Medal of Honor of Labor
Verified 24 April 2025 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The Medal of Honor for Work is an honorary award. Among other things, it rewards the seniority of a private sector employee. Would you like to know the conditions for obtaining the medal or if you can benefit from a bonus from your employer? We present you with the information you need to know.
The Medal of Honor for Work is a distinction honorary.
It aims to reward the seniority of a private sector employee, the quality of his initiatives taken in the exercise of his profession or his efforts to acquire a better qualification.
The employees (whether or not they are French nationals) or retired workers may, subject to conditions, obtain the medal of honor for the work.
Please note
The following people cannot to be awarded the medal of honor for work:
- A worker who is entitled, by reason of his or her occupation or that of his or her employer, to an honorary award for seniority of service from another ministerial department (e.g. a national police officer)
- Magistrate of the Judiciary and civil servant in charge of the central administration of the State, the external services dependent on it and the public institutions of the State.
The services taken into account for the calculation of seniority may have been performed on a number unlimited of employers.
FYI
Periods of unemployment don't count in the calculation of seniority.
Certain periods of absence shall be considered as periods of work. These are:
- Time spent on national service
- Maternity leave, paternity leave and adoption leave (up to a maximum of one year)
- Paid traineeship for vocational training, learning, job transition project (formerly Individual Training Leave - Cif), conversion leave, CSD concluded within the framework of employment policy.
Please note
Years spent in the public sector are not considered for the award of the medal. An exception exists for pensioners who are no longer eligible for a seniority award the public body in which they worked.
However, the following persons may obtain the medal without having the required seniority:
- Employees of French nationality who have resided abroad or abroad for periods of activity outside France
- Mutilated labor with a disability rate of at least 50%
- Employees whose activity is of a hardship that justifies the possibility of early retirement for permanent incapacity.
The Medal of Honor for Work includes 4 steps. They depend on the length of service provided:
- Silver medal: 20 years
- Vermeil medal: 30 years
- Gold Medal: 35 years
- Great gold medal: 40 years.
Please note
These medals can be awarded after 18, 25, 30, 35 years of work if the activity performed by the employees presents a hardness character (for example, chain work) and allows a early retirement.
The length of service shall be reduced by one third for employees of French nationality who have worked outside France or abroad, and half for mutilated at work between 50% and 75%.
The process can be done by you or by your employer.
The approach differs depending on whether you live in France or abroad:
In France
Depending on where you live, it can be done online (exclusively) or by mail:
Hautes-Alpes, Côte d'Or, Lozère, Savoy, Reunion, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Mayotte
The request has to be made by post.
According to your department of residence, the application shall be considered by one of the following bodies:
- Departmental Directorate for Employment, Labor and Solidarity (DDETS or DDETS-PP, ex-Direct)
- Prefecture
- Sub-prefecture.
You should consult the websites of these organizations (or contact at least one of them) to find out to which organization you should send your request.
You must make a case with the following documents:
- Form cerfa no. 11796 completed, dated and signed
- Photocopy of an ID (double-sided)
- Photocopies of each employer's work certificates
In the case where the employer has disappeared, the work certificate may be replaced by a certificate drawn up by two witnesses. The attestation must then be certified by the mayor. - Recent certification from your last employer
- For persons who have performed military (or similar) services, attestation of services performed under the national service or photocopy of the military booklet
- For mutilated at work, photocopy of the statement of annuities.
French Polynesia
The request has to be made by post.
You must apply to the High Commission of the Republic in French Polynesia.
You must make a case with the following documents:
- Form cerfa no. 11796 completed, dated and signed
- Birth certificate extract
- Photocopy of an ID (double-sided)
- Photocopies of each employer's work certificates
In the case where the employer has disappeared, the work certificate may be replaced by a certificate drawn up by two witnesses. The attestation must then be certified by the mayor. - Recent certification from your last employer
- For persons who have performed military (or similar) services, attestation of services performed under the national service or photocopy of the military booklet
- For mutilated at work, photocopy of the statement of annuities.
New Caledonia
The request has to be made by post.
You must contact the Directorate of Labor, Employment and Vocational Training (DTEFP) to make the request.
You must make a case with the following documents:
- Form cerfa no. 11796 completed, dated and signed
- Photocopy of an ID (double-sided)
- Photocopies of each employer's work certificates
In the case where the employer has disappeared, the work certificate may be replaced by a certificate drawn up by two witnesses. The attestation must then be certified by the mayor. - Recent certification from your last employer
- For persons who have performed military (or similar) services, attestation of services performed under the national service or photocopy of the military booklet
- For mutilated at work, photocopy of the statement of annuities.
Other department
You must use the following online service:
Application for the Medal of Honor of Labor
You must have the following proof:
- Photocopy of an ID (double-sided)
- Certification dated and signed by the employer of the services qualifying for the medal
- For persons who have performed military (or similar) services, attestation of services performed under the national service or photocopy of the military booklet
- For mutilated at work, photocopy of the statement of annuities.
Please note
All supporting documents must be scanned.
Abroad
Documents to be provided
You must complete a file and attach the following documents:
- Form cerfa no. 11797 completed, dated and signed
- Photocopy of your ID (double-sided)
- Photocopies of each employer's work certificates
In the case where the employer has disappeared, the work certificate may be replaced by a certificate drawn up by two witnesses. The attestation must then be certified by the mayor. - Recent certification from your last employer
- For persons who have performed military (or similar) services, attestation of services performed under the national service or photocopy of the military booklet
- For mutilated at work, photocopy of the statement of annuities.
Sending folder
The file must be sent to the embassy.
Who shall I contact
The medal is awarded by decree of the Minister of Labor or, on delegation, of the Prefect on the occasion of the 1er January and July 14 of each year.
The file must reach its addressee:
- Before 1er May to get the medal on july 14
- Before October 15 from the previous year to get the medal on the 1er January.
Please note
Seniority is calculated on the date of 1er January or July 14, not the date the request was sent.
Depending on the medal you receive, you get a ribbon tricolor simple (silver medal) or ribbon with a three-colored rosette (Vermeil medal, gold medal and Grand gold medal).
You will also receive a diploma recalling the services for which you are awarded.
A medal can be struck and engraved at your expense or at the expense of your employer (if the latter agrees), by order sent to the Monnaie de Paris.
Who shall I contact
Following the publication of the Prefectural Decree, a diploma is also awarded to you. It is sent either to your employer's headquarters or to your town hall.
Depending on the chosen promotion (1er January or July 14), the diploma is issued in February or August.
Warning
It is not possible to obtain a duplicate of the diploma.
Based on what is written in the collective agreement or the company collective agreementHowever, the employer may pay you a sum of money to reward your services or to grant you one or more days off.
You can check if you are entitled to a sum of money or leave via an online service:
Search Extended Collective Agreement
If the amount paid by the employer is less than the amount of a monthly salary, it is not included in the taxable salaried income.
You may lose the Medal of Honor for Work in one of the following cases:
- Withdrawal of French nationality
- Criminal conviction.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
To help you in your efforts
National Federation of Labor Decorates of France
By email
Access to contact form
Date of taking into account seniority (Article 8)
Service-Public.fr