Consumer and banking · Purchases · delivery
Damaged parcel in France: reservations, the three-day limit and who to claim from
If a parcel arrives damaged in France, note precise reservations and send a reasoned protest to the carrier within three days of receipt, public holidays excluded (article L133-3 of the Commercial Code). The limit becomes ten days if the courier did not let you check the parcel’s condition (article L224-65 of the Consumer Code). When the seller chose the carrier, the seller answers first for a proper delivery.
- Public holidays not counted
- 10 days without a check
- Seller liable if it chose
- Official texts cited
- Sources checked on
- Drafted with AI assistance, our method
General legal information with official references and dated checks. It is not personalised advice: for a decision that commits you, have your situation checked by a qualified professional.
Julie by AlphaDeep
Does the 3-day limit count weekends?
Yes: only public holidays are excluded, such as 1 May or Easter Monday. Service-public adds that if the last day falls on a Sunday or public holiday, the time limit runs to the next working day: a parcel received on a Thursday can be contested until Monday. The safest course is still to send the letter before the weekend.
Read the referencesYour parcel arrived damaged: I can tell you your deadline to protest and draft the reservations letter.
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Who is responsible: the seller or the courier?
It depends on who chose the carrier. If the seller offered it, the seller is liable as of right for proper delivery, even when someone else carries it out; it escapes liability only by proving your fault, an unforeseeable and insurmountable act of a third party, or force majeure. The risk passes to you only when you take physical possession of the item.
If you imposed your own carrier, the risk passes to you as soon as the parcel is handed to that carrier, and you act against the carrier. A carrier is liable for damage, except where caused by an inherent defect in the item or force majeure.
Code de la consommation, article L221-15Code de la consommation, article L216-2Code de la consommation, article L216-3Code de commerce, article L133-1Service-public: delivery of a distance purchase
Should you refuse the parcel or accept it with reservations?
The French consumer authority (DGCCRF) advises refusing the delivery or writing your reservations on the delivery slip. If you accept it, check the parcel in front of the courier and write precise reservations; a carrier that does not dispute reservations made in its presence is deemed to accept them.
Not making reservations does not take away the legal conformity guarantee against a business seller, which lasts two years from delivery.
Conso.gouv.fr: order not delivered, incomplete or damagedINC: delivery, your rights and remediesCode de la consommation, article L217-3
Until when can you send your protest?
Enter the date received and who chose the carrier: the tool gives the last day to protest and who to write to.
Fictional example · deadline
You chose the carrier: it is liable for damage. Send it a reasoned protest by registered letter by 18 October 2026.
- Who is liable
- The carrier
- Time to protest
- 3 days, public holidays not counted
- Letter to the carrier by
- 18 October 2026
- Extension accepted by service-public.fr
- 19 October 2026
- Sue the carrier before
- 15 October 2027
- Precise reservations on the delivery slip, in front of the courier: “subject to unpacking” has no legal value.
- Keep photos of the parcel and the item, the delivery slip and the tracking.
- Service-public accepts a move to the next working day when the last day is a Sunday or public holiday: rely on it only as a last resort.
French national public holidays, not Alsace-Moselle local ones.
What should go on the delivery slip and in the letter, in order?
In order, from the doorstep to the letter.
Check the parcel in front of the courier
If you are not allowed to check its condition, the time to protest goes from three to ten days.
Write precise reservations on the slip
Describe the visible damage, never “subject to unpacking”, which has no legal value.
Photograph the parcel and the item
With the order confirmation, proof of payment and tracking, these are your evidence.
Send the carrier a reasoned protest
By registered letter, within three days of receipt, public holidays not counted.
Write to the seller
If it chose the carrier, it must repair, replace or, failing that, refund the damaged item.
Code de la consommation, article L221-15Conso.gouv.fr: order not delivered, incomplete or damaged
Go to the mediator, then the court
The mediator after a written complaint, within a year; against the carrier, court within a year of delivery.
Code de la consommation, article L612-2Code de commerce, article L133-6
Is writing ‘subject to unpacking’ enough?
No. That wording has no legal value and does not prove the damage existed on delivery: describe exactly what you see, such as a crushed box or a cracked screen.
Against the carrier, reservations are not enough either: confirm them with a reasoned protest, sent by registered letter or served by a commissaire de justice within three days of receipt.
