PACS in 60 seconds

  • PACS is a contractual civil partnership, lighter and easier to dissolve than marriage ;
  • Open to same-sex and mixed couples since 1999, including foreign-only couples living in France ;
  • Gives a non-EU partner the right to apply for the "vie privée et familiale" residence card after one year of joint life ;
  • Free at the mairie since 2017, or roughly 250-450 euros at a notary if you want a tailored convention.

What is the PACS?

The PACS is a civil contract between two adults who want to organise their life together. It was created in November 1999, originally to give same-sex couples some of the legal and tax protections that only married couples could access at the time. Marriage was opened to same-sex couples in 2013, but the PACS stayed and is now used by every type of couple: French, mixed and foreign-only, opposite-sex and same-sex.

Compared with marriage, the PACS is lighter on commitment and lighter on paperwork. There is no public ceremony required, no civil status change (you stay celibataire for foreign administrations), no automatic inheritance and no parental rights. But you do gain a real legal couple status in France, with all the practical benefits that follow.

It also differs from simple cohabitation (concubinage). Concubinage is recognised informally and lets you obtain a certificat de concubinage from your mairie, but it does not unlock joint taxation, joint property regimes or the residence card path. The PACS does.

Who Can Sign a PACS

The eligibility rules are deliberately simple, which is one of the reasons the PACS is popular among expats. Both partners must:

  • Be adults (18 or older) ;
  • Not be married, and not be in another active PACS ;
  • Not be direct relatives, in-laws or close-degree family ;
  • Have legal capacity (no full guardianship without judicial authorisation).

Nationality is not a barrier. Two foreigners can sign a PACS in France as long as at least one of them resides in the country. Mixed-nationality couples are the most common case among Selectra readers, and the PACS is normally the cheapest and fastest way to formalise the relationship.

If you want a refresher on French residency rules before you sign, see our guide to becoming a French resident.

Why Expats Get PACS'd

For an expat couple, the PACS pays back the few hours of admin within a year. The four most common reasons we see at Selectra:

  • Residence rights. A non-EU partner becomes eligible for the carte de séjour vie privée et familiale once the couple proves at least one year of shared life. The PACS itself does not grant the card automatically, but it is the strongest piece of evidence the prefecture accepts ;
  • Joint taxation. Since 2011, partners can file a single household tax return from the year of the PACS itself. Joint filing usually lowers the overall tax bill when incomes are uneven ;
  • Social security as ayant droit. A working partner can register the other as a dependent for the Carte Vitale, even before the second partner finds a job ;
  • Speed and cost. Marriage typically requires a 10-day public notice (publication des bans), banns posted at the mairie and a ceremony. A PACS can be signed within weeks at the mairie, free of charge, with no public banns.

Whether you are arriving from the UK, from the USA, from Canada or from Australia, the PACS is the same legal contract, only the apostille and translation rules change.

PACS vs Marriage vs Concubinage

The three couple statuses recognised in France give very different sets of rights. Use the table below as a side-by-side reference before deciding which one fits your situation:

Right or obligation Concubinage PACS Marriage
Legal formalities None Contract at mairie or notary Civil ceremony, public banns
Joint tax declaration No Yes, from the PACS year Yes, from the marriage year
Residence card path Difficult, case-by-case Yes after 1 year of joint life Yes, immediate spouse visa
Automatic inheritance No No (will required) Yes, protected share
Parental rights No automatic rights No automatic rights Yes, joint parenthood
Dissolution Free, no formalities Joint or unilateral declaration Divorce procedure

If your priority is a residence card and joint taxation without the cost of a wedding, the PACS column is the right one. If you also need automatic inheritance and parental rights, only marriage delivers all three.

Documents Required

The list is shared by every mairie and notary in France, with small adjustments for foreign nationals. Each partner must provide:

  • A valid identity document, passport or national ID card, plus a photocopy ;
  • A full birth certificate (copie intégrale) issued less than three months before the appointment ;
  • A sworn statement (attestation sur l'honneur) confirming you are not a direct relative and that you live or will live together ;
  • The PACS convention itself, either the standard Cerfa form or a custom one drafted with a notary.

For foreign-born partners, a few extra documents come into play:

  • A certificat de coutume or certificat de capacité matrimoniale, issued by your embassy or consulate, confirming you can sign a PACS under your home-country law ;
  • A certificat de non-PACS from the Service central d'état civil in Nantes, less than three months old ;
  • A certified translation of the foreign birth certificate by a French sworn translator ;
  • An apostille on the foreign birth certificate, when your country requires it under the 1961 Hague Convention.

