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Family and couples · Divorce · civil records

Getting a foreign divorce recorded on French civil records

A divorce granted abroad does not appear on French records by itself. For a decision from an EU country in proceedings started after 1 August 2022, updating French civil records needs no special procedure (Regulation 2019/1111, article 30). Outside the EU, the public prosecutor first checks that the decision can take effect in France. If the marriage took place abroad on or after 1 March 2007, it must first be registered (article 1082 of the Code of Civil Procedure).

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  • Official texts cited
  • Sources checked on
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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

Is the prosecutor’s check free?

Julie Illustration

Yes. The recognition request is free, apart from the cost of translating documents written in a foreign language.

Read the references

Your divorce was granted abroad and your French records do not show it: I can tell you where to write and which documents to send.

French law

3 free questions at signup. Avoid names and sensitive information.

Tool

Which route fits the country and date of your divorce?

Three or four questions: the tool shows which authority to apply to, the town hall, the Central Civil Status Service or the prosecutor, and what to enclose.

julie://tool/guichetNothing leaves your browser
Where was the divorce granted?
Where did you marry?

Fictional example · where to apply

Apply directly to the civil registrar at the town hall where you married, with no prosecutor’s check.

  1. A written, dated and signed request naming the records to update
  2. A certificate from the foreign court or authority that granted the divorce
  3. The divorce in original or certified copy, translated by an approved translator
  4. Full copies or extracts of the French records to update

Based on the service-public and France Diplomatie guides: the authority may ask for other documents.

Answer

Do you write to the town hall, Nantes or the prosecutor?

It depends on where the divorce was granted and where you married. A divorce granted in the EU, except Denmark, is recorded directly: at the town hall where you married if that was in France, or at the Central Civil Status Service in Nantes if you married abroad. A divorce granted elsewhere first goes through a recognition check by the public prosecutor: the one for the place of marriage in France, or the Nantes prosecutor for a marriage abroad.

Recording a divorce is not enforcement: to enforce the financial terms of a judgment from outside the EU, you need exequatur proceedings, with a lawyer.

Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroadRegulation (EU) 2019/1111, articles 30, 36 and 38Code de procédure civile, article 509Service-public: enforcing a foreign civil judgment

Summary card: town hall, Nantes or the prosecutor, depending on the divorce country and the place of marriage.
Getting a foreign divorce recorded in France.
Answer

Does a UK divorce still follow the EU route?

Only if the case was started between 1 March 2001 and 31 December 2020, when the transition period ended. The Withdrawal Agreement keeps the EU rules only for cases brought before that date.

A UK divorce started in 2021 or later therefore follows the route for non-EU countries: a recognition request to the prosecutor.

France Diplomatie: recognising a divorce granted abroadUK Withdrawal Agreement, articles 67 and 126

In order

Which documents should you gather, and in what order?

The documents in the order the authority reviews them. The full list applies to the prosecutor’s check; the EU route needs fewer.

  1. The request

    Written, dated and signed, naming the records to update. For divorces outside the EU, service-public offers a model request.

    Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroadService-public: model request for the prosecutor’s recognition check

  2. A copy of the divorce

    The original or a certified copy of the full decision.

    Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroad

  3. Proof it is final

    A certificate of no appeal or an acceptance outside the EU; for the EU, the certificate from the court that granted it.

    Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroadRegulation (EU) 2019/1111, articles 30, 36 and 38

  4. Translations

    By an approved translator, for the divorce and any document in a foreign language, at your cost.

    Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroad

  5. The original petition

    If the divorce gives no reasons, a copy of the application made to the foreign court.

    Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroad

  6. The spouses’ address and nationality

    As at the date the divorce was filed, if the decision does not state them.

    Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroadFrance Diplomatie: recognising a divorce granted abroad

  7. The French records to update

    Full copies or extracts of the marriage and birth records concerned.

    Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroad

Answer

What if your marriage abroad was never registered in France?

Register it first. For a marriage celebrated abroad on or after 1 March 2007, the divorce can only be noted on a French national’s birth record after the marriage is registered in France. You apply through the consulate for the place of the wedding, and only the Nantes prosecutor can rule on the registration.

For a marriage celebrated before 1 March 2007, no prior registration is needed: ask the civil registrar who holds the birth record to add the note directly.

Code de procédure civile, article 1082Code civil, article 171-5Code de procédure civile, article 1056-2Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroad

Answer

How long does recording the divorce take?

The official guides set no time limit for the prosecutor to review the request, and the Central Civil Status Service has no public counter: everything goes by post. Once the decision is made, the registrar adds the note automatically and informs the other registrars concerned within three days.

Do not wait: until the note is made, the divorce cannot be relied on against third parties as regards the spouses’ property.

Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroadCode civil, article 49Code civil, article 262

The law

What does article 1082 of the Code of Civil Procedure say?

Toutefois, cette mention ne peut être portée en marge de l’acte de naissance d’un Français qu’après transcription sur les registres de l’état civil de l’acte de mariage célébré par l’autorité étrangère à compter du 1er mars 2007.

Code de procédure civile, article 1082In force since 11 May 2007Read on Légifrance

In plain English: However, the divorce can only be noted on a French national’s birth record once a marriage celebrated by a foreign authority on or after 1 March 2007 has been registered in the French civil records.

Until these notes are made, the divorce cannot be relied on against third parties as regards the spouses’ property.

Frequent questions

What else do people divorced abroad ask?

Is the prosecutor’s check free?

Yes. The recognition request is free, apart from the cost of translating documents written in a foreign language.

Service-public: model request for the prosecutor’s recognition check

Can you remarry in France before the divorce is recorded?

A second marriage requires the first to be dissolved, and the town hall checks your status on the French records: until the divorce is noted there, they still show the first marriage. So complete this step before filing a marriage application.

Code civil, article 147Code de procédure civile, article 1082

Does the foreign judgment need a sworn translation?

Yes. Service-public asks for a French translation by an approved translator, at your cost, for the divorce and any foreign-language documents, on both routes.

Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroad

What if the prosecutor refuses recognition?

The divorce is not recorded. You can bring proceedings in the civil court against the public prosecutor; a lawyer is compulsory, and legal aid can cover some or all of the costs. The prosecutor mainly checks public policy, for instance against a repudiation, and the rights of the defence.

Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroad

Sources

Which texts is this guide based on?

  1. Code de procédure civile, article 1082Légifrance
  2. Code civil, article 171-5Légifrance
  3. Code de procédure civile, article 1056-2Légifrance
  4. Code civil, article 262Légifrance
  5. Code civil, article 49Légifrance
  6. Code civil, article 147Légifrance
  7. Code de procédure civile, article 509Légifrance
  8. Regulation (EU) 2019/1111, articles 30, 36 and 38EUR-Lex
  9. UK Withdrawal Agreement, articles 67 and 126EUR-Lex
  10. Service-public: updating French civil records after a divorce abroadService-public.fr
  11. Service-public: model request for the prosecutor’s recognition checkService-public.fr
  12. Service-public: enforcing a foreign civil judgmentService-public.fr
  13. France Diplomatie: recognising a divorce granted abroadMinistère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères

Texts cited last checked: 17 October 2026

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