File a complaint
Verified 15 March 2022 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice
Filing a complaint allows a victim to inform the justice system that infringement was committed. Complaints can be filed with the police, the gendarmerie or the public prosecutor. If the victim does not know the perpetrator, she should file a complaint against X. If the perpetrator is identified, he can be tried and eventually convicted by the court. The victim must constitute himself civil party if it wishes to obtain compensation for its damage (damages).
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How do I file a complaint?
You can file a complaint against a natural person or a legal person (a company, an association, etc.).
If you don't know the perpetrator or you're not sure who he is, you can still file a complaint. In this case, your complaint must be filed against X.
On the spot
You have to go to a police station or to the gendarme of your choice.
The police or gendarmerie services are obliged to register your complaint if you are a victim of an offense.
FYI
the officers and judicial police officers must receive your complaint even if the facts do not fall within their geographical area of jurisdiction.
Online
Online complaint and online pre-complaint are possible only in certain cases.
You are the victim of an attack on property (theft, degradation, scam ...)
You don't know the perpetrator
You can fill out a pre-complaint.
The pre-complaint can be made online using the following service:
Then you need to sign your complaint on the spot at a police station or gendarme brigade you choose.
The police or gendarmes already have the elements of your complaint when you arrive.
They must register your complaint if you are a victim of a crime.
You know the perpetrator
You cannot use the online pre-complaint. You must file a complaint on the spot or by mail.
You're being discriminated against
You don't know the perpetrator
You can fill out a pre-complaint.
The pre-complaint can be made online using the following service:
Then you need to sign your complaint on the spot at a police station or gendarme brigade you choose.
The police or gendarmes already have the elements of your complaint when you arrive.
They must register your complaint if you are a victim of a crime.
You know the perpetrator
You cannot use the online pre-complaint. You must file a complaint on the spot or by mail.
You are the victim of an Internet scam
You can use the THESEE online service to find out if you can file a complaint online.
The complaint about THESEE is forwarded to the National Police for processing.
You're a victim of another crime
You cannot file a complaint online or complete a pre-complaint online.
By mail
You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.
We need to send a free-form letter the court of law of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.
Who shall I contact
The letter should specify the following:
- Your marital status and full contact information (address and telephone number)
- Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
- Name of the alleged perpetrator if known (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
- Names and addresses of any witnesses to the offense
- Description and provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
- Evidence: medical certificates, work stoppages, miscellaneous invoices, findings ...
- Willingness to take civil action
File a complaint with the public prosecutor
Who shall I contact
You can send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by simple letter or by letter followed.
You can also file your complaint directly at the courthouse.
In any case, a receipt is given to you as soon as the Public Prosecutor's Office has registered your complaint.
Please note
you can also to lodge a complaint with the formation of civil party before an investigating judge. This procedure is possible if your initial complaint has been dismissed or if you have filed a complaint for more than 3 months and the prosecutor has not responded to you.
If you are a victim of infringement You can file a complaint, even if you are a minor.
If you represent a legal person (business, association,...) you can also file a complaint to defend the interests or objectives pursued by the organization.
You must be a victim of a infringement, i.e. a crime, a offense or a contravention to file a complaint. We're talking about criminal dispute.
FYI
you don't have to qualify the offense you are a victim of when you file a complaint (for example, saying you are a victim of a scam). All you have to do is describe the facts of which you have been a victim without defining what the offense is.
Not all litigation is a complaint. Some disputes are only civilian or administrative because there is no offense.
Example :
You have not received a product ordered over the Internet. This dispute is civil. It can become criminal if you ordered on a fraudulent site. In this case, you are the victim of a swindle.
You must file a complaint before the end of limitation period.
If the facts are time-barred, your complaint can no longer be successful.
The limitation periods are as follows:
- 1 year for contraventions (abnormal neighborhood disorder ...)
- 6 years for offenses (theft, assault, fraud ...)
- 20 years for crimes (murder, rape ...)
FYI
for certain specific infringements, these time limits may be reduced or extended. For example, the limitation period for an insult is 3 months, while the limitation period for terrorism is 30 years.
The limitation period normally begins from the day on which the offense was committed.
For a crime against a minor, a new deadline starts from the majority of the victim. For example, a minor victim of rape may lodge a complaint until the age of 48 years, i.e. 30 years after the age of majority (a special period of 30 years, which begins with the age of majority).
Filing a complaint with a police station, a gendarmerie or the public prosecutor is free of charge.
The complaint triggers a police investigation. The investigation may be followed by a possible judgment of the perpetrator by the court.
Police investigation
The filing a complaint triggers a criminal investigation given to the police or gendarmerie.
The investigation must make it possible to verify the existence of the offense and to identify the perpetrator.
At the end of the investigation, the public prosecutor may take one of the following decisions:
- Dismiss Case
- Propose a alternative measure to prosecution
- Open a judicial inquiry
- Have the suspect tried by a criminal jurisdiction
Judgment of the case
Except in exceptional circumstances, if the perpetrator is found guilty by the court, he shall be sentenced to a criminal penalty (prison, fine...).
If you have party to civil proceedings, the perpetrator may also be ordered to pay compensation for your damage (by payment of damages for example)
FYI
you can have a person whom you consider to be a victim summoned before the criminal judge by a direct quotation. You don't have to file a complaint before.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
- Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
The informants who answer you are from the Department of Justice.
Cost: free service
Service available at the following times:
- Monday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
- Tuesday: 8:30 to 12:15
- Wednesday: 8:30 to 12:15
- Thursday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
- Friday: 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m
- 116 006 - Victim Assistance Number
Listen, inform and advise victims of crime and their families.
By telephone
116,006
Free call
Open 7 days a week from 9am to 7pm
The service can also be accessed by calling the +33 (0)1 80 52 33 76 (Normal pricing number).
By email
victimes@france-victimes.fr
- Violence Women Info - 3919
Listen, inform and refer women victims of violence, and witnesses to such violence.
Addresses physical, verbal, or psychological abuse, at home or at work, and abuse of any kind (including sexual harassment, assault, and rape).
Does not deal with emergencies (it is not a police or gendarmerie service).
For other types of violence, 3919 provides a first-level response and directs or transfers to a useful number.
By telephone
39,19 (free call from a landline or mobile phone in metropolitan and DOM)
Open 24/7
Anonymous call
Call not on phone bills
- Code of Criminal Procedure: articles 1 to 10Public action and civil action
- Code of Criminal Procedure: articles 12 to 15-4Filing of complaints with the judicial police (article 15-3)
- Code of Criminal Procedure: articles 39 to 44-1Filing of a complaint with the public prosecutor (article 40) and follow-up to a complaint (article 40-1)
- Decree n°2018-388 of 24 May 2018 on the automated processing of personal data called "online pre-complaint"
- Order of 26 June 2020 on the creation of the harmonized processing of investigations and reports for e-scams (Theseus)
- File a complaint with the public prosecutor
Document template
- Online Pre-Complaint
Online service
FAQ
- Complaint with formation of civil partyService-Public.fr
- Victim assistance Ministry of the Interior