Automated fingerprint file (Faed)
Verified 30 January 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Additional cases ?
What is the Faed: titleContent ? It is a police file that lists the fingerprints (fingers) and palms (palm of hand) of missing and/or wanted persons. In particular, it facilitates the identification of the authors of crimes or offenses. Only authorized civil servants and military personnel can access this file. The person whose data is stored at the Faed may request their communication, rectification and erasure. Here is the information you need to know.
The Faed: titleContent shall be used to facilitate the following actions:
- Research and identification of authors of crimes and offenses
- Pursuit, statement and trial of cases relating to a crime and/or an offense
- Identification of persons detained in a penitentiary institution
- Search for missing persons in disturbing or suspicious circumstances
- Search and discovery of a victim of a infringement or a natural disaster
- Search and identification of a person whose death is suspected
- Identification of deceased or discovered seriously injured persons whose identity is unknown
- Identification of a person detained after an apprehension that took place during a identity check or control of the residence permit.
In concrete terms, this file makes it possible to compare fingerprints found on a person, on the site of a infringement or a disappearance with those registered there. For example, an imprint taken from a fractured window is compared to the Faed to determine whether it corresponds to an individual already known to the police.
Only certain people can be registered with the Faed. If there is any doubt as to whether this file should be entered, the person who thinks it should be entered may apply to the national forensic service.
Who can be registered with Faed?
Persons whose information may be recorded at Faed: titleContent are as follows:
- Person involved in the context of an investigation or statement for one crime or a offense
- A person who is the subject of an investigation or investigation during which the police search for the causes of death or disappearance
- Person involved in an investigation or investigation following the discovery of a critically injured person
- Person detained in a penitentiary institution
- A person who is a victim or is presumed to be a victim of abduction or kidnapping
- Someone whose disappearance is unexplained.
Warning
It is impossible to oppose the registration of data on the Faed.
How can I get information on a possible registration for Faed?
To obtain information on a possible registration to the Faed or to obtain the data collected, the data subject may make a request to written request the national forensic service.
This request must be accompanied by an identity document (identity card, passport, etc.).
The request is free of charge.
Who shall I contact
Only the public servants and authorized and assigned military personnel in the following services have access to the Faed:
- Forensic services of the National Police
- Central Criminal Intelligence Service of the National Gendarmerie
- Research units of the National Gendarmerie
- Authorized customs and tax services
- Service in charge of national criminal record.
The Faed can also be viewed by the following:
- Agent of an international cooperation agency for the judicial police (e.g. Interpol)
- An officer of a police or justice service of a foreigner State.
The main data recorded at Faed are fingerprints and palms (fingers and palms of the hand).
This data may be accompanied by several pieces of information, including:
- Sex of the person
- Surname, forenames, date and place of birth, nationality and parentage if the person is identified
- In some cases, registration, make and type of vehicle on which the impressions were taken
- Date of the facts, nature of the case and reference to the context in which the collection took place
- Service that has carried out or caused to be carried out the collection and recording of data at Faed
- Date, place and place where the collection took place
- The date the data was saved to the file.
If the person registered in Faed: titleContent notes that the data concerning her are inaccurate, she may request a correction to the head of the national forensic service.
Who shall I contact
Please note
This request must be accompanied by a copy of both sides of an identity document (identity card, passport, etc.).
In the event of rejection of the request or in the absence of a response within 2 months, the person registered with the Faed may seize the Cnil: titleContent. To do so, it must send a written request by post.
The application shall specify the following:
- Name of the file concerned or of the files concerned (Taj, FAED, FPR, etc.)
- Mailing address.
In addition, it must be accompanied by the following documents:
- Duplex/reverse copy of an identity document (national identity card, passport, etc.)
- Request forwarded to the head of the national forensic service
- Decision of the head of the national forensic service (if he/she has responded to the request)
- Any document justifying the appeal.
What are the retention periods for data recorded at Faed?
Retention periods depend on the reason for registration.
Causes of registration at Faed | Shelf life |
|---|---|
Fingerprints of unknown origin collected as part of an investigation or statement for offense | 15 years |
Fingerprints of unknown origin collected as part of an investigation or investigation for a serious offense (example: prostitution-related offenses) or for one crime | 25 years |
Fingerprints of an adult suspected of having committed an offense | 15 years |
Fingerprints of an adult suspected of committing a crime | 40 years |
Fingerprints of an adult detained in a penitentiary institution | 15 years |
Fingerprints of a minor suspected of having committed an offense or a crime | 10 years |
Fingerprints of a minor suspected of committing a crime | 25 years (unless the public prosecutor objects) |
Fingerprints of a minor detained in a penitentiary | 10 years |
Fingerprints collected as part of an investigation specific to the causes of death or disappearance | 25 years |
Fingerprints collected on an unidentified corpse or on a person found seriously injured | 25 years |
Fingerprints of a possible victim of abduction or kidnapping | 25 years |
Can the data be automatically deleted from the Faed?
The data recorded at Faed: titleContent may be deleted from this file before the end of the normal retention period. This is particularly the case where:
- The missing and/or wanted person has been identified
- The person who died or was seriously injured has been identified
- The person suspected of having committed an offense or a crime has benefited from relaxed or a acquittal.
The data are deleted from the Faed upon receipt of the notice informing the SNPS: titleContent, the circumstances justifying such deletion.
The person whose data is recorded at Faed: titleContent may request that they be removed from this file before the end of the retention period. If the application is not answered or is rejected, the applicant may appeal.
How to request the erasure of data stored at Faed?
To request the erasure of the data stored at the Faed, the data subject must fill out a form:
This form must be accompanied by a copy of both sides of an identity document (national identity card, passport, etc.).
The request must be addressed to the Registry of the public prosecutor in charge of the procedure for which the registration took place. It may also be forwarded to the registry of the public prosecutor of the domicile of the person concerned.
Who shall I contact
Warning
The request must be sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (LRAR).
The public prosecutor has 2 months from the request to provide a response to the person concerned. This response is transmitted by LRAR.
What to do in case of rejection of a request for erasure of the data of the Faed?
In the event of rejection of his request for erasure, the person registered with the Faed may appeal to the president of the investigative chamber. The same applies in the absence of a response from the public prosecutor.
The appeal must be made within 10 days of:
- The end of the 2-month period
- Or receipt of the decision of the public prosecutor.
To file this appeal, the person registered with the Faed must fill out a form:
The form must be accompanied by the following documents:
- Duplex/reverse copy of an identity document (national identity card, passport, etc.)
- Copy of the request addressed to the public prosecutor
- Copy of the refusal decision issued by the public prosecutor (if he has responded to the request).
All these elements must be transmitted to the Registry of the Investigative Chamber the place where the procedure giving rise to the registration of the impressions was carried out. Transmission is done by post RAR: titleContent.
The decision shall be taken within 3 months from the date of receipt of the appeal.
The person whose data is stored at the Faed is informed of the decision by post RAR: titleContent.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
To find out if you are registered with Faed
National Forensic Police ServiceFor more information on the Faed
By post
3 Place de Fontenoy
ASD 80715
75334 Paris cedex 07
The CNIL does not receive the public and does not provide any information on the spot.
By phone
+33 1 53 73 22 22
Telephone reception open Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 5 pm.
Legal information open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10am to 12pm.
By email
Access to contact form
Automated fingerprint file
Right of consultation of foreigner agents
Articles 107 to 109 on the right of communication and rectification
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