How do I know if my passport is secure?
Verified 10 January 2020 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of the Interior
Before applying for a national identity card or passport, it is important to know if you already have a new and secure passport (electronic or biometric). Depending on the nature and date of the passport, you will not need to provide again, the documents related to your civil status and nationality.
Passport issued after June 2009
Any passport issued since 29 June 2009 is a biometric passport.
On the cover of a biometric passport, the word passport is underlined.
Between April 2006 and June 2009
All passports issued since 29 June 2009 are biometric passports.
Type of passport | Secured Title? | Description | Release period (in mainland France) |
|---|---|---|---|
Biometric passport | YES | On the cover, the word passport underlined Below the word passport is a secure symbol (circle inside a rectangle) Photo reproduced 2 times on the same page | First release: 31 October 2008 (by department) Generalization: June 29, 2009 |
Electronic passport | YES | On the cover, the word passport is not underlined. Below the word passport is a secure symbol (circle inside a rectangle) Photo reproduced 2 times on the same page | Last put into circulation: June 2009 |
Delphine passport (optical read) | NO | On the cover, word inscription European Union Picture page: in landscape mode. 36 numbered pages | Last put into circulation: April 2006 |
Before April 2006
Type of passport | Secured Title? | Description | Release period (in mainland France) |
|---|---|---|---|
Electronic passport | YES | On the cover, the word passport is not underlined. Below the word passport is a secure symbol (circle inside a rectangle) Photo reproduced 2 times on the same page | Last put into circulation: June 2009 |
Delphine Optical Read Passport | NO | On the cover, word inscription European Union Picture page: in landscape mode. 36 numbered pages | Last put into circulation: April 2006 |
Old Model | NO | On the cover, word inscription European Community Picture page: in portrait mode. | Last put into circulation: end 2002 |