Criminal record: presentation of the three bulletins
Verified 13 November 2020 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice
The criminal record shall be a record of criminal sanctions, judicial or administrative decisions resulting in deprivation of right and decisions affecting parental authority. There are 3 types of ballots, the content of which varies depending on the severity of the sanctions. Only Bulletin No 3, which includes the most serious penalties, may be issued to the person concerned. Bulletin No. 2 is reserved for certain employers and Bulletin No. 1 is reserved for justice.
Convictions contained in the bulletin
Bulletin No. 1 contains all convictions and court decisions concerning a person (prison sentences, fines...), including when he was a minor. It's the most complete newsletter.
If you are French and you are convicted by a foreign court, the conviction can be entered on your French criminal record. Such is the case if an agreement signed by France and the country of the conviction so provides.
Bulletin 1 therefore includes the following information:
- Criminal justice convictions (e.g. fine, prison sentence or suspended sentence, deprivation of civil rights)
- Certain administrative and disciplinary decisions which enact or result in disabilities (e.g. prohibition of work for a certain period of time)
- Judgments pronouncing the revocation of parental authority or the withdrawal of all or part of the rights attached thereto
- Deportation orders against aliens
- Criminal compositions the execution of which has been confirmed by the public prosecutor
- Sentences or dispensations from sentences handed down after the sentence has been deferred (e.g. fine, prison sentence or suspended sentence, deprivation of civil rights)
- Graces, commutation of sentence or reduction of penalties
- Decisions parole
- Decisions granting suspension of sentence
Erasure of convictions
Some elements of the locker are deleted after a certain delay.
Decisions | Time |
|---|---|
Conviction granted amnesty | Immediate |
Conviction with criminal rehabilitation with removal of criminal record | Immediate |
Conviction for contravention | 3 years |
Conviction with exemption from punishment | 3 years |
Penalty or educational measure against minors, except in the case of new measure or sentence | 3 years |
Criminal composition, except in cases of new composition or criminal conviction | 3 years |
Judgment pronouncing personal bankruptcy or prohibition to manage under 5 years | 5 years |
Prohibition to manage more than 5 years | After the end of the prohibition sentence |
Sentence to a single term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year | 5 years |
Sentence to imprisonment for more than 1 year, or to several sentences of less than one year for a total of not more than 5 years | 10 years |
FYI
the delay is doubled in the case of a conviction for a second offense.
Criminal convictions handed down for more than 40 years and not followed by a new criminal or correctional sentence shall be removed from the criminal record.
All convictions or decisions shall be withdrawn from the criminal record upon the death of the person concerned.
Issuance
This bulletin is issued only to judges and prisons. On the other hand, its contents can be communicated orally to the person concerned if he or she appears at the Registry of the correctional court.
Who shall I contact
Bulletin 2 contains most convictions and court decisions except the following:
- Decisions against minors (e.g. community service, placement in a closed educational center)
- Convictions for contraventions (e.g. fine)
- Convictions with dispensation from sentence or postponement of sentence
- Decisions to forfeit parental authority
- Conditional sentences, where the period of probation has ended without the execution of the entire sentence. Unless a socio-judicial follow-up, a ban on engaging in an activity with minors or a sentence of ineligibility has been imposed for a longer period than the sentence.
- Repealed deportation orders
- Criminal compositions
- Convictions for an offense relating to prices or competition between traders, unless the court has decided otherwise
- Convictions designated by a specific court decision at the time of the judgment.
Erasure of convictions
Some elements of the locker are deleted after a certain delay.
Decisions | Time |
|---|---|
- Conviction benefiting from amnesty - Sentence granted full judicial rehabilitation | Immediate |
Penalty of days-fine | 3 years |
Personal bankruptcy or prohibition of management under 5 years | 5 years |
Conviction of a citizen's internship or community service or confiscation of a vehicle or weapons | 5 years |
Conviction of under 5 years to a suspension or prohibition of a license, to a prohibition to manage a business or to pay by check | 5 years |
Sentence of more than 5 years to a suspension or prohibition of a license, to a prohibition to manage a business or to pay by check | After the end of the sentence |
Sentence to a single term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year | 5 years |
Sentence to imprisonment for more than 1 year, or to several sentences of less than one year for a total of not more than 5 years | 10 years |
FYI
the delay is doubled in the case of a conviction for a second offense.
