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Family and couples · Divorce · paperwork

Preparing your French divorce file: the documents for each procedure

Which documents you need depends on the procedure. In a French mutual-consent divorce, the agreement must, or it is void, set out the spouses’ and children’s civil status, a full settlement of the divorce’s effects and the statement dividing the matrimonial property (article 229-3 of the Civil Code). Before a judge, the petition must include a proposal for settling the couple’s finances (article 252). Gathering them early saves back-and-forth with the lawyer.

  • 15 days to reflect before signing
  • Real estate: notarial settlement
  • Allowance: sworn statement
Go to the toolSee the texts cited
  • Official texts cited
  • Sources checked on
  • Drafted with AI assistance, our method

By the AlphaDeep legal editorial team

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

Illustrative conversation
Example question

Do you need a notary if you own no property?

Julie Illustration

Yes for the filing: the agreement is always filed with a notary. Without real estate, however, the property settlement need not be an authentic deed, and if there is nothing to divide, the agreement says so.

Read the references

You are about to see a lawyer or file for divorce in France: upload your documents and I will tell you what is missing.

French law

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Answer

On pain of nullity, the agreement must contain six sets of details: the civil status of the spouses and children, the lawyers, the agreement on the divorce and its effects, how all those effects are settled, the property settlement or a statement that there is nothing to settle, and the fact that each minor child was told of the right to be heard.

It also names the notary who will receive it and carries its annexes: the form signed by each child, the authentic property settlement, any deed transferring real estate. Each lawyer has you sign a fee agreement at the outset. The notary route is closed if a child asks to be heard or a spouse is under protection; before a judge, the petition includes a proposal for settling financial and property interests.

Code civil, article 229-3Code de procédure civile, article 1144-1Code de procédure civile, article 1145Service-public: mutual-consent divorceCode civil, article 229-2Code civil, article 252

Tool

Which documents are still missing from your file?

Tick your situation: the tool lists the documents for your case and flags anything that closes the notary route.

julie://tool/bordereauNothing leaves your browser
Which route?
Minor child?
A spouse under guardianship or other protection?
Real estate to divide?
A compensatory allowance planned?
Married abroad?

Fictional example · documents to gather

A lawyers’ agreement filed with a notary: here are the documents to gather with your lawyers.

  1. For each spouse and child: names, occupation, residence, nationality, date and place of birth; date and place of the marriage
  2. The name of the notary chosen for filing, and the fee agreement signed with each lawyer
  3. The property settlement, or a statement that none is needed
  4. The draft agreement received by registered post, signed after 15 days to reflect

List drawn from the Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure: your lawyers may ask for other documents specific to your situation.

Summary card: six required details, fifteen days to reflect, a notarial settlement for real estate.
The documents for a French divorce file.
In order

In what order should you gather the documents?

The documents in the order your lawyers, then the notary, need them.

  1. The fee agreement

    Signed with each lawyer at the outset: each spouse has their own.

    Service-public: mutual-consent divorce

  2. Civil details of spouses and children

    Names, occupations, residences, nationalities, dates and places of birth, date and place of the marriage.

    Code civil, article 229-3

  3. Each minor child’s form

    Dated and signed by the child, it confirms they were told of the right to be heard and are not using it.

    Code de procédure civile, article 1144Code de procédure civile, article 1145

  4. Evidence of assets and debts

    Title deeds, loans, accounts: they are used to draw up the property settlement.

    Code civil, article 229-3

  5. The property settlement

    An authentic deed before a notary if it covers real estate; otherwise a statement that nothing needs settling.

    Code civil, article 229-3Code de procédure civile, article 1145

  6. The sworn statement

    If a compensatory allowance is planned: resources, income, assets and living conditions.

    Code civil, article 272

  7. The signed agreement

    Received by registered post, signed after fifteen days to reflect, in at least three originals, then sent to the notary within seven days.

    Code civil, article 229-4Code de procédure civile, article 1145Code de procédure civile, article 1146

  8. The notary’s filing certificate

    It proves the divorce to third parties and lets the divorce be noted on the marriage and birth records.

    Code de procédure civile, article 1147Code de procédure civile, article 1148

Answer

Which property documents does the notary need?

The property settlement lists what is divided. It must be an authentic deed before a notary when it covers property subject to land registration, in practice real estate; if there is nothing to divide, the agreement says so.

Gather title deeds, loan agreements showing the capital still owed and statements for joint accounts. The division bears a 1.10% tax on the net assets divided, and real estate given as a compensatory allowance requires an authentic deed attached to the agreement.

Code civil, article 229-3Code de procédure civile, article 1144-3Code général des impôts, article 746

Answer

What does the sworn statement for a compensatory allowance cover?

