How Many Copies of a French Death Certificate Do You Need?

Request 15 to 20 Copies at Registration

When you register a death at a French mairie (town hall), the registrar issues certified copies of the official death certificate — the acte de décès. These are free and issued on the spot. The single most common mistake British families make is requesting too few.

Fifteen to twenty copies is the right number for a cross-border case. Here is why: every French bank, every UK bank, every insurer, the French notaire, the French pension fund (CARSAT), the UK Probate Registry, HMRC, the DWP, and potential property administrators will each require an original certified copy. Photocopies are not accepted by most financial institutions. Each claim or notification process takes your copy and either retains it or returns it weeks later — by which time you need another one for a different institution.

Running out of copies mid-process means you have to go back to the mairie for more, either in person or by post. This is possible — mairies issue additional copies on request — but it adds delays of days to weeks depending on the commune, especially if you have already returned to the UK.

The Multilingual Extract

Alongside the standard acte de décès (which is entirely in French), ask the mairie for the extrait plurilingue de l'acte de décès — the multilingual extract. This document includes pre-translated English headings for standard fields such as name, date of birth, date of death, place of death, and marital status.

The multilingual extract is accepted by most UK institutions — banks, insurers, the Probate Registry, pension providers — without requiring a separate certified English translation. This saves you both time and the cost of hiring a translator (which can run €30–€80 per page for a sworn translation).

Request at least five copies of the multilingual extract. It does not replace the standard acte de décès for French-side purposes (banks, notaire, CARSAT all want the standard French version), but for UK-side use it is the more efficient document.

Getting More Copies Later

If you did not request enough copies during the original registration, you can order more from the mairie of the commune where the death was registered. There are three ways:

1. In person: Visit the mairie with your ID and request additional certified copies. No fee is charged.
2. By post: Write to the mairie with your request and the identification details or documents it asks for. Processing times vary by commune.
3. Online: Some communes offer an online civil registry service through their own website. Availability depends on the commune.

The copies issued later are identical in legal standing to the originals issued at registration. There is no practical difference — they are all drawn from the same civil registry entry and carry the same official stamp.

Which Institutions Need Which Document

A quick reference for cross-border cases:

Standard French acte de décès (in French):

• French banks — to freeze and eventually release accounts
• French notaire — for the succession process
• CARSAT — to stop French pension payments
• CPAM — if claiming the capital décès death grant
• French prefecture — for the laissez-passer mortuaire transit permit

Multilingual extract (extrait plurilingue):

• UK banks and building societies
• UK insurers (travel, life, credit card)
• UK Probate Registry (for Grant of Probate applications)
• DWP International Pension Centre
• HMRC (for inheritance tax purposes)

Both together: Some UK solicitors handling cross-border estates request the French original alongside the multilingual extract or a certified translation, particularly if the estate involves French property and UK probate simultaneously.

The Takeaway

Ask for more copies than you think you need. For an international case, request 15–20 certified copies; they are issued free of charge. Our British Person Dies in France — Family Emergency Guide includes a complete document checklist showing exactly which institution needs which version and how many copies to allocate to each.