The short answer
It depends on the document. According to Service Public, the French government’s information site, you keep bank statements and electricity bills for 5 years, a lease and its rent receipts for 3 years after the tenancy ends, payslips until your pension is settled, and your livret de famille or property deed permanently. These are minimums, and nothing stops you from keeping things longer.
You’re clearing out a drawer before a move, and every envelope raises the same question: keep it or toss it? The answer depends on the document. According to the official guide on Service Public, the French government’s information site, you keep a bank statement for 5 years, a lease and its rent receipts for 3 years after the tenancy ends, payslips until you retire, and your livret de famille permanently.
Here are those periods by category, then a simple way to file your papers so you know when to throw them out.
How document retention periods are set in France
A retention period is the time during which you can assert a right, such as asking for a refund. It’s also the time during which someone can claim something from you, like a fine or an overpayment.
These are minimums. A document can serve as evidence in court, and mediation or conciliation suspends the limitation period. So nothing stops you from keeping papers longer. The period doesn’t depend on the format either: an original you received as a PDF is kept as long as a paper one.
How long to keep tax records in France
For income tax, everything counts from the year the tax was assessed for collection (the mise en recouvrement), shown on your tax notice. Service Public gives this example: the return filed in 2026 for your 2025 income can be thrown out from January 1, 2029.
| Document | Minimum period | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax return, tax notice, supporting documents (actual expenses…) | Until December 31 of the 2nd year after the tax was assessed | This is the deadline to file a claim. The tax office’s own window to reassess you varies with your situation. |
| Property tax, or taxe foncière (notice, return, supporting documents) | Until December 31 of the year after the tax was assessed | This is the deadline to file a claim. The tax office can reassess you for 3 years if an exemption or a relief is later corrected. |
| Inheritance tax return and supporting documents | Until December 31 of the 3rd year after it was filed | This is the tax office’s audit window. Service Public suggests keeping everything permanently. |
Law no. 2026-534 of June 25, 2026 raised the retention period for documents needed for a tax audit from 6 to 10 years. Service Public covered it on its site for businesses. Its page for individuals, reviewed on October 13, 2026, doesn’t mention the law and gives the periods above.
Bank statements, checks and loans
| Document | Minimum period | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Bank statement, check stub | 5 years from the date of the transaction | A fraudulent debit must be disputed within 13 months at most. |
| Card receipt | Until you get the statement that shows it | Same 13 months to dispute a fraudulent debit. |
| Check you haven’t cashed yet | 1 year and 8 days | After that, the check can’t be cashed, but the debt is still owed. |
| Loan agreement and supporting documents | 5 years after the loan is closed | For a consumer loan, the lender has 2 years to sue if the borrower defaults. |
Housing: lease, rent receipts, energy and water bills
| Document | Minimum period | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Lease, check-in and check-out report (état des lieux), rent receipts | Length of the tenancy + 3 years | For a main home, furnished or not (law of July 6, 1989, art. 7-1). |
| Electricity and gas bills | 5 years | The supplier has 2 years to claim a payment. |
| Water bills | 5 years | The supplier has 4 years to claim a payment if it’s a public utility, 2 years if it’s a private company. |
| Phone and internet bills | 5 years | Also keep proof that you returned the internet box for 5 years. |
| Condo charges (proof of payment), letters from the building manager (syndic), general meeting minutes | 5 years | A general meeting decision can be challenged within 2 months of being notified of the minutes. |
| Invoices for major works | 10 years for structural work | For an extension or an improvement, as long as you own the home: they count toward the capital gains calculation, unless you’re exempt. |
| Deed of sale (title deed) | Permanent | If you lose it, the notaire who holds the original can give you a copy. |
Insurance policies and premium notices
| Document | Minimum period | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Home or car insurance policy | 2 years after the policy ends | You have 2 years to take action, or 10 years after your condition stabilizes for a bodily injury. |
| Receipt, premium notice, cancellation letter | 2 years from the date of the document | The same applies to proof of payment. |
| Car insurance record (relevé d’informations) | Permanent | It shows your no-claims bonus or penalty. |
| Life insurance policy | Permanent | The deadline to take action depends on whether you’re the policyholder, the insured or the beneficiary. |
Health: prescriptions, treatment forms, bills
| Document | Minimum period | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Prescription | 1 year | For glasses, 5 years from age 16 to 42 and 3 years from age 43. |
| Treatment form (feuille de soins) | 2 years | The reimbursement deadline runs to the end of the calendar quarter of the treatment, 2 years later. |
| Assurance Maladie statement | 2 years | This is how long you can be asked to repay an overpayment, 5 years in case of fraud. |
| Hospital bill | 4 years (public), 2 years (private) | Public Health Code, art. L6145-9, and Social Security Code, art. L160-11. |
Payslips, employment contract and certificates
Keep your payslips until you’ve claimed your pension rights from every pension fund you paid into during your career.