Apostille shortcut. Documents issued in EU member states are exempt from apostille and legalisation thanks to the 2019 EU Regulation 2016/1191. The UK is also covered by a long-standing bilateral arrangement that exempts most civil documents. The USA, Canada and Australia, on the other hand, require an apostille for any birth certificate used in a French PACS file.

How to Sign a PACS

Since the November 2017 reform, you have two routes to sign a PACS, and both produce exactly the same legal effect:

Option 1: Sign at the mairie

The officier d'état civil of the mairie covering your shared address registers the PACS. The service is free of charge. You book an appointment, both partners attend, hand over the file and sign the convention. The PACS takes effect the same day, and a certificate (récépissé) is issued on the spot. Lead times vary widely: small towns can offer slots within two weeks, large cities like Paris or Lyon can require six to eight weeks.

Option 2: Sign before a notary

A notary registers the PACS and, more importantly, drafts a tailor-made convention. Fees are regulated and typically range from 250 to 450 euros, including the registration fee, the convention drafting and the authentic deed. This option is the better fit if you own property, plan to buy together or want to opt for the indivision regime (joint ownership of assets acquired during the PACS).

By default, the PACS uses the séparation des biens regime: each partner keeps the assets they earn or acquire individually. The indivision regime, available only by explicit clause in the convention, splits jointly acquired assets 50/50.

Rights Granted by a PACS

Once the PACS is registered, the following rights kick in:

  • Residence card. A non-EU partner can apply for the carte de séjour vie privée et familiale after at least one year of joint life. The PACS, joint utility bills, joint bank statements and tenancy in both names are the standard evidence ;
  • Joint income tax. Partners file a single tax return from the year of the PACS. See our guide to taxes in France for the practical mechanics of joint declarations ;
  • Social-security cover. The non-working partner becomes ayant droit on the working partner's Carte Vitale ;
  • Mutual financial duty. Each partner must contribute to common life expenses in proportion to their income, and is jointly liable for everyday household debts ;
  • Workplace rights. Days off for the death of a partner, family events and PACS-related leave are recognised in the code du travail ;
  • Inheritance protection (partial). The surviving partner is exempt from inheritance tax on what is left to them by will, and can stay in the family home for one year if they were renting jointly.

If you do not yet have a French bank account to set up direct debits, joint rentals or salary deposits, our overview of banking in France walks through the options open to expats.

Limits and Differences from Marriage

The PACS is lighter than marriage, and that lightness has a price. Three differences matter most for expats:

  • No automatic inheritance. Without a will, a deceased partner's estate goes to their family (children, parents, siblings) before the surviving partner. A French will (testament) is the standard fix ;
  • No automatic parental rights. A child born during the PACS does not automatically have both partners as legal parents. Adoption or formal recognition is required ;
  • No spouse pension (pension de réversion). The pay-as-you-go French pension system pays a survivor's pension to widowed spouses only, not to PACS partners.

The PACS is also not always recognised abroad. The UK treats it broadly as a civil partnership, and most EU countries accept it for residency purposes, but the United States, Canada and Australia generally treat PACS partners as single on official forms. Plan accordingly if you intend to move out of France later.

Once You're PACS'd: Finish Setting Up Home

A PACS file usually requires proof that you live together: a joint tenancy, joint utility bills or both. If you have not yet put electricity, gas and broadband contracts in both names, that is the next practical step. Most providers in France only operate in French, which is exactly the friction Selectra exists to remove.

English-speaking helpline · Free callback available

Set up electricity, gas or broadband in minutes — in English

Selectra's English-speaking advisors compare every supplier on the market and open the contract in your joint names, free of charge. Have your French address, IBAN and a phone number ready before calling.

Energy: 09 87 67 37 93 Broadband & Mobile: 09 77 55 72 27

Energy line: Mon-Fri 8 am-9 pm, Sat 8:30 am-6:30 pm, Sun 9 am-6 pm. Broadband line: Mon-Fri 9:30 am-7:30 pm. Or get a free callback.

A joint utility bill in both names is one of the simplest pieces of evidence the prefecture accepts when you apply for the vie privée et familiale card after a year of PACS.

How to Dissolve a PACS

Ending a PACS is one of its main advantages over marriage: there is no judge, no divorce procedure and no waiting period. A PACS dissolves in four scenarios:

  • Joint declaration. Both partners send a signed letter to the mairie or notary that registered the PACS, asking for dissolution ;
  • Unilateral declaration. One partner notifies the other by huissier (judicial officer), then sends the proof to the registering authority ;
  • Marriage. If either partner marries (each other or someone else), the PACS dissolves automatically ;
  • Death. The PACS ends at the partner's date of death.

Property is split according to the regime chosen in the convention: séparation des biens by default, indivision if explicitly opted in. Dissolution is free at the mairie, and a notary will charge a small fixed fee.