How long must I keep important documents in France?

Despite the increased digitisation of the modern world, there are still some documents that you are recommended to keep in hard copy records in France. But which ones, for how long, and why?

Mostly, the keeping of records is good practice to protect your rights, and/or enable you to prove a contract if need be, states the Service Public website.

Yet, some key documents are considered to be of particular importance. It is recommended that you hold onto documents including these - if applicable - for life:

• Livret de famille (family record book)

• Carnet de santé (health record)

• Contrat de mariage (marriage contract, or similar)

• Jugement d’adoption (adoption judgement)

• Acte de vente d’un logement (deed of sale of a property)

It may be prudent to keep other documents for varying lengths of time, the website states. For example: 

• Tenancy agreement: If you are a tenant, you need to keep your tenancy agreement and inventory of fixtures for three years after the end of the lease.

• Tax notices and tax returns: Keep until the beginning of the 4th year following that tax year (e.g. you can dispose of your 2024 return from the beginning of 2028)

• Salary slips: These are useful for obtaining a pension at retirement, so you may wish to keep them until you have used them to claim your right to a pension 

• Sale of a car: No set limit on keeping it, but may be useful to keep for several years in case the new owner disputes something with you.

• Public hospital bill: Four years

• Medical certificate or medical exam results: Forever. Can be helpful in the event of a worsening health condition.

The Service Public website has a search engine (see image below) that you can use to check the recommended storage time for particular documents. It also explains what to do with someone's records after they die.

You are advised to keep the original paper format of a document if it has been given to you in this format, as a digital version or photocopy may not be considered valid.

Digital documents sent by email or similar may be kept digital, but it is a good idea to save them to a secure drive on your computer and back them up to a separate drive that you keep safe, in the event that your computer breaks and/or the data is damaged or lost.

For this reason, you may also wish to print out digital copies of important documents, even if they were originally issued to you in digital format only.