Your resources, income, assets and living conditions, whose accuracy you certify. It is required whenever a compensatory allowance is set, by the judge or by the spouses in their agreement, or when a revision is sought.

If the allowance takes the form of a life annuity, the agreement also sets out how it is collected, how it can be revised and the criminal penalties for non-payment.

Code civil, article 272Code de procédure civile, article 1144-4

Answer

Which extra documents apply if you married abroad?

If you married abroad on or after 1 March 2007, the marriage must be registered in France before the divorce can be noted on a French national’s birth record. Annexes written in a foreign language come with a translation by an authorised translator.

Service-public also advises checking that a divorce without a judge will be recognised in the country concerned, if you need it abroad.

Code de procédure civile, article 1147Code de procédure civile, article 1146Service-public: mutual-consent divorce

The law

What must the agreement contain under article 229-3 of the Civil Code?

Le consentement au divorce et à ses effets ne se présume pas. La convention comporte expressément, à peine de nullité : 1° Les nom, prénoms, profession, résidence, nationalité, date et lieu de naissance de chacun des époux, la date et le lieu de mariage, ainsi que les mêmes indications, le cas échéant, pour chacun de leurs enfants ; 2° Le nom, l’adresse professionnelle et la structure d’exercice professionnel des avocats chargés d’assister les époux ainsi que le barreau auquel ils sont inscrits ; 3° La mention de l’accord des époux sur la rupture du mariage et sur ses effets dans les termes énoncés par la convention ; 4° Les modalités du règlement complet des effets du divorce conformément au chapitre III du présent titre, notamment s’il y a lieu au versement d’une prestation compensatoire ; 5° L’état liquidatif du régime matrimonial, le cas échéant en la forme authentique devant notaire lorsque la liquidation porte sur des biens soumis à publicité foncière, ou la déclaration qu’il n’y a pas lieu à liquidation ;

Code civil, article 229-3In force since 1 January 2017Read on Légifrance

In plain English: Consent to the divorce and its effects is never presumed. On pain of nullity, the agreement must state each spouse’s and child’s civil details and the date and place of marriage; the lawyers’ details; the spouses’ agreement on the divorce and its effects; how all effects are settled, including any compensatory allowance; the property settlement, before a notary if it covers registered property, or a statement that none is needed; and that each minor child was told of the right to be heard and does not wish to use it.

The notary checks these details and the fifteen-day reflection period before filing the agreement, which gives it a certain date and makes it enforceable.

Frequent questions

What else do divorcing spouses ask?

Do you need a notary if you own no property?

Yes for the filing: the agreement is always filed with a notary. Without real estate, however, the property settlement need not be an authentic deed, and if there is nothing to divide, the agreement says so.

Code civil, article 229-1Code civil, article 229-3

What happens if a required item is missing from the agreement?

These details are required on pain of nullity, and the notary checks them before filing: an incomplete agreement must be corrected and signed again, after a new reflection period.

Code civil, article 229-3Code civil, article 229-1Code civil, article 229-4

Which form tells a minor child about the right to be heard?

A form for each minor child, on a model set by ministerial order: it states the child’s right to ask to be heard and what that choice means. Dated and signed, it is attached to the agreement. If the child lacks discernment, the agreement says so.

Code de procédure civile, article 1144Code de procédure civile, article 1145Code de procédure civile, article 1144-2

Can you send your documents to your lawyer online?

Nothing requires paper to give your documents to your lawyer. The agreement itself can be signed electronically, with the spouses and their lawyers together for the signing. Before a judge, lawyers send documents and submissions to the court electronically.

Code de procédure civile, article 1145Service-public: divorce before the judge

Sources

Which texts is this checklist based on?

  1. Code civil, article 229-3Légifrance
  2. Code civil, article 229-1Légifrance
  3. Code civil, article 229-2Légifrance
  4. Code civil, article 229-4Légifrance
  5. Code civil, article 252Légifrance
  6. Code civil, article 272Légifrance
  7. Code de procédure civile, article 1144Légifrance
  8. Code de procédure civile, article 1144-1Légifrance
  9. Code de procédure civile, article 1144-2Légifrance
  10. Code de procédure civile, article 1144-3Légifrance
  11. Code de procédure civile, article 1144-4Légifrance
  12. Code de procédure civile, article 1145Légifrance
  13. Code de procédure civile, article 1146Légifrance
  14. Code de procédure civile, article 1147Légifrance
  15. Code de procédure civile, article 1148Légifrance
  16. Code général des impôts, article 746Légifrance
  17. Service-public: mutual-consent divorceService-public.fr
  18. Service-public: divorce before the judgeService-public.fr

Texts cited last checked: 17 October 2026

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