Family booklet: delivery at the birth of your first child

Verified 30 December 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

If you are not married, a family booklet is transmitted to you on the occasion of the birth of your first common child. You want to know what the family booklet contains, how it is established, if it is free,...? We give you useful information on the subject.

Attention: the rules differ depending on whether the birth takes place in France or abroad.

In France

The family booklet, issued at the birth of your 1er child, contains the following

  • Your birth certificate and that of the person you are in a relationship with
  • Your child's birth certificate
  • Information on family law (marriage, parentage, adoption, parental authority,...)

Information about you

Your information is populated if the following conditions are met:

  • You appear in your child's birth certificate
  • Your birth certificate is registered with a French civil registrar

If not, the page of the booklet that concerns you will not be filled in.

Information about your child

The information about your child is recorded if his birth certificate is registered with a French civil registrar.

When you have more than one child, the information is populated in the order of birth.

The family record book is established differently depending on your situation.

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General case

The family record book shall be drawn up by the registrar at the time of birth declaration.

The birth certificate must be registered, within 5 days of the event, with the City Hall of the place of birth of your child.

Who shall I contact

Birth of a lifeless child

If your first child is born lifeless, you or the person you are in a relationship with can request a family record. The certificate shall be drawn up by the registrar in support of a medical certificate of delivery.

You will have to go to the town hall of the place of birth of your child.

Who shall I contact

Adoption as single

If you are adopting a child, as a single person, you must be given a family booklet when transcribing the adoption judgment on civil registration records.

The family record book is yours 

  • sent by post to your home or the home of the person you're in a relationship with,
  • or delivered by the town hall of your child's place of birth, on presentation of your identity document.

Please note

the time taken to obtain it depends on the processing time by each civil registry office concerned by the booklet and on the time taken to deliver the mail.

Yes, the issue of the booklet on the occasion of the birth of a 1er child is free.

Any modification related to the civil status of the persons entered in the family record book (marriage, birth, adoption, divorce, death, etc.) must be subject to a updating.

Abroad

The family booklet, issued at the birth of your 1er child, contains the following

  • Your birth certificate and that of the person you are in a relationship with
  • Your child's birth certificate
  • Information on family law (marriage, parentage, adoption, parental authority,...)

Information about you

Your information is populated if the following conditions are met:

  • You appear in your child's birth certificate
  • Your birth certificate is registered with a French civil registrar

If not, the page of the booklet that concerns you will not be filled in.

Information about your child

The information about your child is recorded if his birth certificate is registered with a French civil registrar.

When you have more than one child, the information is populated in the order of birth.

The booklet is issued only if a French authority has registered the birth certificate of your child and that of at least one of you (parents).

The birth certificate must be registered with the central civil registration office of Nantes (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Who shall I contact

The family record book is established differently depending on your situation.

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General case

The family record book shall be drawn up by the French consular authorities of the country of residence at the time 

  • of the birth declaration
  • or the application for a French birth certificate (by transcription of the foreigners birth certificate).

Birth of a lifeless child

If your first child is born lifeless, you or the person you're in a relationship with you can request a family booklet from the French embassy or consulate abroad,

Adoption as single

If you are adopting a child, as a single person, you must be given a family booklet when transcribing the adoption judgment on civil registration records.

The family booklet is: 

  • sent by post to your home or to the home of the person with whom you are in a relationship,
  • or handed in by the French consular authority concerned, on presentation of your identity document.

Please note

the time taken to obtain it depends on the processing time by each civil registry office concerned by the booklet and on the time taken to deliver the mail.

Yes, the issue of the booklet on the occasion of the birth of a 1er child is free.

Any modification related to the civil status of the persons registered in the booklet (marriage, birth, adoption, divorce, death,...) must be subject to a updating.

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