Voters list: registration ex officio at 18

Verified 23 June 2022 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of the Interior

Every Frenchman who becomes an adult is automatically registered to vote, under certain conditions. These conditions differ depending on whether he lives in France or abroad.

In France

Video: Are people automatically registered to vote at age 18?

Vidéo - Are people automatically registered to vote at age 18?
Credits : Public Service (DILA)

Conversation with friends, via SMS:

- Are you going to vote in the next election?

- I'd like to. I have to go register for the town hall...

- No need, as soon as you are 18 years old, you will be officially registered on the electoral rolls. It's automatic.

Received wisdom: At 18, am I automatically registered to vote?

Expert's word: True, it's not a conventional wisdom.

Yes, when you turn 18, you will be automatically registered to vote.

But there is one condition: you must have done your citizen census beforehand.

This is a step to make with your city hall from the age of 16.

If, at age 18, you have not yet completed your citizen census, and you wish to vote, you will have to register to vote.

You can make this registration on the Service-public.fr website, or by mail to send to your city hall, or by going directly on site.

You will need to provide proof of domicile and proof of identity.

If you are unsure about your registration in your municipality (for example, in case of a move or if you have lost your voter card), or if you just want to check your polling station, you can use the online service called "Query your electoral situation" on the website Service-public.fr.

If you are French and you have made your citizen census at age 16, you are automatically registered to vote at age 18.

L'Insee: titleContent automatically enrolls you when you turn 18.

The Insee is based on the information you provided during your citizen census.

Consequently, you are automatically entered on the electoral list of the municipality where you were registered.

The electoral map is:

  • Be handed over on the occasion of a citizenship ceremony organized by the mayor
  • Sent by post no later than 3 days before the poll (election or referendum)

If you are absent on the day of the citizenship ceremony :

  • Either you're invited to a future ceremony
  • Either the card is sent by mail to your home no later than 3 days before 1er round of the election (or referendum)
  • Either the card is made available to you on the day of the election at your polling station. You can get it by presenting your identity document

You can check your registration using this online service:

Verify your voter registration and polling station

You are not automatically registered on the voters list at 18 years of age, if you did not complete your citizenship census, or if you did so late.

To be able to vote, you must then ask the City Hall to register.

You can register all year round:

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Online

Warning  

you can apply online on condition have already reached the age of 18.

You must provide the following scanned documents:

Application to register online on the electoral lists

On the spot

By yourself

You must provide the following:

Who shall I contact
Through another person

You can have someone do this for you.

To do this, you must provide the following documents:

Who shall I contact

By mail

You must submit the following documents:

Who shall I contact

Warning  

to vote in a particular election, you must respect a deadline.

At the age of 18, you are automatically registered on the electoral list of the municipality you indicated when you made your citizen census.

If you have moved since your census and want to vote in your new commune, you must ask your new mayor to register to vote.

You can register all year round:

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Online

Warning  

you can apply online on condition have already reached the age of 18.

You must provide the following scanned documents:

Application to register online on the electoral lists

On the spot

By yourself

You must provide the following:

Who shall I contact
Through another person

You can have someone do this for you.

To do this, you must provide the following documents:

Who shall I contact

By mail

You must submit the following documents:

Who shall I contact

Warning  

to vote in a particular election, you must respect a deadline.

Abroad

You can check your registration in the foreigner Register:

Register of French outside France - Consular registration

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You're on the foreigner's register

When you turn 18, you are automatically registered on the consular voters list of the country in which you live. You can then to vote from the foreigner.

You can check your voter registration:

Verify your voter registration and polling station

If you are not registered, you must go to the consulate (or embassy) and provide the following documents:

Warning  

to vote in an election year, you have to do this before a deadline.

You're not on the register

For to vote from the foreigner, you must register on the consular voters list.

You must go to the consulate (or embassy) and provide the following documents:

Warning  

to vote in an election year, you have to do this before a deadline.

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