Fixed-Term Contracts (CDD) in France

This guide is for internationals who have just moved to France and have been offered, or are working on, a contrat à durée déterminée (CDD, fixed-term contract). After reading it, you will be able to check when a CDD may be used, what it must contain, how long it can last and what the official page says about renewal and end-of-contract pay.

• When an employer may use a CDD
• A written contract, in French, within 2 working days
• What the contract must contain
• Maximum length and renewal
• End-of-contract pay and where to ask
• FAQ

When an employer may use a CDD

According to the Service Public page on concluding a CDD, a CDD must never be used to fill a job linked to the company’s normal and permanent activity on a lasting basis, whatever its reason. It may only be signed for a precise and temporary task. It must also state its motif (reason for hiring) precisely. The page lists these situations:

• Replacing an employee in any of these cases:
  • they are temporarily absent or their contract is suspended (for example, sick leave, maternity leave or parental leave)
  • they have moved temporarily to part-time work
  • they have left and their post is due to be abolished
  • they have left and their replacement, hired on a CDI (permanent contract), has not yet arrived
• Replacing a company head, a person in a profession libérale (self-employed regulated profession), a farm head, or their absent spouse or partner who actively takes part in the business.
• A temporary increase in the company’s activity.
• Urgent work needed immediately to prevent imminent accidents, organise rescue measures or repair equipment, installations or buildings that endanger people.
• A CDD d’usage or contrat d’extra (customary fixed-term contract) in sectors where permanent hiring is not traditional, such as hotels, restaurants and the performing arts.
• Seasonal work, such as a grape-harvest contract.
• A contrat unique d’insertion (CUI, back-to-work contract) for a person who has difficulty finding a job.
• A CDD with a professional retraining period, allowing internal or external mobility with a view to training.

A CDD may not be used for any of these purposes:

• filling a post linked to the company’s normal and permanent activity
• replacing employees who are on strike
• particularly dangerous work under special medical monitoring, such as exposure to asbestos, unless an exceptional exemption applies

If a CDD is signed for a reason the law does not provide for, a judge may requalifier (reclassify) it as a CDI.

A written contract, in French, within 2 working days

Every CDD must be in writing. If it was not, the employee may ask for it to be reclassified as a full-time CDI, subject to conditions. An employer who uses a CDD without a written contract risks a fine of €3,750 (€7,500 for a repeat offence).

The contract must be drafted in French. A foreign employee may ask for a translation into their native language. An electronic signature (a scanned handwritten signature) is legally valid. If the employee is a minor who is not legally emancipated, their legal guardian must give permission.

The employer must hand over the CDD no later than 2 jours ouvrables (working days) after hiring. Missing this deadline does not, on its own, turn the CDD into a CDI. However, the employee is then entitled to compensation from the employer of up to 1 month’s salary. An employer who does not hand over the CDD risks a fine of €3,750. For a repeat offence, the fine is €7,500 and 6 months’ imprisonment.

What the contract must contain

• Reason: the precise motif. If it is missing, the employee may ask for the CDD to be reclassified as a CDI.
• Duration:
  • the end date
  • a renewal clause if the CDD may be extended
  • a minimum duration if there is no precise end date
  • the length of any trial period
  • weekly working hours, for part-time work
• Job: the job title and, for a replacement, the name and professional qualification of the person replaced.
• Pay: the amount and its make-up (salary, bonuses, any supplements, allowances, benefits in kind). The amount cannot be lower than what a CDI employee of the company with equivalent qualifications and post would receive.
• Collective rights:
  • the title of the applicable convention collective (sector-wide collective agreement)
  • the name and address of the supplementary pension fund
  • the name and address of the prévoyance (provident insurance) body, if the company is affiliated

  A CDD à objet défini (fixed-purpose contract) must carry further details, including its expected duration and the event that ends it.

Maximum length and renewal

• 18 months: the general case, a temporary increase in activity, and jobs where a CDI is not customary.
• End of the absence: replacing an absent employee or one whose contract is suspended, or the head of a craft, industrial or commercial business or a person in a profession libérale. The CDD may run until two days after the replaced person returns, within a limit of 18 months.
• 9 months: waiting for an employee hired on a CDI, and urgent safety work.
• 24 months: an employee’s permanent departure before the post is abolished, and an exceptional export order. A contract performed abroad runs until its purpose is completed, within 24 months.
• End of the season: seasonal work.
• 6 to 36 months: professional retraining.
• Set by law or regulation: CUI-CIE and CUI-CAE contracts, and contracts providing further vocational training.

A collective agreement or company agreement may set different durations. The agreement that applies is the one covering the company’s main activity. A Service Public simulator finds it from the company’s name or numéro Siret (business identification number).

On renewal, the page states only that the contract must include a renewal clause if the CDD may be extended. It does not say how many renewals are allowed.

End-of-contract pay and where to ask

The page does not cover the indemnité de fin de contrat (end-of-contract payment), so this guide gives no amount or rate for it.

For general questions, the page points to Allô Service Public. This is a free telephone service staffed by advisers from the ministry responsible for labour. It cannot see personal files and does not answer questions on unemployment benefit or France Travail procedures. Questions about how a contract affects a titre de séjour (residence permit) are for the prefecture or a migration advice service.

FAQ

Can a CDD be written in English?

No. The page states that a written employment contract must be drafted in French. A foreign employee may ask for a translation into their native language.

What happens if a CDD was never put in writing?

The employee may ask for it to be reclassified as a full-time CDI, subject to conditions. The employer risks a fine of €3,750, or €7,500 for a repeat offence.

How long does an employer have to hand over the contract?

No later than 2 working days after hiring. Missing this deadline does not on its own turn the CDD into a CDI. It does entitle the employee to compensation of up to 1 month’s salary.

Can a CDD last longer than 18 months?

In some cases, yes. The page lists 24 months for a permanent departure before a post is abolished, an exceptional export order or a contract performed abroad. It lists up to 36 months for professional retraining. A collective agreement may also set different durations.

Sources: service-public.fr

Last verified: 23 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).