It is now easier for people to identify a lost or forgotten bank account in France

Finding information about old and forgotten bank accounts is now easier in France with tax authorities able to hand over the relevant information.

It means people looking for a bank account they have forgotten the details for – or accounts opened in their name without their knowledge – can directly ask for this information online.

This can be useful to help protect against fraud and recover funds in unknown accounts. 

Where is this information found? 

Information on all bank accounts in France is held in the national ‘Ficoba’ database. 

The database has been used since 1971 – in 2020, a list of all the safes in the country was added. 

In terms of bank accounts, the database contains basic information about accounts, including their type and account number and when they are opened, closed, or modified, with the information updated no later than a month after these actions take place.

In the case of closed accounts, the information is kept for ten years on the database. 

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Details kept about the account holder include their identity (name, place and date of birth, address, SIRET number if the account is run by a tradesperson, etc). 

Due to the sensitive nature of this information, only certain people can access the database, including notaires working on the inheritance of an estate, police officers, judges, the caisse des dépôts, and French customs and tax authorities. 

They can transmit data from the database to account holders and heirs of accounts.

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What are the changes? 

Previously, the only way to access information on the Ficoba outside of direct interactions with some of the groups listed above (i.e. a notaire informing an heir of a bank account) was via a request to the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL). 

You could only ask for information about accounts directly in your name or the name of a child or person you were the guardian of. 

You could ask to access this information for the following reasons: 

• Suspecting that your identity has been stolen, in order to check that no account has been opened in your name

• Wanting to find out if you hold an account that you have forgotten about or that you do not know exists, such as a savings account opened by your parents;

• Wanting to identify any errors in your declarations (for example, forgetting to close an account following the death of the holder). The request for correction must be made to the bank where the account is held.

Since January 6 however, it has been possible to request this information online directly through the tax authorities. Note, you can only request the same information as through the Cnil – and for the same reasons – and not access the whole database.

To do so, log onto your personal space on the French tax site, click on ‘Autres services’ and then ‘Accéder au fichier FICOBA’. 

You can also send the request via post to your local office. 

If you are requesting information about the account of a person you have inherited from, a person you have guardianship over, or a company/association, you must make the request via post to the following address: 

FBFV National Processing Centre

BP31

77421

Marne-la-Vallée cedex 02

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