Frasa
SituationsGet the app (opens the App Store in a new tab)

French · Admin & banking · Intermediate

How to register at the town hall in France

France has no town-hall address register like the Spanish padrón. If you ask at the mairie (“Je dois déclarer mon adresse”), you’ll usually be told to show a justificatif de domicile instead: a recent bill or rent receipt in your name. Living with someone? They can write you an attestation d'hébergement.

Try it · about two minutes

You go to the town hall to register your new address, and find out how people prove where they live in France.

Sound on: the town hall clerk speaks French. You choose what to say back, and Frasa tells you why it works.

The conversation

  1. Town hall clerk

    Que puis-je faire pour vous ?

    What can I do for you?

    You

    Je dois déclarer mon adresse.

    I need to register my address.

  2. The clerk explains that in France you don’t register your address at the town hall: a justificatif de domicile is enough.

    You

    Pouvez-vous m'expliquer ce que cette expression veut dire ?

    Can you explain what this expression means?

  3. Town hall clerk

    C'est un papier qui prouve votre adresse : une facture récente à votre nom, ou une quittance de loyer.

    It’s a paper that proves your address: a recent bill in your name, or a rent receipt.

    You

    Je n'ai pas de facture à mon nom : je loge chez un ami.

    I don’t have any bills in my name: I’m staying with a friend.

  4. Town hall clerk

    Vous comprenez ?

    Do you understand?

    You

    Je crois. Donc la personne qui m'héberge écrit une attestation ?

    I think so. So the person I live with writes a signed letter?

  5. Town hall clerk

    Oui, c'est ça.

    Yes, that’s right.

    You

    Je dois aussi apporter une copie ?

    Do I also need to bring a copy?

  6. Town hall clerk

    Il faudra apporter l'original, pas une copie.

    You’ll need to bring the original, not a copy.

    You

    Merci pour votre aide.

    Thank you for your help.

Key phrases

  • Je dois déclarer mon adresse.

    I need to register my address.

  • Pouvez-vous m'expliquer ce que cette expression veut dire ?

    Can you explain what this expression means?

  • Il me faut une attestation prouvant que j'habite à cette adresse.

    I need a certificate proving that I live at this address.

  • Je peux avoir une quittance de loyer ?

    Can I have a rent receipt?

  • Je peux déclarer cette adresse comme domicile ?

    Can I register this address as my home?

  • Quels documents dois-je apporter ?

    What documents do I need to bring?

  • Je dois aussi apporter une copie ?

    Do I also need to bring a copy?

  • Il faudra apporter l'original, pas une copie.

    You’ll need to bring the original, not a copy.

  • Je comprends l'idée générale, mais pas tous les détails.

    I understand the general idea, but not all the details.

  • Vous devez aller dans un autre bureau.

    You need to go to another office.

Good to know in France

No padrón in France

France has no town-hall address register. To prove where you live, you usually show a justificatif de domicile: a recent energy, internet or phone bill, or a rent receipt (une quittance de loyer).

Je peux avoir une quittance de loyer ?

Can I have a rent receipt?

Living with someone

If the bills are in your host’s name, they can usually write an attestation d’hébergement: a signed letter saying you live with them, with a copy of their ID and a recent bill.

What the mairie does

The town hall handles things like births, weddings and, for EU citizens, joining the local electoral roll. Residence permits are a matter for the préfecture.

More situations in French

All situations in French

Keep these phrases in Frasa

Frasa is an iPhone app for the conversations in front of you. Save phrases like these, rehearse them out loud, and they come back until they stick.

AI-generated. May be inaccurate.