Opening a Bank Account in France: Your Right to an Account

This guide is for internationals who have just moved to France and have been turned down by a bank. After reading it, you will know how the droit au compte (right to an account) works, who can use it, which documents the Banque de France asks for and how long each step is allowed to take.

• When a bank refuses
• Who can use the right to an account
• Building the file
• Submitting the request
• After a bank is designated
• Services, fees and closure
• FAQ

When a bank refuses

A French bank is allowed to refuse to open an account. According to Service Public, the official French administration website, a bank that stays silent is also refusing. If it does not answer an account-opening request within 15 days, the request is treated as refused. The 15 days run from the date on the avis de réception (proof of delivery) of the request. If the request was handed over in person or at the counter, they run from that date.

After a refusal, the bank must give a refusal letter stating its reason. It must also explain that the applicant can ask the Banque de France, the French central bank, to start the right-to-an-account procedure. The Banque de France then designates a bank close to the applicant’s home, or to another place of their choice. That bank has to open an account with basic banking services.

Who can use the right to an account

To use the procedure, a person must meet one of three criteria:

• being domicilié en France (based at an address in France), with no nationality condition
• being a French national living abroad
• being a foreign national who lives legally in another European Union member state and is not acting for professional purposes

One rule shuts people out. A person who already holds a compte de dépôt (deposit account, the ordinary current account) in France cannot use the procedure. Several other situations do not block access. These are being an interdit bancaire (barred from using cheques after a payment incident), being listed on the FICP (the national register of personal credit repayment incidents), being surendetté (over-indebted) and holding a joint account.

The Service Public page does not mention a residence permit as a condition of the procedure. Questions about an individual’s residence status are for the prefecture or a migration advice service.

Building the file

The Banque de France needs a complete file containing the following documents:

• the right-to-an-account request form
• a valid French or foreign identity document
• a justificatif de domicile (proof of address). Examples are a water or phone bill less than 3 months old, a quittance de loyer (rent receipt) less than 3 months old, or the title deed of the main residence
• proof of the refusal, dated more than 15 days earlier. This can be the bank’s refusal letter, the proof of delivery of the registered letter, or proof that the request was handed over in person
• a sworn statement that the applicant has no personal or business deposit account. If a previous convention de compte (account agreement) was ended, the decision ending it is included
• for people living legally in another EU member state, a sworn statement confirming that residence

Applicants can get help with the process from an approved consumer association, the Caf (family allowance fund) or the département (county council). The centre communal ou intercommunal d’action sociale (local social welfare centre) can also help.

Submitting the request

The file can be sent in three ways. Online, the request is made from a personal space on the Banque de France website, which requires logging in or creating an account through FranceConnect, the government’s login service. In person, the file goes to the counter of a Banque de France branch, where an appointment may be needed. By post, it goes to Banque de France, TSA 50120, 75035 PARIS CEDEX 01.

The applicant can also ask the bank that refused them to pass the file to the Banque de France.

After a bank is designated

Deadlines at this stage are counted in jours ouvrés (working days). The Banque de France designates the bank that must open the account within 1 working day of receiving the documents. It tells the applicant which bank by post or through the personal online space, and it informs the bank by post. The designation decision is valid for 6 months.

The designated bank then has 3 working days from being notified to send the applicant a list of the documents it needs and the contact details of the branch to approach. It sends these by post or another durable medium. The applicant has 6 months from the designation decision to contact the bank.

An appointment is normally needed, and the applicant generally has to attend in person. The bank may ask for further documents, in particular under rules against money laundering and terrorist financing. Once it has all the documents it needs, the bank must open the account within 3 working days.

Services, fees and closure

The account comes with a fixed set of basic services:

• opening, running and closing the account
• one change of address per year
• relevés d’identité bancaire (bank details slips) on request
• receiving transfers and paying in cheques
• a monthly statement
• SEPA direct debits and transfers
• remote access to the balance
• cash deposits and withdrawals at the branch counter
• a payment card for which the bank authorises each use
• 2 bank cheques a month or an equivalent means of payment

Opening the account and using these services is free. Charges can still apply if the account is not run properly. When the bank makes a payment without enough money in the account, it charges a commission d’intervention (handling fee). For right-to-an-account holders this fee is capped at €4 per operation and €20 per month.

The designated bank can close the account on its own only in certain cases:

• the account was deliberately used for illegal transactions
• the information provided was inaccurate
• the holder no longer meets the address or residence conditions
• the holder has opened a second deposit account in France that gives them basic banking services
• the holder has repeatedly been uncivil towards bank staff
• the bank cannot identify the holder or collect the information it needs

The bank must send a reasoned decision by post and inform the Banque de France. The holder gets 2 months’ notice, except in cases of illegal transactions or inaccurate information. The bank must also mention the Banque de France’s customer relations service, which handles disputes about the closure and can be contacted as often as needed.

FAQ

How long does a bank have to answer an account request?

If a bank does not reply within 15 days, its silence counts as a refusal. The period runs from the date on the proof of delivery, or from the date the request was handed over in person or at the counter.

Can a foreign national use the right to an account?

Yes, if they are based at an address in France, because there is no nationality condition. Foreign nationals living legally in another EU member state can also use it if they are not acting for professional purposes. Questions about individual residence status are for the prefecture or a migration advice service.

Does the account cost anything?

Opening the account and using the basic services is free. If the bank makes a payment without enough money in the account, the commission d’intervention (handling fee) is capped at €4 per operation and €20 per month.

How long is the designation valid?

The designation decision is valid for 6 months, and the applicant has 6 months from that decision to contact the designated bank. The Service Public page does not say what happens after that period.

Sources: service-public.fr

Last verified: 20 October 2026 against the pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the responsible authority always has the final word.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. For your own situation, ask the prefecture of your département, a recognised migration advice service or a lawyer (avocat).