The vaccination pass replaces the health pass from 24 January 2022

The bill strengthening the tools for the management of the health crisis and amending the code of public health was definitively adopted by the National Assembly on 16 January 2022. The Constitutional Council validated on 21 January 2022 the entry into force of the vaccination pass from Monday 24 January 2022. The law was promulgated on 22 January and published in the Official Journal of 23 January 2022.

The health pass, introduced by the law of 31 May 2021, extended by the law of 5 August 2021 to many activities of daily life and extended, if necessary, until 31 July 2022 by the law of 10 November 2021, is replaced by a vaccination pass for adolescents over 16 years and adults.

The health pass becomes a vaccination pass for those over 16 years

The vaccination pass that replaces the health pass is applied from 24 January 2022. To go to a restaurant, a cinema, a theatre, a stadium or to travel by plane or on board a train, people aged 16 and over must show a complete vaccination plan.

The complete vaccination plan for persons over 18 years of age assumes that they have completed their booster dose (2^e or 3^e dose (depending on the case) within 4 months of the last injection.

For adolescents under 18 years of age, since the booster dose is not mandatory, their vaccination pattern is two doses of vaccine.

Therefore, evidence of a negative PCR or antigenic test of less than 24 hours is now excluded from the health pass

A certificate of recovery at Covid-19 (positive test of more than 11 days and less than 4 months) remains valid to access the places and activities where vaccination pass is required.

A certificate of medical contraindication to vaccination shall also remain valid for access to the places and activities where the vaccination pass is required.

Where is the vaccination pass required?

The vaccination pass is required in virtually all places where the health pass was required: bars and restaurants, cultural and leisure venues (cinemas, theatres, museums, sports halls, sports and entertainment halls...), trade fairs and trade shows, large shopping centres on the decision of the prefects and for interregional transport (planes, trains, buses).

Professionals working in these establishments that receive the public are also required to present a vaccination pass.

For specific locations where the vaccine pass is required, see the Everything about the vaccine pass .

Areas where vaccination pass is not required

Vaccine passes are not required in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, Ehpads, medical and social facilities and transportation to Corsica or the Overseas. They will remain accessible with a negative screening test, except in the emergency rooms of hospitals and clinics, where no pass is required.

A vaccination pass is not required for political meetings.

How do I recover my vaccination pass?

If you were using the paper document that was given to you after the injection of your booster dose or the QR code downloaded on

If you have lost the paper document handed over during the recall and you have a complete vaccination route, you can download your vaccination certificate again on the Health insurance portal by connecting via France Connect. In addition, any health care professional can find a vaccination certificate and print it out if a person requests it.

If you are using a certificate of recovery of more than 11 days and less than 6 months as part of the vaccine pass, you can download it to the database SI-DEP . All PCR and antigenic tests generate proof as soon as the result is entered by the professional.

Persons not vaccinated or fully vaccinated

For those who have not yet been vaccinated, a derogation allows them to use a negative test certificate of less than 24 hours to access the various places subject to the vaccination pass in France provided that they have carried out the first dose of vaccine before 15 February 2022 and the second dose within a maximum period of 28 days.

For access to interregional transport, persons who do not have a vaccination pass may present a negative test in case of compelling family or health reasons.

Controls and sanctions

In case of serious doubt about the authenticity of the vaccination pass, professionals responsible for checking them, such as restaurateurs and operators of cinemas or theatres, for example, will be able to ask customers for an official document with a photo (identity card, driving licence, vital card...) to verify the consistency of the identity elements between the two documents.

Operators of establishments receiving the public who do not control the vaccination passes may be fined EUR 1 000.

Fines have been increased by law for vaccine pass fraud. Holding a fraudulent vaccination pass (false document with false QR Code) will be punished by 3 years' imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 € unless the fraudster is vaccinated within 30 days of the date of the offence or, if the person has been tested positive in the Covid, within the time allowed to receive the booster dose after the infection. The penalty is increased to 5 years' imprisonment and to a fine of € 75,000 in case of fraudulent possession of several false documents.

Presenting a third-party-owned vaccine pass and lending a third-party vaccination pass for fraudulent use are now punishable on the first offence with a flat-rate fine of €1,000 compared to €135 previously. The penalty may be waived provided that the person commits to a vaccination route within 30 days of the date of the offence.

Other measures provided for by law

The law strengthening the tools for the management of the health crisis and amending the Public Health Code provides for the extension of the state of emergency in overseas countries. The State of Health Emergency shall apply until 31 March 2022 in La Réunion, Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Mayotte, Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin.

Other provisions are:

• the authorisation of a single parent is now sufficient for vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years, as is already the case for children aged 12 to 15 years;
• the full reimbursement of teleconsultations by Health Insurance is extended until mid-2022;
• the tests and the organisation of the competitions of the Public Service may again be adapted if necessary until 31 October 2022;
• the measures to support the economic sectors most affected by the health crisis are extended until 31 july 2022.