File a complaint
Verified 01 September 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Additional cases ?
You're a victim of a infringement. You want to file a complaint? We'll show you how.
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Case 1 On-Site
Where? In the gendarmerie or at the police station of your choice
What should I bring? Supporting documents (medical certificate, screenshot, photos...).
What should be kept?
- Receipt (proof of complaint)
- the statement of complaint (i.e. your statements) provided on request.
Please note
Before going there, you can make a pre-complaint online at Pre-complaint-en-ligne.gouv.fr if:
- the perpetrator is not known
AND - There is an infringement of property (theft, degradation, fraud...) or discriminatory practice (discrimination, defamation, insult, individual provocation to hatred).
Case 2 By mail
Where? To be addressed to the public prosecutor of the judicial court of the place of the facts or the place of residence of the perpetrator.
What content?
· Describe the facts in the mail. A template is available on Service-public.fr.
· Attach supporting documents (medical certificate, screenshot, photos...)
To know
For credit card fraud or online scams, use the Perceval and Thesee online services, available on Service-Public.fr.
On the spot
You must surrender in a police station or to the gendarme of your choice.
FYI
Police or gendarmerie services are obliged to register your complaint if you are a victim of an offense.
The officers and judicial police officers must receive your complaint even if the facts do not fall within their geographical area of jurisdiction.
At the end of your hearing by the police or gendarmerie, you receive a receipt and a copy of your complaint if you request it.
Online
Online complaint and online pre-complaint are possible only in some cases.
You are the victim of an attack on property (theft, degradation, fraud, hit and run...)
You don't know the perpetrator
You can fill out a pre-complaint when you are a victim of one of the following offenses:
- Theft, burglary...
- Destruction, willful degradation
- Hit and Run
- Destruction, deterioration or slight deterioration or threat to commit such offenses
- Non-compliance with garbage collection
- Forced mail order
- Garbage dump, waste, droppings, vehicle wreck...
The pre-complaint can be made online using the following service:
During online pre-filing, you choose where you will sign your statement in the list of police stations or gendarmeries.
You fill in the form and validate your entry.
Then, you are contacted by the police station or gendarmerie chosen to to agree on an appointment. You are also informed of the supporting documents (invoices, identity document...) to be attached to your complaint.
During the appointment, you sign your return after making any changes. The complaint is then formally filed.
The police or gendarmes can decide to keep the evidence you bring.
They must register your complaint if you are a victim of a crime.
You know the perpetrator
You cannot use the pre-complaint online. You need to file a complaint on-site or by post.
You're being discriminated against
You don't know the perpetrator
You can fill out a pre-complaint.
The pre-complaint can be made online using the following service:
Then you need to sign your complaint on-site in a police station or a gendarmerie brigade that you choose.
The police or gendarmes already have the elements of your complaint when you arrive.
They must register your complaint if you are a victim of a crime.
You know the perpetrator
You cannot use the pre-complaint online. You need to file a complaint on-site or by post.
You are the victim of an Internet scam (THESEE)
You can file a complaint online on THESEE only in the following cases:
- You're a victim of a ransomware
- Your email has been hacked and your identity has been spoofed to connect with your contacts
- You are a victim of phishing (phishing)
- You bought on a fake commercial site
- You bought from a fake seller on a classified ad site (advertisement scam)
- You're being blackmailed
- You are a victim of blackmail or threats during a romantic or friendly relationship on the internet.
Use of the THESEE online service is recommended, but is not required. The police or the gendarmerie cannot force you to use this tool.
The statement made on THESEE is then transmitted to the National Police.
Warning
If you are not in a case foreseen by the online service THESEE, you can't file a complaint online. You can use the online pre-complaint service if you do not know the perpetrator or file a complaint on-site or by post.
You're a victim of another crime
You cannot file a complaint online or fill in a pre-complaint online.
You need to file a complaint on-site or by post.
By mail
You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.
To do this, you must send an email to the court of law of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.
Who shall I contact
Your mail should include the following:
- Your marital status and full contact information (address and telephone number)
- Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
- Name of the alleged perpetrator if known (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
- Name and address of any witnesses to the offense
- Description and provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
- Your proof documents: medical certificates, work stoppages, photographs, videos, miscellaneous invoices, findings, etc.
You can use the following mail template:
File a complaint with the public prosecutor
You can send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by simple letter or by letter followed.
You can also file your complaint directly at the courthouse.
In any case, a receipt is given to you as soon as the Public Prosecutor's Office has registered your complaint.
You can file a complaint against a natural person or a legal person (a company, an association, etc.).
If you don't know the perpetrator or that you are not sure of his identity, you can still file a complaint. In this case, your complaint must be filed against X.
You can file a complaint if you are a victim of infringement.
Any person (adult, minor or protected major) may lodge a complaint.
If you represent a legal entity (business, association...), you can also file a complaint on behalf of the organization.
You must be a victim of infringement, i.e. a crime, a offense or a contravention to file a complaint. We're talking about criminal dispute.
Not all disputes are subject to a complaint. Some disputes are only civilian or administrative because there is no offense.
Example :
You have not received a product ordered on the Internet: this dispute is civil. It can become criminal if you ordered on a fraudulent site. In this case, you are the victim of a swindle.
FYI
you don't have to qualify the offense you are a victim of when you file a complaint (for example, saying you are a victim of a scam). All you have to do is describe the facts of which you have been a victim without defining what the offense is.
You must file a complaint before the end of limitation period.
The limitation periods are as follows:
- 1 year for contraventions (abnormal neighborhood disorder, injuries without ITT ...)
- 6 years for offenses (theft, assault, fraud, not depicting a child ...)
- 20 years for crimes (murder, rape, armed robbery ...)
If the facts are time-barred, your complaint can no longer be successful.
FYI
for certain specific infringements, these time limits may be reduced or extended. For example, the limitation period for an insult is 3 months, while the limitation period for terrorism is 30 years.
The limitation period normally starts from the day on which the offense was committed.
For a crime against a minor, a new time limit starts from the majority of the victim. For example, a minor victim of rape may lodge a complaint until the age of 48 years, i.e. 30 years after the age of majority (a special period of 30 years, which begins with the age of majority).
Filing a complaint is free.
The complaint triggers a police investigation. The investigation may be followed by a possible judgment of the perpetrator by the court.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
To interact with a gendarme or a police officer, 24/7, by instant messaging
I talk to a policeman or a gendarmeTelephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.
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The informants who answer you are from the Department of Justice.
116 006 - Victim Assistance Number
Listen, inform and advise victims of crime and their families.
By telephone
116,006
Free call
Open 7 days a week from 9am to 7pm
The service can also be accessed by calling the +33 (0)1 80 52 33 76 (Normal pricing number).
By email
victimes@france-victimes.fr
Violence Women Info - 3919
Listen, inform and refer women victims of violence, and witnesses to such violence.
Addresses physical, verbal, or psychological abuse, at home or at work, and abuse of any kind (including sexual harassment, assault, and rape).
Does not deal with emergencies (it is not a police or gendarmerie service).
For other types of violence, 3919 provides a first-level response and directs or transfers to a useful number.
By telephone
39,19 (free call from a landline or mobile phone in metropolitan and DOM)
Open 24/7
Anonymous call
Call not on phone bills
Public action and civil action
Filing of complaints with the judicial police (article 15-3)
Filing of a complaint with the public prosecutor (article 40) and follow-up to a complaint (article 40-1)
Online service
Document template
Online service
FAQ
Service-Public.fr
Ministry of Justice