| Document | Minimum period | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Payslips, employment contract, certificate of employment (certificat de travail) | Until your pension is settled | Payslips are still useful after that, to calculate an annuity if an occupational disease appears after you retire. |
| Final pay statement (solde de tout compte) | 5 years | The deadline to dispute the amounts depends on whether you signed the receipt. |
| France Travail certificate, unemployment benefit records | 5 years | Service Public suggests keeping them until you claim your pension. |
Family and civil status records
| Document | Minimum period | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Civil status records, livret de famille, divorce or adoption judgment | Permanent | The town hall can replace a lost livret de famille, and the court can issue a copy of a judgment. |
| Family allowance payment notices | 5 years | You have 2 years to act if the amount is wrong, and the Caf has 2 years to claim back an overpayment. |
Cars: fines and invoices
| Document | Minimum period | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of a minor traffic offense (contravention) | 3 years after the decision became final | The limitation period for the penalty (Criminal Code, art. 133-2 to 133-6). |
| Notice of a more serious offense (délit) | 6 years after the decision became final | Speeding by 50 km/h or more, for example. |
| Purchase and repair invoices | As long as you own the car, + 2 years if you sell it | For the warranty against hidden defects (Civil Code, art. 1648). |
How long to keep receipts and warranties
| Document | Minimum period | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice for an appliance or furniture | 5 years from purchase | It can help for longer: after a theft or a claim, it serves as proof for your insurer. |
| Proof of purchase (invoice, receipt, delivery note) | Until the warranty ends | Legal guarantee of conformity: 2 years to act after the item is delivered. |
Papers you should never throw away
Service Public lists these as papers to keep permanently. File them separately, in a folder you never clear out.
- Family: civil status records, livret de famille, divorce or adoption judgments, acknowledgment of a child, marriage contract, PACS agreement.
- Housing: deed of sale, also called the title deed.
- Insurance: car insurance record, life insurance policy.
- Health: health record (carnet de santé), vaccination record, blood group card, medical certificates and test results.
- Studies and career: diplomas, university transcripts, pension certificate (titre de pension), military papers.
Freelancers and businesses: 10 years for invoices
Different periods apply to a business. The French Commercial Code (art. L123-22) requires 10 years from the end of the financial year for accounting books and supporting documents, including the invoices you send and receive.
The tax period now matches. Article 36 of Law no. 2026-534 of June 25, 2026 raised it from 6 to 10 years for documents whose retention period ends after January 1, 2027, as Entreprendre Service Public announced (in French). If your financial year follows the calendar year, an invoice from 2026 is kept until at least the end of 2036.
| Document | Minimum period | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Invoices sent and received, accounting books and ledgers | 10 years from the end of the financial year | Commercial Code, art. L123-22. |
| Documents kept for a tax audit | 10 years, up from 6 | Law of June 25, 2026, art. 36. The period starts from the last transaction recorded or the date of the document. |
| Business contracts and correspondence | 5 years | Commercial Code, art. L110-1 to L110-4. |
| Annual accounts of a company | 10 years from the end of the financial year | Balance sheet, income statement and notes. |
| Company bylaws (statuts) | 5 years after the company ceases to exist (struck off the trade register) | In other words, for the life of the company, then 5 years. |
| Copies of payslips, employment contracts | 5 years | Documents on payroll contributions, 3 years. |
Note that Entreprendre Service Public’s page on business retention periods, last reviewed on July 1, 2024, still says 6 years for tax documents. Its news item of June 26, 2026 confirms 10 years.
