Identity card / Passport: how to prove your French nationality?

Verified 02 mars 2021 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Your situation

  • You don't have an ID card or a recent passport
  • You were born abroad
  • The birth certificate (on secure paper) can be found at the central civil registry office (Scec) in Nantes
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If you were born abroad

If you do not have a recent identity document, proof of French nationality can be provided by presenting a birth certificate (full copy or extract with filiation) of less than 3 months.

This civil status document can be used to establish your French nationality if you are in one of the following cases:

  • The birth certificate (on secure paper) was issued by the Central Civil Registry Service of Nantes.
  • The birth certificate (on ordinary paper) was issued by a consular registrar of an embassy.

Application for birth certificate: full copy or extract (birth abroad) - Free service

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