Ten-year liability certificate — what a builder must hand over
Builders must take out ten-year civil liability insurance, and must take it out BEFORE work starts. It covers making good defects that, within ten years of handover, threaten the soundness of the structure or make it unfit for its purpose. Two documentary duties follow, and they are the ones that shape a construction business's daily life: before the site opens, the professional must GIVE the client a certificate of ten-year civil liability insurance — an official template exists — and that certificate must be ATTACHED to quotes and to the invoice. Failing to take out the cover carries 6 months' imprisonment and/or a €75,000 fine.
Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 11, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 20 min
Deadlines
- Before work starts
- The cover must be taken out before work starts, and the site must open during the policy's period of validity.
- Before the site opens
- The professional must give the client a certificate of ten-year civil liability insurance.
- Ten years from the day after handover
- The cover runs for 10 years on damage arising after the client takes handover; the period starts the day after the handover record is signed. No court action may be brought against the builder beyond it.
Documents to prepare
- A ten-year civil liability policy in force
- The list of work declared under the policy, checked against the planned job
- The insured's business name, address and identification number
- The insurer's name, registered office address and full contact details, and the branch's where applicable
- The planned site opening date, to be placed within the policy's period of validity
- The handover record, the day after which starts the ten years running
No form is attached to this procedure: the link leads to the official page that describes it.
What this page gives you
The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.
Who this applies to
- Professional builders bound to the client by a works contract: contractor, developer, land developer, project manager, architect, technician, design office, consulting engineer, craftsman, micro-entrepreneur
- Foreign builders, who must show their cover extends to ten-year liability under French law for contracts performed in France
- Clients, who for their part must take out structural damage insurance
- SUBCONTRACTORS are EXCLUDED from ten-year liability cover, having no direct link with the client — they remain liable for what they undertook towards the builder
Worked example
Example: Maçonnerie Estève prepares an extension project
Maçonnerie Estève is engaged to extend a house. First it checks that its ten-year civil liability policy is in force and that extension work is among the work declared under the policy — only declared work is covered. It makes sure the site will open during the policy's period of validity. When it sends its quote, it attaches the certificate of ten-year civil liability insurance, drawn up on the official template, and will attach it again to the invoice. Before the site opens, it gives that certificate to the client. It subcontracts the electrical package: the subcontractor falls outside ten-year liability cover, having no direct link with the client, but remains liable to Maçonnerie Estève for what it undertook. The handover record is signed on 12 March: the cover runs from 13 March for ten years. Were the business to go under in the meantime, the client could still approach the insurer whose details appear on the certificate.
How to fill it in, step by step
- Take out the cover BEFORE work starts: taking it out later does not retrieve a site already open.
- Check that the planned work is among the work declared under the policy: only declared work is covered.
- Make sure the site opens during the policy's period of validity.
- Draw up the certificate of ten-year civil liability insurance on the official template provided — one exists for individual policies, another for collective ones.
- Attach the certificate to your QUOTES and your INVOICE: it is not a document supplied on request, it accompanies the commercial documents themselves.
- Give the certificate to the client before the site opens.
- Remind the client that they must, for their part, take out structural damage insurance.
- Keep the date the handover record was signed: it is the following day that starts the ten years running.
The form, line by line
- Work declared under the policy
- Only work declared under the builder's policy is covered. Widening your activity without updating the policy means working uninsured on the new part.
- Site opening
- It must fall WITHIN the policy's period of validity: it is the opening date, not the handover date, that ties a site to a policy.
- Certificate attached to quotes and the invoice
- A duty distinct from giving it to the client before the site opens: the certificate accompanies the commercial documents themselves.
- Start of the ten years
- The day after the handover record is signed — not the day of signature, not the end of the works.
- Structural damage insurance
- It falls on the CLIENT and allows repairs covered by the ten-year liability to be paid for or carried out without first apportioning blame.
- Selling a home within ten years
- A statement of whether the compulsory insurance exists or NOT must be annexed to the sale contract.
Good to know
- The cover applies to new builds as well as to extension and renovation work on an existing building, depending on its scale; adding a new element using construction techniques counts as works.
- The range of damage covered is broad: foundations and frame, services and drainage, access roads, structures with foundations such as a conservatory, terrace or in-ground pool, and inseparable equipment — pipework, ceilings, floors, central heating, frames, concealed electrical installations.
- A ground defect threatening the soundness of the structure is covered.
- Subcontractors fall outside ten-year liability cover: they have no direct link with the client, but remain liable for what they undertook towards the builder.
- If the builder goes under, the cover can still be invoked: the client approaches the insurer whose details appear on the certificate, or the liquidator handling the insolvency.
- The criminal penalties apply neither to a private individual building a home to live in themselves or for a family member, nor to public-law entities.
- The micro-entrepreneur is expressly named among the professional builders required to take out cover: the simplified regime exempts no one here.
Common mistakes
- Taking out the cover after work starts: it must be in place BEFORE.
- Opening a site outside the policy's period of validity.
- Carrying out work not declared under the policy while assuming you are covered: only declared work is.
- Supplying the certificate only on request: it must be ATTACHED to quotes and the invoice, and given to the client before the site opens.
- Counting the ten years from the signature of the handover record: the period starts the FOLLOWING DAY.
- Assuming a subcontractor is covered by ten-year liability: they are excluded, having no direct link with the client.
- Thinking a micro-entrepreneur escapes the duty: they are expressly named among the builders required to take out cover.
- Failing, when selling a home less than ten years old, to annex to the contract the statement of whether the compulsory insurance exists.
Frequently asked questions
Who must take out ten-year liability cover?
The professional builder bound to the client by a works contract: contractor, developer, land developer, project manager, architect, technician, design office, consulting engineer, craftsman, micro-entrepreneur. Foreign builders must show cover extending to ten-year liability under French law.
When must the certificate be provided?
Before the site opens, the professional must give it to the client. It must also be attached to quotes and to the invoice.
When do the ten years start?
The day after the handover record is signed. No court action may be brought against the builder more than ten years after handover.
Is a subcontractor covered?
No. Subcontractors fall outside ten-year liability cover, having no direct link with the client; they remain liable for the obligations they undertook towards the builder.
What is the penalty for having no cover?
6 months' imprisonment and/or a €75,000 fine. Those penalties apply neither to a private individual building a home for themselves or a family member, nor to public-law entities.
What if the builder goes under?
The cover can still be invoked: the client approaches the insurer whose details appear on the certificate given, or the liquidator handling the insolvency.
Go further
Compute the related amounts
Understand this form: the related course
Official sources
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — Builders' ten-year liability cover (checked 10 April 2026): duty to take out cover before work starts, range of builders covered including the micro-entrepreneur, exclusion of subcontractors, the client's duty to take out structural damage insurance, damage covered, limitation to work declared under the policy, site opening within the period of validity, giving the certificate to the client before the site opens and the duty to attach it to quotes and the invoice, statement of compulsory insurance annexed to the sale contract of a home under ten years old, start of the period the day after the handover record is signed, invoking the cover where the builder goes under, and the penalty of 6 months' imprisonment and/or a €75,000 fine with its exceptions — September 11, 2026
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — Ten-year liability: model insurance certificate (individual policy): a document template headed "ASSURANCE DE RESPONSABILITÉ DÉCENNALE OBLIGATOIRE", for a policy taken out by an individual (self-employed craftsman or micro-entrepreneur), calling for the insured's business name and address, their unique identification number, then the name, registered office address and full contact details of the insurer and, where applicable, of the branch granting the cover; a separate template exists for collective policies — September 11, 2026
Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.