Court of Appeal (ACA). We present you the information to know.

You can appeal to an Administrative Court of Appeal against all judgments issued by the administrative tribunal, except for a decision rendered in 1st and last resort or for a decision to be appealed only before the Council of State.

The query appeal must not merely repeat the arguments developed before the administrative tribunal and must include a critical of the contested judgment.

The appeal is not suspensive.

La decision which is the subject of appeal must therefore apply, except as provided by law (for example, for a deferred-suspended).

However, you can ask the Administrative Court of Appeal to postpone the execution of the decision which is the subject of the appeal, pending its judgment.

For this, you must present a query distinct the appeal, accompanied by a copy of this appeal.

FYI  

So that the stay of execution from judgment or accepted, you must submit means serious enough to justify your request.

The time limit for appeal is set out in the notification of the contested decision.

The deadline varies depending on where you live and the nature of the decision:

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You live in metropolitan France

The delay varies depending on the nature of your call:

General case

You have 2 months to appeal after notification of the judgment of the Administrative Tribunal.

For an emergency referral

You have 15 days to appeal after notification of the judgment of the Administrative Tribunal.

You live overseas

The delay varies depending on the nature of your call:

General case

You have 3 months to appeal after notification of the judgment of the Administrative Tribunal.

For an emergency referral

You have 1 month and 15 days to appeal after notification of the judgment of the Administrative Tribunal.

You live abroad

The delay varies depending on the nature of your call:

General case

You have 4 months to appeal after notification of the judgment of the Administrative Tribunal.

For an emergency referral

You have 2 months and 15 days to appeal after notification of the judgment of the Administrative Tribunal.

FYI  

If the appeal period is less than 2 months, it must be mentioned in the notification of the judgment. Otherwise, the applicable deadline is 2 months.

Yes, it is mandatory to hire a lawyer to appeal to the administrative court of appeal, unless your appeal concerns a dispute over highway traffic ticket.

Who shall I contact

Depending on your income and the value of your wealth, you can apply for legal aid.

The way to deposit the query varies depending on whether it is filed by you or your lawyer:

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By yourself

You can file your request in several ways:

Online

You can submit your request via the online service Citizen Removal :

Citizens' telemedicine (appeal to the administrative court)

The request includes the following items :

  • Your surname, first names and address
  • The purpose of the request
  • The precise statement of the facts and means
  • The legal arguments that seem to you to show that the court's decision is irregular or does not give the right solution to the dispute before it
  • The statement of the conclusions submitted to the judge.

You must also attach to your request a copy of the judgment which you are challenging.

On site

The request may be filed with the graft of the administrative court of appeal concerned.

Who shall I contact

The request must be signed and includes the following items :

  • Your surname, first names and address
  • The purpose of the request
  • The precise statement of the facts and means
  • The legal arguments that seem to you to show that the court's decision is irregular or does not give the right solution to the dispute before it
  • The statement of the conclusions submitted to the judge.

You must also attach to your request a copy of the judgment which you are challenging.

By mail

The request may be addressed to graft of the administrative court of appeal concerned by post, preferably by RAR: titleContent.

Who shall I contact

The request must be signed and includes the following items :

  • Your surname, first names and address
  • The purpose of the request
  • The precise statement of the facts and means
  • The legal arguments that seem to you to show that the court's decision is irregular or does not give the right solution to the dispute before it
  • The statement of the conclusions submitted to the judge.

You must also attach to your request a copy of the judgment which you are challenging.

By your lawyer

Your lawyer must transmit your query signed via the online service Removal.

But if the lawyer is not yet registered in the online service Removal, it may send the request by any means.

The request includes the following items :

  • Your surname, first names and address
  • The purpose of the request
  • The precise statement of the facts and means
  • The legal arguments that seem to you to show that the court's decision is irregular or does not give the right solution to the dispute before it
  • The statement of the conclusions submitted to the judge.

It must also attach to your request a copy of the judgment which you are challenging.

In principle, an appeal to the Administrative Court of Appeal is free of charge.

However, you must get a lawyer and pay his fees (except for disputes relating to highway traffic ticket).

Depending on your income and the value of your wealth, you can apply for legal aid.

Instruction

The instruction begins as soon as the graft recorded the query.

One rapporteur is appointed by the president of the court to follow the investigation. But the case is being studied by several magistrates.

The rapporteur sets the time limit for parties to produce their briefs.

The rapporteur may also ask the parties to attach any relevant documents to the resolution of the dispute.

The hearing is based on written submissions presenting the arguments of the two parties.

In addition to the written instruction, a oral instruction session can be organized.

The oral instruction session allows to have a adversarial debate on the factors relevant to the decision in the dispute.

When the investigation is completed, the case is placed on a judgment session.

The chairman of the panel of judges shall prescription the date from which the statement is closed.

Conduct of the hearing

The chairman of the panel shall open the hearing and give the floor to the rapporteur, to present the case.

The rapporteur recalled the content of the query and presents the arguments of each of the parties.

Then the floor is given to the public rapporteur who delivers his conclusions and proposes the solution which he considers most appropriate.

At the end of the hearing, the case is deliberate.

FYI  

If you are represented by a lawyer, he or she may make oral submissions after the public rapporteur has delivered his or her Opinion. But he cannot develop new arguments outside those presented before the hearing.

Deliberate and judgmental

Judges debate outside the presence of the public rapporteur and parties.

The judgment is notified to the parties or lawyers, and then made public.

The decision of the judges is sent by registered letter in a a few weeks (or forwarded to your lawyer).

The judgment is reasoned, that is to say, it indicates the reasons for the judges' decision.

Yes, you can make a appeal in cassation or form a third party opposition against the decision of the administrative court of appeal.

It is also possible to make a action for rectification of material error where the decision rendered contains a clerical error which may have influenced the judgment of the case.

Ways and deadlines of appeal are indicated in the letter of notification of the judge's decision.