Family booklet: delivery at the birth of the first child

Verified 16 April 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

If you are not married, a family booklet is transmitted to you on the occasion of the birth of your first common child. If you're single, the procedure is different. What is in the family booklet? How is it established? We present you with the information you need to know. They differ depending on whether the birth takes place in France or abroad.

Birth in France

The family booklet, issued at the birth of your 1er child, includes the following:

  • Your birth certificate and that of the person you are in a relationship with
  • Your child's birth certificate
  • Information on family law (marriage, parentage, adoption, parental authority,...)

Information about the child's mother and father

Your information is populated if the following conditions are met:

  • You appear in your child's birth certificate
  • Your birth certificate is registered with a French civil registrar

If not, the page of the booklet that concerns you will not be filled in.

Information about the child

The information about your child is recorded if his birth certificate is registered with a French civil registrar.

When you have more than one child, the information is populated in the order of birth.

The family record book is established differently depending on your situation.

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General case

The family record book shall be drawn up by the registrar at the time of birth declaration.

The birth certificate must be registered, within 5 days of the event, with the City Hall of the place of birth of your child.

Who shall I contact

Adoption as single

If you adopt a child, as a single person, a family record must be given to you when the adoption judgment is transcribed on the civil registration records.

Medically assisted reproduction as single

If you show up alone at the LDCs and if you give birth to a child, you can get a birth certificate for your child. You will not automatically receive a family booklet. However, you have the right to request one from the municipality of the municipality where the child was born or from the competent civil registry office.

Who shall I contact

Birth of a lifeless child

If your first child is born lifeless, you or the person you are in a relationship with can request a family record. The certificate shall be drawn up by the registrar in support of a medical certificate of delivery.

You will have to go to the town hall of the place of birth of your child.

Who shall I contact

The family record book is yours 

  • sent by post to your home or the home of the person you're in a relationship with,
  • or delivered by the town hall of your child's place of birth, on presentation of your identity document.

Please note

The time taken to obtain it depends on the processing time by each civil registry office concerned by the booklet and on the time taken to deliver the mail.

Yes, the issue of the booklet on the occasion of the birth of a 1er child is free.

Any modification related to the civil status of the persons entered in the family record book (marriage, birth, adoption, divorce, death, etc.) must be subject to a updating.

Birth abroad

The family booklet, issued at the birth of your 1er child, includes the following:

  • Your birth certificate and that of the person you are in a relationship with
  • Your child's birth certificate
  • Information on family law (marriage, parentage, adoption, parental authority,...)

Information about the child's mother and father

Your information is populated if the following conditions are met:

  • You appear in your child's birth certificate
  • Your birth certificate is registered with a French civil registrar

If not, the page of the booklet that concerns you will not be filled in.

Information about the child

The information about your child is recorded if his birth certificate is registered with a French civil registrar.

When you have more than one child, the information is populated in the order of birth.

The booklet is issued only if a French authority has registered the birth certificate of your child and that of at least one of you (parents).

The birth certificate must be registered with the central civil registration office of Nantes (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Who shall I contact

  • Central Civil Registry Service (Scec)

    Attention: the Central Civil Registry Service does not welcome any public.

    Civil status (birth, marriage or death) of a Frenchman abroad

    Only by mail to:

    Central Civil Registry Service

    11 White House Street

    44941 Nantes Cedex 09

    You can apply for a civil status certificate through a online service.

    For more information, you can:

    • Go to diplomatie.gouv.fr
    • Call the+33 1 41 86 42 47 Monday to Friday from 9 am to 12 pm and from 1 pm to 4 pm
      Free access to video interpretation or instant speech transcription for the deaf or hard of hearing
    • Email courrier.scec@diplomatie.gouv.fr

The family record book is established differently depending on your situation.

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General case

The family record book shall be drawn up by the French consular authorities of the country of residence at the time 

  • of the birth declaration
  • or the application for a French birth certificate (by transcription of the foreigners birth certificate).

Adoption as single

If you adopt a child, as a single person, a family record must be given to you when the adoption judgment is transcribed on the civil registration records.

Birth of a lifeless child

If your first child is born lifeless, you or the person you're in a relationship with you can request a family booklet from the French embassy or consulate abroad,

The family booklet is:

  • sent by post to your home or to the home of the person with whom you are in a relationship,
  • or handed in by the French consular authority concerned, on presentation of your identity document.

Please note

the time taken to obtain it depends on the processing time by each civil registry office concerned by the booklet and on the time taken to deliver the mail.

Yes, the issue of the booklet on the occasion of the birth of a 1er child is free.

Any modification related to the civil status of the persons registered in the booklet (marriage, birth, adoption, divorce, death,...) must be subject to a updating.

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