Criminal record: presentation of the three bulletins
Verified 15 March 2024 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice
A criminal record is a record of judicial and administrative decisions taken against a person. It is divided into 3 ballots. The B1 contains all the criminal and administrative sanctions imposed on a person. B2 contains only a portion of these decisions. The B3 contains the most serious convictions. The consultation and issuance procedures differ depending on the bulletin. We present you with the information you need to know.
What are the convictions recorded in the B1?
The B1 is the most complete bulletin. It contains all the convictions, measures and sanctions that have been imposed on a person, including when he or she was a minor.
Bulletin No. 1 includes the following elements:
- Criminal Convictions for crime, offense or contravention 5th class (for example, using prostitution)
- Convictions for first 4 class contraventions if the sentence results in prohibition, disqualification or incapacity (e.g. suspension of driving license for a period not exceeding 3 years)
- Administrative and disciplinary decisions which impose a prohibition (e.g. prohibition on working for a certain period of time)
- Judgments revoking parental rights or withdrawing some or all of the rights attached to them
- Deportation orders, if you are a foreigner
- Penal compositions the execution of which has been established by the Public Prosecutor
- Flat-rate fines for misdemeanors and for fifth-class tickets, even if they have been paid for
- Convictions handed down by a foreign court, executed in France, or notified to the French authorities. The entry appears on the B1 only if France has signed an agreement with the country in which the sentence was handed down.
- Penalties or dispensation from punishment pronounced after postponement imprisonment sentencing (e.g. fine, suspended sentence, deprivation of civil rights)
- Decisions of parole
Who can get the B1 from the criminal record?
Only judges, the public prosecutor and the prison administration may be issued with a person’s Bulletin No. 1
The offender cannot obtain a copy of the B1 of his criminal record. However, he may consult it after having addressed a request to the prosecutor of the Republic of his residence. The application must be accompanied by proof of identity (national identity card or passport).
Who shall I contact
What are the convictions recorded in the B2?
As a matter of principle, Bulletin No. 2 contains all judicial convictions and administrative sanctions. However, some convictions not shown on this bulletin. These include:
- Decisions against minors, including those issued by a foreign court
- Convictions for contraventions (e.g. fine)
- Convictions with waiver of sentence or a postponement of sentencing
- Decisions withdrawing parental authority
- Conditional Sentences Considered to Be no avenues (unless socio-judicial supervision, a ban on working with minors or an ineligibility sentence has been imposed for a longer period than that of the sentence)
- Eviction orders repealed
- Penal compositions the execution of which has been established by the Public Prosecutor
Who can get the B2 from the criminal record?
Bulletin No. 2 of the criminal record can be issued to administrative authorities (e.g. town halls and prefectures) and commercial courts. It may also be requested by managers of businesses (public or private) who employ employees to carry out a cultural, educational or social activity with minors.
In order to obtain Bulletin No. 2, the employer must necessarily go through an administrative authority corresponding to his sector of activity (for example, the departmental youth, employment and sports services). Bulletin No. 2 may be communicated to the employer only if it contains no mention.
The sentenced person may not request a copy of his bulletin No. 2. However, she may consult him after having addressed a request to the public prosecutor of the Republic of her domicile. The application must be accompanied by proof of identity (national identity card or passport).
Who shall I contact
What are the convictions recorded in the B3?
The bulletin 3 is the one that contains the fewest references to convictions. It contains only the most serious convictions, namely:
- Sentences to deprivation of liberty (e.g. prison) of more than 2 years, where they are not accompanied by a reprieve
- Sentences of less than two years' imprisonment, where they are not suspended and provided that the court has ordered the entry of the sentence on the bulletin
- Convictions to disqualifications, prohibitions or incapacitation which are not suspended (e.g. disqualification from parental authority, prohibition from working)
- Measures of social and judicial follow-up and penalties for prohibiting persons from engaging in professional or voluntary activity involving habitual contact with minors. The entry of these two entries shall be deleted from the B3 at the end of the measure or prohibition.
Who can get the B3 from the criminal record?
Only the convicted person can request the B3 of his criminal record. This demand can be done online or by mail.
FYI
The convicted person can pass on the B3 of their criminal record to their employer, but the employer cannot keep that record. He can simply look at it and indicate in the personnel file that such an audit has been carried out.
Infographie - Criminal record bulletins B1, B2, B3: what differences?
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Bulletin No. 1 or B1 | Bulletin No. 2 or B2 | Newsletter No 3 or B3 |
|---|---|---|
What does it contain? | What does it contain? | What does it contain? |
All your criminal convictions. | Some of your criminal convictions and administrative sanctions. For example, if you're of age, prison sentences are firm. | imprisonment · Some of your criminal convictions, including the most serious ones (e.g. · Prohibitions on engaging in an activity in relation to minors. · Disenfranchisement (e.g. the right to vote or stand for election). |
What is it for? | What is it for? | What is it for? |
Inform the justice and prison administration about your criminal situation. | Inform your employers (current and future) and public authorities of your convictions not shown on bulletin B3. | Inform your employers (current and future) of your serious criminal convictions. |
Can you apply for the newsletter yourself? | Can you apply for the newsletter yourself? | Can you apply for the newsletter yourself? |
No, no, no. Only judicial and prison authorities can request it. | No, no, no. Some employers may request it (those who employ employees to carry out cultural, educational or social activities with minors), and the authorized public authorities (e.g. the prefect) may also request it. | Yeah. Yeah. |
How to request or consult it? | How to request or consult it? | How to request or consult it? |
You can only request oral communication of the contents of your criminal record. The request must be addressed to the public prosecutor of your domicile. | The request is made online on the website of the Ministry of Justice or by post. | |
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
For the consultation of bulletins n°1 and n°2 of the criminal record
Judicial TribunalFor the issue of Criminal Record Bulletin No. 3
National criminal record
Content, procedures for issuing and consulting the criminal record
Service-Public.fr