Family record book

The livret de famille is an official document attesting to family ties (parentage, marriage...). Completed by a civil registrar, it includes birth certificates for the parents and any children the couple have in common, as well as any marriage certificate.

Free of charge, this document is issued automatically at the end of the marriage ceremony (link to vivre ici/mariages), or when the first child is declared born for unmarried couples. It is also issued when a birth certificate is transcribed following an adoption.

It must take into account any change in civil status (rectification, new birth, change of surname or first name of a parent or child, separation, divorce, death of a spouse or minor child, etc.). In order to proceed with an update, please contact your local Mairie (town hall) where you live or where the event took place.

In several cases, it is possible to request a duplicate or second booklet:

• Loss, theft or destruction of the first booklet;
• Changes in parentage or in the surnames and forenames of the persons whose records appear on the booklet, subject to the return of the first booklet;
• Change of forename following a decision to change the mention of gender, resulting in the modification of the marriage certificate as well as the children's birth certificates, subject to the return of the first booklet;
• Divorce or separation duly justified by official documents (court decision, judicially approved agreement, divorce certificate by mutual consent under private signature....) ;
• When the applicant invokes an interest in having a family record book: disagreement between the spouses, de facto separation...

Please note: the decree of December 14, 2017 specifies that only one duplicate may be issued.

People living in Montpellier can apply for a family record book by this form:

Dans plusieurs cas, il est possible d’effectuer une demande de duplicata de livret de famille :

• Perte, vol ou destruction du premier livret ;
• Changement dans la filiation ou dans les noms et/ou prénoms des personnes dont l’acte figure sur le livret, sous réserve de la restitution du premier livret ;
• Changement de prénom à la suite d’une décision de changement de la mention du sexe, entrainant la modification de l’acte de mariage ainsi que des actes de naissance des enfants, sous réserve de la restitution du premier livret ;
• Divorce ou séparation dûment justifiée par des documents officiels (décision judiciaire, convention judiciaire homologuée, acte de divorce…) ;
• Lorsque le demandeur invoque un intérêt à disposer d’un livret : mésentente entre les époux, séparation de fait….