An e-invoice is also kept in its original format, XML included. Our guide to archiving e-invoices (in French) covers this in detail.
How to file papers so you know when to throw them out
One folder per year, plus one to keep
Permanent papers go in a separate folder. Everything else goes in a folder for its year, the year on the document. At the start of each year, open the oldest folder and take out whatever has passed its period.
Some papers depend on an event: the end of a lease, the closing of an account, the end of a loan. Keep them together until it happens, then file them under that year.
Keep the original in the form you received it
Service Public recommends keeping the original in the form you received it (in French). A tax notice posted online or an invoice received as a PDF stays digital, since a printout is only a copy. A diploma that came by mail stays on paper. Scanning your papers is still handy for finding them, as long as you keep the paper original.
When can you throw papers away?
Once the minimum period is over, counted from the right starting point: the date of the document, the end of the tenancy or the closing of the account. If a dispute is underway, keep everything related to it, since those papers can serve as evidence.
Finding your papers with Clivio
Filing by year works if you file things as they come in, and that’s where Clivio can help. Snap a paper with your phone’s scanner or forward an email to your Clivio inbox address, and Clivio reads the document as soon as it arrives. The document gets a title and a type, and its date and amount are picked out.
To find it again, you type what you’re looking for, like “EDF invoices 2025”. See how Clivio reads and files each document, the page on household paperwork and, for a business, the page for freelancers.
Clivio isn’t evidential archiving, what French law calls archivage à valeur probante. No qualified timestamp is applied, the service isn’t certified to NF Z42-013, and you can delete a document at any time. If your business needs evidential archiving, hand it to your accredited platform or a specialist provider. And keep your originals: Clivio’s terms ask you to keep a copy of your important documents.
Common questions
Can I throw a paper away once I’ve scanned it?
Service Public recommends keeping the paper original. A scan only counts as a copy, and a copy can serve as evidence only if it’s reliable, for example when it reproduces the original’s form and content exactly. As long as the original exists, you can also be asked to show it.
Do the same periods apply to digital documents?
Yes. Whether the original reached you as a PDF or on paper, the minimum period is the same. Under French law, an electronic document has the same legal value as a paper one if the signer can be identified and the document is created and stored in a way that guarantees its integrity.
How long should you keep a deceased person’s papers?
The usual periods still apply after a death, because some papers prove debts or claims passed on to the heirs. Some social benefits paid after the death can also be claimed back from them for 5 years after the death. For the estate itself, Service Public suggests keeping everything permanently.
Should I keep my payslips after I retire?
The minimum period ends once your pension is settled. Service Public still suggests keeping them, because they’re used to calculate an annuity if an occupational disease appears after you retire.
How long should I keep electricity and gas bills?
5 years, even though the supplier only has 2 years to claim a payment from you. Water bills are also kept for 5 years, and the supplier has 4 years to claim an unpaid bill if it’s a public utility, 2 years if it’s a private company.
Sources consulted on Oct 14, 2026: Service Public, “Durée de conservation des papiers” (how long to keep documents, in French); Service Public, “Faut-il conserver l’original papier ou électronique d’un document?” (paper or electronic originals, in French); Service Public, “Combien de temps devez-vous conserver vos documents de la vie courante?” (in French); Entreprendre Service Public, “Quels sont les délais de conservation des documents pour les entreprises?” (business retention periods, in French); Entreprendre Service Public, “Modification de la durée de conservation des documents fiscaux” (in French); Légifrance, Law no. 2026-534 of June 25, 2026, article 36 (in French). Service Public’s periods are minimums and don’t cover every situation.
Published Oct 14, 2026 by the Clivio team. Spotted a mistake, or have a better method? contact@clivio.app