For a conviction handed down by a court of a European country against a French national, and appearing in Bulletin No 2, the time limits for cancelation are as follows:
- 3 years for financial penalties
- 10 years for convictions with a term of imprisonment exceeding 1 year
- 40 years for convictions with a term of imprisonment exceeding 10 years
- 5 years for any other type of sentence
Criminal convictions handed down for more than 40 years and not followed by a new criminal or correctional sentence shall be removed from the criminal record.
All convictions or decisions shall be withdrawn from the criminal record upon the death of the person concerned.
Issuance
Who can view the #2 bulletin in your criminal record?
You cannot request a copy of your own Bulletin 2. The law provides that the document may only be issued to certain persons or institutions. These are public and private employers who want to recruit for positions related to children, and some public authorities.
Employers
Bulletin No. 2 may be issued to the heads of public or private law bodies which carry out cultural, educational or social activities with minors.
The document may be issued only for the purposes of recruiting a person who will or may be in contact with minors.
Organizations authorized to consult Bulletin No. 2 may not apply directly to judicial services. They must pass through a specialized administrative authority, depending on their sector of activity.
It is the administrative authority that makes the request to the judicial services and receives the Bulletin No. 2.
The administrative authority shall transmit the bulletin to the head of the body authorized to consult it only if there is no mention of any conviction.
If not, the administrative authority must inform the head of the organization that Bulletin No. 2 cannot be issued to him because it contains one or more convictions.
In this case, the administrative authority must inform the officer whether or not the bulletin contains convictions that would prevent the person from being hired.
Public authorities
The number 2 of the criminal record may be issued at their request to the following authorities:
- Prefects and public administrations of the State for the performance of their duties
- Military authorities, with regard to youth engagement
- Public authorities competent to examine disputes concerning the exercise of electoral rights
- Administrations, legal persons or bodies responsible for supervising the pursuit of a professional or social activity
- Presiding officers of the commercial courts, for bankruptcy and court settlement proceedings, and judges overseeing the commercial register, for the examination of applications for registration
- Chairpersons of departmental councils receiving an application for approval for adoption
- Competent authorities designated by the Minister of Justice to monitor criminal or disciplinary sanctions against a professional by another European country
- Authorities competent to receive declarations of candidacy for election, to verify the indication of certain penalties
- Competent authorities of a foreign country under an international convention
How do I view the content of your Newsletter #2?
If you wish to know the content of your Bulletin No. 2, you must request the full content of your criminal record. The communication shall be oral. You cannot obtain a copy of your criminal record. You will not be able to transmit Newsletter No. 2 or Newsletter No. 1 to an employer or an organization.
You can request the full content of your criminal record on-site at parquet the appropriate correctional court for your home.
Who shall I contact
Convictions contained in the bulletin
The bulletin 3 is the most restricted newsletter. It contains only the most serious convictions:
- Convictions for crimes and offenses over 2 years' imprisonment without a reprieve handed down in France or abroad
- Convictions for crimes and offenses less than 2 years' imprisonment without a reprieve, if the court has ordered the mention
- Certain lapses or disabilities in progress (e.g., withdrawal of parental authority, prohibition of professional activity)
- Socio-judicial follow-up measure and the penalty of prohibition of professional or voluntary activity involving habitual contact with minors.
Please note
some convictions may not be included in this bulletin by a specific court decision.
Erasure of convictions
Some items can be deleted immediately:
- Convictions benefiting from amnesty
- Convictions with criminal rehabilitation with removal of criminal record.
Criminal convictions handed down for more than 40 years and not followed by a new criminal or correctional sentence shall be removed from the criminal record.
All convictions or decisions shall be withdrawn from the criminal record upon the death of the person concerned.
Issuance
This bulletin may only be issued to the person concerned, or to his legal representative if he is a minor or an adult under guardianship. It is issued free of charge. It is possible to request online or by mail.
- Code of Criminal Procedure: Articles 768 to 781Criminal record content
- Penal Code: Articles 133-12 to 133-17Erasure of convictions
- Application for a criminal record certificate (Bulletin No. 3)Service-Public.fr