What does the social security number mean?

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

Registration in the National Directory of Identification of Natural Persons (RNIPP) shall be subject to the allocation of a Registration Number (NIR).

The NIR is also called the "social security number". It is composed of 13 digits and is completed by a control key composed of 2 digits.

Infographie - Social security number
Illustration X - Social security number
Illustration X
Crédits: Direction de l’information légale et administrative

Ouvrir l’image dans une nouvelle fenêtre

Social security number

Download
Social security number - plus de détails dans le texte suivant l’infographie
Crédits: Service Public (DILA)Infographie - Social security number

The NIR, created from civil status, is composed as follows:

1er digit

Gender:

  • 1: Male
  • 2: Female

    • Next 2 digits

    Year of birth

    Next 2 digits

    Month of birth

    Next 5 digits

    Place of birth:

  • 2 digits of the birth department code
  • 3 digits of the official common code of theInsee: titleContent

    • Next 3 digits

    Serial number to distinguish persons born at the same place in the same period

    If you are foreign born, the 2 digits of the department code are replaced by 99 and the common code by an Insee code of the country of birth.

    If you were born in Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia before the independence of these countries, a specific code may be used instead of the code 99 and the INSEE code of the country concerned.

    Example :

    91, 92, 93 or 94 for Algeria, 95 for Morocco and 96 for Tunisia

    FYI  

    Two digits constituting a “control key” complete the social security number. This control key makes it possible to verify that the social security number is well formed.