Customs: which products are allowed to leave France during a trip?
Verified 21 June 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Before going abroad with goods, you should check whether you are allowed to travel with these products. You should also check if their exit from France is authorized or not authorized. We will explain to you what the customs formalities.
Before leaving France, you should check the following 3 points:
- Do you have the right to travel with the products you want to take away?
- Should these products be declared to French customs at their exit from France ?
- Are these products allowed to to enter the country from your destination?
You can inquire at the following service:
Who shall I contact
Customs Service Info
To obtain customs information concerning export, import, customs forms, transport and border crossing, exemptions...
By telephone
0 800 94 40 40
Open from Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 6pm
Toll-free number, local call price
Outside metropolis or from the foreigner, dial +33 1 72 40 78 50
By E-mail
Access to contact form
You can also contact the consular authorities in France or the customs or tourist services of the country of destination:
Who shall I contact
Please note
Remember to check the Travel advice from the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Here you will find information specific to each country.
You cannot not travel with the following products, regardless of the country of your destination:
- Narcotics
- Pedophilic products and objects (containing images or depictions of minors of a pornographic nature)
- Counterfeits
Some countries prohibit the entry into their territory of the following products:
- Special foodstuffs (alcohol, non-sterilized foodstuffs such as cheese or cold cuts)
- Electronic devices such as cameras, camcorders
Warning
If you are traveling with medicines classified as narcotic (methadone, morphine) you must travel with your doctor's prescription.
Find out more about these products from your destination country's customs and plant health authorities at the border.
Warning
If these products are concealed, not declared or not authorized, you are subject to significant criminal and financial penalties.
Products subject to customs declaration
You have to make a customs declaration for certain products when leaving France.
These products are:
- Cash from €10,000
- Cultural property and works of art
- Weapons and ammunition
- Threatened and protected wild animals and plants at European or international level
Authorization to exit a cultural object
To transport a cultural object, you must do the following:
Application for authorization to circulate a cultural object / national treasure
Authorization to remove a weapon or ammunition
FYI
If you are a professional sport hunter or shooter, you do not need to apply for special permission. You must present your hunting license or shooting license.
Otherwise, for the transport of a weapon or ammunition, you must:
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Travel in the EU
You must complete the following form:
Apply for a license to transfer firearms and ammunition to a European country
Travel outside the EU
You must complete the following form:
Apply for a license to transfer firearms and ammunition to a non-European country
Authorization for the exit of a pet
If you are traveling with your pet, you must complete health formalities before departure.
The following animals are considered by Customs as pets:
- Domestic carnivores: dogs, cats, ferrets
- Reptiles
- Amphibians
- Invertebrates (excl. bees and crustaceans)
- Domestic rodents and rabbits
- Ornamental fish
- All bird species except poultry
Find out what to do with customs.
Who shall I contact
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
For more information
Customs Service Info
To obtain customs information concerning export, import, customs forms, transport and border crossing, exemptions...
By telephone
0 800 94 40 40
Open from Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 6pm
Toll-free number, local call price
Outside metropolis or from the foreigner, dial +33 1 72 40 78 50
By E-mail
Access to contact form
To find out about customs formalities before departure abroad
Foreigners Embassy or Consulate in France- Customs services in France and Europe
- Veterinary and Phytosanitary Border Inspection Service (VFEIS)
Directorate-General for Armaments
By email
dga-di.classement.fct@intradef.gouv.fr
By mail
Directorate-General for Armaments
International Development Directorate
Office of Regulation, Classification, Dual Use and Industrial Safety
DGA/DI/SPEM/DGPC/BIS
60 Boulevard du Général Martial Valin
CS 21623
75509 Paris Cedex 15
Jeopardizing minors
Prohibition of the export of narcotic substances and preparations
Prohibitions on the export of certain products
Prohibition of the export of counterfeit goods
Counterfeits: criminal sanctions
Export of cultural goods without authorization: criminal sanctions
Authorization to circulate with a weapon or ammunition for civil use
Authorization for the exit of weapons and munitions of war from the EU
Service-Public.fr
Service-Public.fr
Service-Public.fr
Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
Directorate General of Customs and Indirect Taxes
Ministry of the Environment