INC: delivery, your rights and remediesCode de commerce, article L133-3
Which time limit applies to which kind of delivery?
| Situation | Time limit | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Carrier you chose, parcel checked on delivery | 3 days after receipt, public holidays not counted | Commercial Code, L133-3 |
| Carrier you chose, check refused | 10 days, public holidays not counted | Consumer Code, L224-65 |
| Carrier offered by the seller | Claim against the seller, liable as of right | Consumer Code, L221-15 |
| Legal conformity guarantee | 2 years from delivery, against a business seller | Consumer Code, L217-3 |
| House move by a professional | 10 calendar days after receipt | Consumer Code, L224-63 |
| Court action against the carrier | 1 year from delivery | Commercial Code, L133-6 |
| Parcel handed to a postal operator | Action within a year of posting; compensation capped at €23 per kg | Postal Code, L10 and R2-2 |
Code de commerce, article L133-3Code de la consommation, article L224-65Code de la consommation, article L221-15Code de la consommation, article L217-3Code de la consommation, article L224-63Code de commerce, article L133-6Code des postes et des communications électroniques, article L10Code des postes et des communications électroniques, article R2-2
What does article L133-3 of the French Commercial Code say?
La réception des objets transportés éteint toute action contre le voiturier pour avarie ou perte partielle si dans les trois jours, non compris les jours fériés, qui suivent celui de cette réception, le destinataire n’a pas notifié au voiturier, par acte extrajudiciaire ou par lettre recommandée, sa protestation motivée. Si dans le délai ci-dessus prévu il est formé une demande d’expertise en application de l’article L. 133-4, cette demande vaut protestation sans qu’il soit nécessaire de procéder comme il est dit au premier alinéa. Toutes stipulations contraires sont nulles et de nul effet. Cette dernière disposition n’est pas applicable aux transports internationaux.
In plain English: Receipt of the goods carried ends any action against the carrier for damage or partial loss unless, within three days after the day of receipt, public holidays not counted, the consignee has notified the carrier of a reasoned protest by bailiff’s act or registered letter. A request for an expert assessment made within that period counts as a protest. Any contrary term is void, except for international carriage.
The period runs from the day after receipt, and only public holidays are left out: Saturdays and Sundays count.
What do people with a damaged parcel ask?
Does the 3-day limit count weekends?
Yes: only public holidays are excluded, such as 1 May or Easter Monday. Service-public adds that if the last day falls on a Sunday or public holiday, the time limit runs to the next working day: a parcel received on a Thursday can be contested until Monday. The safest course is still to send the letter before the weekend.
Code de commerce, article L133-3Code du travail, article L3133-1Service-public: delivery of a distance purchase
Damaged item bought on Vinted or Leboncoin: what are your options?
Liability as of right and the conformity guarantee apply to a business seller, not a private individual. You keep the action against the carrier, provided you make reservations and protest within three days, or ten if you could not check the parcel. Check the platform’s own rules as well.
Code de la consommation, article L221-15Code de commerce, article L133-3Code de la consommation, article L224-65
Which photos should you keep as evidence?
The parcel before opening and its label, then the item and each piece of damage. Add the order confirmation, proof of payment, tracking and your exchanges with customer service.
How long do you have to sue the carrier?
One year from delivery for damage or partial loss, provided you protested in time. For a parcel handed to a postal operator, the claim is time-barred one year after the day following posting, and compensation cannot exceed €23 per kilogram.
Code de commerce, article L133-6Code des postes et des communications électroniques, article L10Code des postes et des communications électroniques, article R2-2
Which texts set these time limits?
- Code de commerce, article L133-3Légifrance
- Code de la consommation, article L224-65Légifrance
- Code de la consommation, article L221-15Légifrance
- Code de la consommation, article L216-2Légifrance
- Code de la consommation, article L216-3Légifrance
- Code de commerce, article L133-1Légifrance
- Code de commerce, article L133-6Légifrance
- Code de la consommation, article L217-3Légifrance
- Code de la consommation, article L224-63Légifrance
- Code des postes et des communications électroniques, article R2-2Légifrance
- Code des postes et des communications électroniques, article L10Légifrance
- Code de la consommation, article L612-2Légifrance
- Code du travail, article L3133-1Légifrance
- Service-public: delivery of a distance purchaseService-public.fr
- INC: delivery, your rights and remediesInstitut national de la consommation
- Conso.gouv.fr: order not delivered, incomplete or damagedDGCCRF
Texts cited last checked: 17 October 2026