First moves, in this order

  • Bank card lost or stolen: dial 0892 705 705 (24/7, €0.80/min) inside France, or +33 1 42 77 11 90 from abroad ;
  • Phone lost or stolen: contact your operator immediately to block the SIM and the IMEI ;
  • Passport: report the loss or theft to the nearest police station, then to your embassy or consulate ;
  • File a déclaration de perte ou de vol online on service-public.fr for non-criminal losses.

Lost or Stolen: Two Different Procedures

French law treats a lost item and a stolen one very differently, and using the wrong word at the police station will send you to the wrong queue. Knowing which form applies saves time and gives your insurer or bank a document they can act on.

  • Loss (perte): you simply mislaid the item. The right document is a déclaration de perte, filed online on service-public.fr or in person at the commissariat ;
  • Theft (vol): a third party took the item. You must file a plainte (criminal complaint) at any police station or gendarmerie. The receipt (récépissé de plainte) is the document your insurer and bank will ask for.

Identity papers (passport, French carte d'identité, driving licence) require a police report in both cases, because the document number must be flagged in national databases. For everything else, file a plainte only when there was theft — otherwise the simple online declaration is enough.

If you are not sure how to explain the situation in French, our English-speaking helplines guide lists every emergency and administrative line that answers in English.

Bank Cards: Block Within Minutes

French banks share a national 24/7 hotline for blocking lost or stolen Carte Bleue, Visa and Mastercard cards. Call it before you do anything else — even before going to the police — because every minute leaves room for fraudulent transactions.

  • Inter-bank hotline (France): 0892 705 705, 24/7, charged at €0.80 per minute ;
  • From abroad: +33 1 42 77 11 90, same service in English ;
  • Visa direct: 0800 90 11 79 (free) ;
  • Mastercard direct: 0800 90 13 87 (free) ;
  • American Express: 01 47 77 70 00.

Have your card number ready if possible, but the operator can locate the account by name and date of birth alone. You will receive an opposition number that you must send to your bank, ideally by registered mail (lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception), within 48 hours to confirm the block.

For full instructions on dialling French banks while abroad, see our guide to important French numbers from abroad. To open or change a French bank account, head to our banking in France hub.

Mobile Phone: Block the SIM and the IMEI

A French mobile is blocked in two steps: the SIM card (your operator) and the device itself, identified by its 15-digit IMEI number. Dial *#06# on any phone to display the IMEI — do this on a working phone the day you buy the device and store it somewhere safe.

To suspend the SIM and request a replacement, call your operator. The four major French operators all have dedicated lines for theft and loss:

  • Orange: 3900 from France, +33 9 69 39 00 39 from abroad (English available) ;
  • SFR: 1023 from France, +33 6 1000 1963 from abroad ;
  • Bouygues Telecom: 614 from France, +33 6 60 61 46 14 from abroad ;
  • Free Mobile: 3244 from France, +33 1 78 56 95 60 from abroad.

If the phone was stolen, also file a plainte at the police station and give them the IMEI: French operators can blacklist the device on the national stolen-equipment database, making it unusable on any French network.

Passport: Police Report Then Embassy

A lost or stolen foreign passport must be reported twice: once to the French police (so that the document number is flagged) and once to your embassy or consulate, which issues the replacement. Bring the police receipt, a passport photo, any proof of nationality you still have (a copy of the lost passport, a national ID card, an old driving licence) and means of payment for the embassy fee.

The main embassies in Paris for English-speaking expats are:

  • UK Embassy: 35 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris — +33 1 44 51 31 00 ;
  • US Embassy: 2 avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris — +33 1 43 12 22 22 ;
  • Canadian Embassy: 130 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris — +33 1 44 43 29 00 ;
  • Australian Embassy: 4 rue Jean Rey, 75015 Paris — +33 1 40 59 33 00 ;
  • Irish Embassy: 12 avenue Foch, 75116 Paris — +33 1 44 17 67 00.

EU citizens whose national ID card is lost or stolen can usually travel home with a temporary travel document issued by their consulate. Most embassies offer same-day or next-day emergency passports for short trips, then a full biometric replacement by post.

