Moving back to France: the change-of-residence certificate
Moving back to France involves customs formalities for your belongings, and those ask for proof that you lived abroad. That proof is the certificate of residence, or of change of residence, and how you get it depends on whether you are on the Registre.
If you are on the Registre
You can download for free, at any time, from your Service-Public.fr space: the certificate of registration, which serves as a certificate of residence, the full statement of registration and the consular card. If you have already been struck off, you download the certificate of removal.
If you are not registered
You can ask your consulate for a certificate of residence or of change of residence when you move to France, on presentation of an ID and of documents proving your usual residence in the consular district. For people who are not registered the request is paid: 40 euros, $45.42 on October 1, 2026.
For the US, the network provides a specific form, sent by email to your consulate, for people registered less than twelve months ago and for those not registered.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| On the Registre | Free download, any time |
| Not registered | $45.42 (€40) |
| What it is for | Customs formalities of the move |
| Before you leave | Ask to be struck off the Registre |
- Your Service-Public.fr login, if you are registered
- Otherwise, an ID and proof of residence in the district
- The consulate’s email address for the request
- The fee, if you are not registered
Before you leave
Ask to be struck off the Registre and download the removal certificate. Register on the electoral list of your new town in France. If you hold a license first obtained in France, its driving rights can be restored within a year of settling back.
What to email the consulate
If you were never on the Registre, or joined it less than twelve months ago, the US network asks for a specific form, sent by email to your consulate with:
- the change of residence form, filled out and signed, one per family, in the name of the person handling the move;
- a copy of your passport;
- proof of continuous residence in the US over the last twelve months: a summary statement from your electricity, gas or phone company in your name, or twelve months of bills, rent receipts or pay slips;
- the payment authorization form for the chancery fee, charged in dollars at the chancery rate.
The consulate then strikes you off the Registre while issuing the certificate, so list every family member to be removed in your email.
The addresses, by consulate:
- Atlanta: info.atlanta-fslt@diplomatie.gouv.fr
- Boston: consulat.boston-cslt@diplomatie.gouv.fr
- Chicago: info.chicago-cslt@diplomatie.gouv.fr
- Houston: infos.houston-fslt@diplomatie.gouv.fr
- New Orleans: info@consulfrance-nouvelleorleans.org
- Los Angeles: info.los-angeles-fslt@diplomatie.gouv.fr
- Miami: francais.miami-fslt@diplomatie.gouv.fr
- New York: info.new-york-cslt@diplomatie.gouv.fr
- San Francisco: admin-francais.san-francisco-fslt@diplomatie.gouv.fr
- Washington: info.washington-fslt@diplomatie.gouv.fr
Official sources: Certificat de résidence; Tarifs des droits de chancellerie; Voter à l'étranger.
Details checked against the official pages on October 6, 2026.
We are not an official body. frenchconsulates.us collects and checks information on French consular offices in the United States, with no link to the French government.
No appointments are booked here and nothing is charged for. Check the detail with the office that covers you.