Naturalization search

Records held

Pierrefitte-sur-Seine site

in a single series regardless of the country of origin or the subject of the application,

  • all files opened from Year XI (1802/1803) to 1930, for applications (whether successful or not) for naturalization, admission to domicile, and reinstatement of French nationality,
  • files for acquisition of French nationality by declaration for children born in France to a foreign father from 1893 to 1930.

Fontainebleau site

  • all files for naturalization applications by decree and reinstatement opened from 1931 to 1988,
  • files for naturalization applications by declaration (foreign spouses of French nationals) from 1927 to 1947,
  • files for acquisition, repudiation, or loss of French nationality by declaration (children) from 1937 to 1976 and from 1983 to 1999.

Search procedures

From 1855 onwards, one must always first search for the existence of a decree

This search for a decree (or failing that, a declaration) must be carried out by the researcher personally; it is generally done in a library:

  • from 1855 to 1918 in the Decennial Tables of the Bulletin des lois,
  • from 1900 to 1979 for decrees in the Alphabetical List of persons who acquired or lost French nationality by decree 1900–1979,
  • from 1919 onwards for declarations in lists, marketed in CD-ROM format, compiled from the Bulletin des lois and the Journal officiel.

Persons wishing to have their French nationality recognized through descent from an ancestor naturalized as French must, with the reference of the official text and supporting civil status documents, contact the competent services for nationality acquisition: consult the government websites, in particular http://www.immigration.gouv.fr/ and http://www.service-public.fr/.

The Sub-Directorate for Access to French Nationality no longer issues nationality certificates to descendants of persons who acquired French nationality (decree of 30.12.1993 amended by decree no. 2009-1671 of 28.12.2009).

For the text of the decision itself (which is never included in the naturalization file!), one may refer to:

  • from 1814 to 1931 the Bulletin des lois, supplementary section (1836–1931),
  • from 1924 onwards the Journal officiel (from 1948 the file number is indicated).

The Bulletin des lois is available at the Archives nationales – Paris site: in the reading room up to 1925 only, with the tables of the supplementary section from 1854 to 1918; in the inventory room, in microfilm format, from 1909 to 1931 for the supplementary section, with the tables of this section from 1874 to 1918.

The Journal officiel is available at the Centre de documentation France Europe Monde, 29 quai Voltaire, 75007 Paris; a partial collection (1869-1940) is available on microfiche at the Archives nationales – Paris site in the inventory room.

The Alphabetical List is available at the Archives nationales: at the Paris site in the inventory room (complete collection), at the Fontainebleau site in the reading room (volumes IX to XXXVII, 1931-1979).

Finding the file reference

  • Pierrefitte-sur-Seine site

    This search must be carried out by the researcher personally (except in special cases). It is done:
    - from Year XI (1802/1803) to 1813 in the inventory room using microfiches 586 – 620,
    – from 1814 to 26 May 1853 in the NAT database – Naturalizations, names, titles, coats of arms (1814-1853),
    - or from 1814 to 1858 in the inventory room or in the multimedia area using the QUIDAM database,
    - from 1848 to 1883 in the inventory room using microfilms 595 – 605 or in the microfilm room using microfilms BB27 1241 to 1247 (does not include applications without follow-up or rejected),
    - from 1884 to 1930 in the microfilm room using microfilms BB27 1260 to 1403 (does not include applications without follow-up or rejected),
    - or from 1883 to 1930 in the multimedia area using the NATNUM application;
    - up to 1913 for acquisitions of nationality by declaration, only the Department of Justice and the Interior can search for the file number (it is essential to specify the year of the application and to have verified its publication in the Bulletin
    des lois),
    - from 1914 to 1923 for Alsatians-Lorrainers and foreigners enlisted in the French army during the 1914-1918 war, in the inventory room using microfilms 313-316,
    - from 1914 onwards for files that did not result in a decision (for which it is essential to know the year of the application) and for files concerning acquisition of nationality by declaration for children born in France to a foreign father, the Paris site obtains the answer from the Sub-Directorate for Access to French Nationality.

  • Fontainebleau site

    Only searches for which the applicant provides the reference of the official text granting naturalization can be conducted. The Fontainebleau site must establish the correspondence between the naturalization file number and the reference number of the box containing it:
    - between 1931 and 1948, based on the reference provided, the Fontainebleau site obtains the file number from the Sub-Directorate for Access to French Nationality, which has retained the indexes ensuring this correspondence;
    - from 1948 onwards, the reference provided indicates the file number.

    From this file number, the Fontainebleau site determines the box reference number and then provides it to the researcher.

Consulting the files

Pierrefitte-sur-Seine site

From Year XI (1802/1803) to 1814: consultation is done by entire article (all files in the article are provided together), in the usual manner, in the reading room.

From 1814 onwards, access is provided by extract (file by file, in their entirety), therefore on a deferred basis, upon request submitted through the virtual inventory room of the Archives nationales (instructions available on the website: www.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr/sia/web/guest/faire-une-recherche).

The applicant should only visit to consult the files after the AN have notified that the extracts have been prepared; the processing time from submission or receipt of the request is approximately 15 days; the number of extracts is limited to 5 files per week.

Fontainebleau site

Access is provided by extract (file by file, in their entirety), upon request submitted through the virtual inventory room of the Archives nationales (instructions available on the website: www.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr/sia/web/guest/faire-une-recherche)

The access period for files is 50 years from the date of the most recent document contained therein.

Consultation of files that are not yet available for public access is subject to obtaining a special authorization.

Reproduction of files

Files that are freely accessible may be freely reproduced:
- on site by photography without flash
- provided the physical condition of the documents permits photocopying, at a flat rate per file of €18 (naturalization by decree) or €7 (naturalization by declaration only). The request must be submitted through the virtual inventory room of the Archives nationales; it requires prior knowledge of the file's archival reference number.