French National ID Card and Driving Licence

Expats who hold a French carte nationale d'identité follow the same rule as for passports: police report first, then replacement at the mairie or préfecture with an appointment booked online. The replacement fee is €25 in fiscal stamps when the original was lost or stolen.

For a French driving licence (permis de conduire), the process is fully online via the ANTS portal:

  • Create an account on the ANTS website ;
  • Upload the police receipt, a passport photo and proof of address ;
  • Pay the €25 fee in dematerialised fiscal stamps ;
  • The new licence is sent to your home by registered mail within two to four weeks.

The police receipt itself acts as a temporary licence inside France for two months, but it does not allow you to drive abroad.

Wallet, Handbag or Backpack: The Right Order

A stolen wallet usually means several documents at once: bank card, ID, transport pass, sometimes a Carte Vitale. Work through the steps in this order to limit the damage:

  • Block the bank card on 0892 705 705 ;
  • File a plainte at the nearest police station — ask for a written copy of the receipt ;
  • Notify your bank by registered mail with the police receipt attached ;
  • Replace identity documents at the embassy, mairie or préfecture ;
  • Inform your home insurer if the contract covers theft outside the home (see below) ;
  • Replace the Carte Vitale online on the Ameli portal, free of charge.

Keep a digital copy of the police receipt: most banks, insurers and administrations accept a PDF upload rather than an original, which speeds up the replacement process by several days.

At the Airport: CDG, Orly and Beauvais

Items lost on a plane belong to the airline, while items lost in a terminal (toilets, lounges, security checkpoints, baggage claim) belong to the airport. The two routes are different.

  • On the plane: contact your airline within 24 hours through their online lost-property form ;
  • In the terminal at CDG or Orly: file a report on parisaeroport.fr — the page is available in English ;
  • In a checked bag that did not arrive: report it at the airline's baggage desk before leaving the airport, and keep the file reference number ;
  • At Beauvais: contact the airport directly via aeroportbeauvais.com.

After 15 days at CDG or Orly, unclaimed items are transferred to the central Paris lost-and-found office (see below).

Trains, Metros and Buses

SNCF (national trains)

SNCF runs a fully digital lost-and-found service on sncf-connect.com. Enter the train number and date, describe the item, and the system matches it against everything found on board and in stations. Replies arrive by email within 48 hours, and you can collect or have the item shipped (paid).

RATP (Paris metro, RER and bus)

Items found in the Paris metro, RER and on RATP buses are centralised at the city's lost-and-found office: 36 rue des Morillons, 75015 Paris. You can file a report online on the Préfecture de Police lost-and-found portal. The office is open Monday to Thursday 8:30 am to 5 pm and Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and charges a small droit de garde (around €10) when you reclaim an item.

When Home Insurance Can Help

Many French home insurance contracts include a clause covering theft of personal items outside the home (mobile phone, laptop, handbag), but coverage varies enormously between contracts. Before filing a claim, check whether your policy includes a garantie vol hors domicile or nomadisme option, the deductible and the cap per item.

Insurers always require the original police receipt (récépissé de plainte) and ask you to declare the theft within five working days. Without the receipt, the file cannot be opened — another reason to go to the police as soon as possible after a theft.

Quick Reference: Who to Call First

Print or bookmark this table on your phone before you need it — it is the fastest way to react when you are stressed and away from a computer.

Item Who to call first Number Notes
Bank card Inter-bank hotline 0892 705 705 / +33 1 42 77 11 90 24/7, English available from abroad
Mobile phone Your operator 3900 / 1023 / 614 / 3244 Block the SIM, then file a plainte with the IMEI
Foreign passport Police, then your embassy 17 (police) / embassy direct Bring police receipt + photo + nationality proof
French ID / driving licence Police, then ANTS or mairie 17 / online on ants.gouv.fr €25 fiscal stamps, two-to-four-week delivery
Item on a train SNCF online form sncf-connect.com Reply within 48 hours by email
Item in a metro / bus Paris lost-and-found office +33 8 21 00 25 25 36 rue des Morillons, 75015 Paris
Item at CDG / Orly Paris Aéroport online form parisaeroport.fr English form, 15-day retention then transferred

For wider English-speaking support — emergency lines, healthcare, mental health, transport — see our complete directory of English-speaking helplines in France.