How To Write a Sworn Statement or Attestation sur L’Honneur in France

A literal translation is that one is ‘swearing on one’s honour’, which sounds a bit archaic! However, in reality, this is a sworn statement or an ‘affidavit’, which has legal standing in France. There can be legal recourse against those who make false declarations, so it is to be taken seriously.

An ‘Attestation sur l’Honneur’ is essentially a document that you sign to say that certain statements are the truth.

This document is commonplace in France, and it is possible to write your own Declaration or Attestation sur l’Honneur.

There are many situations where you might be asked to write an attestation, often for tax, social security, or other official reasons.

If you do not have the means to prove your address (as in the case of many house hunters) a landlord could furnish you with an Attestation as proof of address. You might also be asked to write an attestation sur l’honneur for a visiting friend or family member who needs to provide proof of accommodation for visa purposes.

Many travellers will remember having to sign a printed attestation sur l’honneur in order to enter France during the Covid-19 pandemic, swearing that you didn’t have any Covid symptoms.

You can even write an attestation sur l’honneur to permit a friend or family member to pick up a letter or parcel from the post office on your behalf.

Note that in the instance that you are writing an attestation sur l’honneur for someone else, you will likely need to supply a copy of your ID along with it.

When writing an attestation sur l’honneur, you should include your full name and address, and a brief explanation of the nature of the affidavit. It should be signed and dated.

If you are writing the attestation on behalf of someone else, you will also need to give their full name, and possibly other information such as their date and place of birth or passport number if not a French resident.

The simplest and fool-proof way is to follow this template on the French government website. We’ve also included the example below, with English translations noted in red.

In most instances, an attestation sur l’honneur can be either typed or hand-written, but sometimes you may be required to hand-write it (this used to be the standard, but is becoming less and less common). Either way it must be signed and dated by hand.

For writing a false declaration, there could be up to a year in prison and a €15,000 fine.

Writing an attestation in someone else’s name and falsifying their signature is forgery and can carry a penalty of a €45,000 fine plus three years in prison.

From shopping at the supermarket to sending a parcel at Post Office, finding your local dechetterie to who to call in an emergency—FrenchEntrée is here to help with every aspect of day-to-day living in France. Read our Essential Reading guides for advice on living in France, visit our Shopping zone or Pets zone, or brush up your language skills with our handy learning French resources.