Marriage, Pacs or Living Together: Couples in France

This guide is for internationals who have recently moved to France and live with a partner, or plan to. After reading it, you will know how the three legal forms of couple life in France differ on housing, money, tax, children and inheritance, and where the official sources stop.

• The three options at a glance
• Your home: leases and property
• Money, debts and income tax
• Children, names and paperwork
• Protecting a partner, inheritance and separation
• FAQ

The three options at a glance

According to Service Public, the official French administration website, a couple can choose between concubinage or union libre (living together without a formal status), the Pacs (pacte civil de solidarité, a registered civil partnership) and mariage (marriage). Rights and obligations differ depending on whether you are a concubin (cohabiting partner), a partenaire pacsé (Pacs partner) or a conjoint marié (spouse).

The page used for this guide covers cohabitation in detail and covers the Pacs on housing, money and tax. It says little about marriage and nothing about residence rights. A titre de séjour (residence permit) based on a relationship is a matter for the prefecture, and a migration advice service can explain the options.

Your home: leases and property

For a rented home, the rules depend on who signed the bail (lease). If only one partner signed, only that person has rights over the home, whether you cohabit or are in a Pacs. If the person who signed dies, the other partner can ask for the lease to be transferred, under certain conditions.

When both partners signed, each is a tenant and both must pay the rent and service charges. Pacs partners have one extra route. If only one of them signed, both can become joint holders of the lease by asking the landlord together by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (courrier RAR).

For a home you own, the rules are the same for cohabiting and Pacs couples. If the home belongs to one partner, the other is an occupant à titre gratuit (occupant free of charge) with no rights over it. If you bought it together, you are propriétaires indivis (joint owners), and each person’s share is set out in the acte d’achat (deed of sale), for example 50% each.

Money, debts and income tax

Cohabiting partners agree between themselves how to share common costs. A Pacs goes further. Partners commit to supporting each other financially (housing, food, health), and this includes a contribution to daily expenses in proportion to each person’s means, unless the Pacs contract sets a different split. In both cases you can open a joint account. Savings products such as the livret A, PEL or PEA can only be held in one name.

Debts are where the two statuses differ most. A cohabiting partner is not liable for the other’s debts, only for those they signed up to themselves. Pacs partners are solidaires (jointly liable) for debts taken on for everyday living. For purchases on credit, this applies only if you consented at the time of purchase. For loans, it applies only to modest sums needed for the couple’s daily life, or to reasonable sums for the household’s standard of living where several loans were taken out. Debts taken on before the Pacs, or during it for things other than everyday needs, remain personal.

Income tax follows the same pattern. Cohabiting partners declare their income separately. Pacs partners follow the same rules as married couples: one joint declaration, joint taxation and a single tax notice in both names.

For cohabiting couples, anything each person buys remains their own, so you need to be able to prove what you own if a question arises. One way is to draw up a list of valuables showing what belongs to whom.

Children, names and paperwork

The rules on children are the same for Pacs and cohabiting couples. Unlike marriage, neither status affects filiation (legal parentage) or the child’s surname. Parents can choose the child’s name. Without a joint declaration, the child takes the name of the parent who recognised them first, or the father’s name if both parents recognised the child at the same time.

A mother automatically has autorité parentale (parental authority) if her name is on the birth certificate. A father has it if he recognises the child before the age of 1. After that age, joint parental authority can be granted under certain conditions.

Moving in together counts as a change of situation. You must report it to the Caf (family benefits office), or to the MSA if you are covered by the agricultural scheme. You must also tell any body that pays you benefits such as the RSA, AAH or housing aid. The allocation de soutien familial (ASF, a child support benefit) stops if you cohabit.

A cohabiting partner cannot use the other’s surname as a nom d’usage (name in everyday use). To prove you live together, you can use a proof of address in both names, such as a rent receipt or energy bill, or a certificat de vie commune (certificate of cohabitation).

Protecting a partner, inheritance and separation

A cohabiting partner has little legal protection. You can take out death insurance, or name your partner as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. You can also leave them all or part of your assets in a will, or give them a gift, but in both cases they will pay high taxes on it. A cohabiting partner has no right to a pension de réversion (survivor’s pension).

The page used here does not set out inheritance rights for Pacs partners or spouses. It also does not cover separation, divorce or ending a Pacs. Other official pages on Service Public cover those topics.

FAQ

Do Pacs partners file a joint tax return?

Yes. For income tax, Pacs partners follow the same rules as married couples: one joint declaration, joint taxation and a single tax notice in both names. Cohabiting partners declare their income separately.

Am I responsible for my partner’s debts?

If you cohabit, no. You are only liable for debts you signed up to yourself. In a Pacs, you are jointly liable for debts taken on for everyday living, with limits on credit purchases and loans. Debts taken on before the Pacs, or for things other than everyday needs, stay personal.

Can my partner stay in our flat if only my name is on the lease?

Only the person who signed the lease has rights over the home. If that person dies, the other partner can ask for the lease to be transferred, under certain conditions. Pacs partners can also become joint holders of the lease by writing to the landlord together by registered letter.

Does a Pacs or marriage give me a residence permit?

The page used for this guide does not cover residence rights. The prefecture decides on applications for a residence permit based on a relationship, and a migration advice service can explain the rules for a specific situation.

Sources: service-public.fr

Last verified: 10 November 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).