Have your foreign criminal record extract (police record, criminal record check, certificado de antecedentes) translated by a translator registered with a French Court of Appeal. Required for naturalisation, long-stay visas, public-sector employment and adoption.
The certified translation of a foreign criminal record extract is required for all administrative procedures where a French authority must verify the absence of a criminal record. In practice, here are the most common cases:
The French criminal record comes in three formats:
For administrative procedures concerning someone born abroad or who has lived abroad, the equivalent of bulletin n°3 must be obtained in each relevant country, then translated. Names vary:
The 3-month rule is almost universal in France: the criminal record extract · like the birth certificate · must be less than 3 months old on the date the file is submitted to the French administration.
The certified translation itself never expires, but it must be based on a source document that is itself still valid. The ideal sequence is therefore:
Since EU Regulation 2016/1191 of 16 February 2019, criminal record extracts issued by a Member State are exempt from apostille, provided they are accompanied by the multilingual standard form. Translation nonetheless remains mandatory (unless an officially multilingual form is accepted by the prefecture).
An apostille is required: it is affixed by the competent authority in the issuing country before translation. For the United States, for example, this is the Department of State in Washington for an FBI Identity Summary. For the United Kingdom, it is the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office).
Double legalisation is required: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the issuing country + the French consulate. See our dedicated page apostille & legalisation for the procedure applicable to your country.
We translate criminal records to and from more than 60 languages, with sworn translators specialised in legal and criminal terminology:
| Service | Delivery | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| English → French | 3 business days | €54 / page | Translation, certification, stamp, signed PDF |
| Spanish, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Chinese → French | 3 business days | €59 / page | Translation, certification, stamp, signed PDF |
| Italian, Romanian, Turkish → French | 3 business days | €39 / page | Translation, certification, stamp, signed PDF |
| Other languages | 3 business days | €39 to €139 / page | Exact rate shown in the instant quote |
| Priority option | 36h | +€19.72 / order | Faster delivery of the signed PDF |
| Paper original (optional) | 24–72h after the PDF | +€9.60 / order | Wet-stamped original by tracked post |
Instant quote via our online configurator.
Any naturalisation application, long-stay visa, public-sector employment, adoption, or permanent residence procedure in France requires a recent criminal record extract (less than 3 months old), translated by a French sworn translator. An untranslated record has no value before the administration.
The price depends on the language of your criminal record extract, not on the type of document. It is charged per page (about 250 words), taxes included: €54 for English, €59 for Spanish, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian or Chinese, and €39 for Italian, Romanian or Turkish. Other languages range from €39 to €139. A standard extract usually fits on one page; each page is charged at the same rate, including when you provide several extracts.
Standard delivery in 3 business days is included. Two options are available: 36h Priority (+€19.72 per order) and a paper original by tracked post (+€9.60 per order). The signed PDF, certification, stamp and signature are included in every price. VAT is not charged for billing addresses outside the EU. You see your exact price in the online quote before paying.
Almost all French administrations require an extract less than 3 months old at the date the file is submitted. The document must be issued and then translated within that timeframe. The translation itself never expires, but the source document does.
Bulletin n°3: the one a private individual can request for themselves (the equivalent of foreign police records). It is the document required for naturalisation and most administrative procedures.
Bulletins n°1 (reserved for the judiciary) and n°2 (reserved for certain administrations and employers) cannot be requested directly by an individual.
EU: apostille exemption since 2019.
Hague Convention countries outside the EU: yes, apostille affixed in the issuing country before translation.
Other countries: double legalisation (local ministry + French consulate).
An extract from your country of origin, plus an extract for every country where you have resided for more than 6 months since turning 18. If you have lived in France plus 2 other countries, expect 3 extracts (French record + 2 translated foreign records).
Yes. Servers hosted in France, encryption in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256), access strictly limited to the assigned sworn translator. Documents automatically deleted 30 days after delivery. GDPR compliant.
More than 60 languages: English (UK/USA/Canada/Australia), Spanish, Portuguese (Portugal/Brazil), German, Italian, Arabic, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Turkish, Persian, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, and many more.
Order online, receive your certified translation in 3 business days from a registered translator. No appointment needed, 100% secure.