French General Power of Attorney Form (Cerfa 10881)
Template letting you authorize a trusted person to handle admin tasks on your behalf in France (mail, banking, prefecture). Cerfa 10881 covers specific cases.
Is a power of attorney written on plain paper legally valid in France?
Yes. A privately signed deed (acte sous seing privé) on plain paper is legally valid and free — no registration formality is required. It must state the full civil particulars of both principal and agent, the precise scope of authority, the duration, the place and date, and must be signed. Consulting a notaire (French notary public) is advisable for high-stakes matters, as a notarial deed eliminates disputes and is automatically accepted by all French authorities without question.
Source: Légifrance — Code civil, Articles 1984 to 2010 (on mandate / mandat) · updated 2026
About this form
A procuration générale (general power of attorney) is a written document by which one person — the mandant (principal) — authorises a trusted third party — the mandataire (agent) — to act on their behalf for routine administrative tasks. In France, a document typed or handwritten on plain paper (acte sous seing privé, a privately signed deed) is legally sufficient for everyday matters: collecting registered post, following up a case file, or attending a counter appointment. The contract is governed by Articles 1984 to 2010 of the French Code civil (Civil Code). One critical limitation applies: a mandate worded in general terms only covers actes d'administration — routine management acts (Article 1988). Selling property, granting a mortgage, or making a gift requires an explicit (exprès) mandate, almost always formalised as a notarial deed (acte authentique) prepared by a French notaire.
Worked example
Claire is hospitalised for three weeks. She drafts a plain-paper power of attorney authorising her brother Marc to collect her registered post and submit a benefits file to the CAF (Caisse d'Allocations Familiales, the French family allowance office). The mandate states both parties' full civil particulars, the precise scope, a two-month validity, and is dated and signed — entirely sufficient for the counter clerk. However, to sell Claire's apartment, that same general mandate would be legally insufficient under Article 1988: she would need a notarial deed drawn up by a notaire before the transaction could proceed.
How to fill out the form
- Identify the mandant (principal) and mandataire (agent) precisely: full legal name, all first names, date and place of birth, and complete home address for each party.
- Define the scope of the mandate by listing every specific action explicitly authorised; a general wording only covers routine administrative acts (Article 1988 of the Code civil) and can be refused by banks or authorities for anything beyond those acts.
- Set a precise end date for validity and record the place and date on which the document is signed.
- Date and sign the document, then attach legible photocopies of the identity documents of both the principal and the agent.
- For sensitive transactions — sale, donation, succession or mortgage — instruct a notaire to draw up a notarial deed (acte authentique); for proxy voting, use maprocuration.gouv.fr, the France Identité app, or submit Cerfa form n° 14952 at a commissariat, gendarmerie, or tribunal judiciaire.
Good to know
- A general mandate cannot authorise selling, gifting, or mortgaging property (Article 1988, Code civil): list every permitted act explicitly, or the bank or authority may refuse to act on it.
- For proxy voting, register as early as possible — there is no legal deadline, but processing and transmission to the principal's polling station can take several business days; the online route at maprocuration.gouv.fr is consistently faster.
- Forging or knowingly using a false power of attorney is a criminal offence under Article 441-1 of the Code pénal: up to 3 years' imprisonment and a EUR 45,000 fine.
Frequently asked questions
Is a power of attorney written on plain paper legally valid in France?
Yes. A privately signed deed (acte sous seing privé) on plain paper is legally valid and free — no registration formality is required. It must state the full civil particulars of both principal and agent, the precise scope of authority, the duration, the place and date, and must be signed. Consulting a notaire (French notary public) is advisable for high-stakes matters, as a notarial deed eliminates disputes and is automatically accepted by all French authorities without question.
Do I always need a notaire to grant power of attorney?
No — not for routine tasks such as collecting post, filing a document, or attending a counter. However, for acts of disposition — selling or buying real estate, making a donation (gift), accepting a succession (inheritance), or creating a mortgage — an explicit mandate is legally required under Article 1988 of the Code civil. In practice this means a notarial deed (acte authentique). Attempting to rely on a general plain-paper mandate for such acts will be refused by the notaire or land registry.
How do I set up a proxy vote in France?
Proxy voting is a separate official procedure, distinct from a general private mandate. You can register online at maprocuration.gouv.fr (via FranceConnect), entirely via the France Identité app (high-assurance digital identity), or by completing official Cerfa form n° 14952, submitted to a commissariat (police station), gendarmerie, or tribunal judiciaire. You will need your numéro national d'électeur (national voter number) and that of your designated proxy holder.
How many proxy votes can one person hold on polling day?
A single person may hold a maximum of two proxy votes on polling day (Article L. 73 of the Code électoral, as amended by Law n° 2019-1269 of 2 December 2019). Since 2022, the principal and proxy no longer need to be registered in the same municipality — the proxy votes at the principal's polling station by presenting their own identity document, regardless of where they are personally registered.
Can a power of attorney be revoked?
Yes, at any time and without needing to justify the decision. The principal may revoke the mandate whenever they wish (Article 2004 of the Code civil). The mandate also ends automatically upon renunciation by the agent or the death of either party (Article 2003). For a voting proxy specifically, cancellation is processed online at maprocuration.gouv.fr or at the same authority that originally established it.
How long should a French power of attorney last?
For a standard administrative mandate (acte sous seing privé), the duration is freely chosen — always specify a precise end date to avoid ambiguity at the counter. For a voting proxy, validity covers one election (one or two rounds) or a fixed period: a maximum of one year when established from within France, three years when established from abroad.
Official sources
Updated on 2026-06-26
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