Over-indebtedness file in France: conditions, filing and procedure

The rent comes after the loan, the card gets declined at the end of the month, and each reminder lands before the last one is paid. When debts stay above what you can pay, French law offers a free procedure: an over-indebtedness file (dossier de surendettement), lodged with the Banque de France. A lawyer reviews your situation in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

Who can file for over-indebtedness?

Three conditions apply. They appear on the official service-public.gouv.fr page.

• You are a natural person, a French national, or a foreign national living in France.
• You cannot pay your debts, both the current ones and those coming due.
• You act in good faith: you did not deliberately organise your own insolvency.

The debts can be personal or professional, according to service-public and the Banque de France. However, a sole trader can only file after closing down the business, once only personal debts remain. Otherwise, a collective insolvency procedure before the court applies instead.

The commission looks at more than the amount you owe. It also considers your personal and professional situation, your assets, your capacity to repay and your good faith. As a result, hiding anything leads the commission to reject your over-indebtedness file.

A free filing, online or by post

The procedure costs nothing. You can choose between three routes:

1. The online service "Déclaration en ligne de surendettement", on the Banque de France website.
2. Form cerfa no. 13594, sent by post to BANQUE DE FRANCE SURENDETTEMENT, TSA 41217, 75035 PARIS CEDEX 01.
3. A Banque de France counter, which you must use if your file is thicker than 3 cm.

Before sending it, call 34 14 (Monday to Friday, 8 am to 6 pm) to check that nothing is missing. Attach proof of income and expenses, the list of your creditors and the amounts due. Then, a filing certificate reaches you within 2 working days.

A couple, married, in a PACS or cohabiting, can choose freely: one joint file, two separate files, or a single file in the couple's name. If the debts are shared, each partner declares and proves their income. Our article on couple debts explains who owes what.

Who reviews your over-indebtedness file?

Each département has its own over-indebtedness commission. The Banque de France runs its secretariat, and the prefect chairs it. It has 7 members.

Keep one point in mind: this commission does not pay your debts and does not lend money. Instead, it looks for a solution between you and your creditors, or imposes one when no agreement comes through.

In other words, the commission works on the whole picture rather than debt by debt. That is why your file should list every creditor, including relatives, the tax office or a landlord. A forgotten debt stays outside the plan, and that creditor can keep chasing you.

Admissibility: the deadlines to know

The commission has 3 months from the filing of a complete file to rule on admissibility. In practice, the Banque de France said in February 2026 that it needed "a little over a month" in 2025.

Step	Deadline	Source
Filing certificate	2 working days	service-public
Decision on admissibility	3 months at most	service-public
Challenge admissibility	15 days after notification	service-public
Challenge the statement of debts	20 days	Banque de France
Challenge imposed measures	30 days after notification	service-public

You challenge the admissibility decision by a statement to the commission's secretariat, or by registered letter. The judge for protection disputes (juge des contentieux de la protection) then rules. Note, though, that this appeal does not suspend the effects of the decision.

What filing, then admissibility, changes

From the day you file

Your name goes on the FICP, the national register of household credit repayment incidents. You can also ask for a stay of seizures on your belongings and of wage assignments. However, nobody tells your creditors or your bank at this stage.

From admissibility

Several protections then apply until the measures take effect, for 2 years at most:

• seizures stop and become prohibited, except for maintenance or criminal debts;
• interest and late penalties stop running on the debts in the file;
• housing benefit resumes if it had stopped, paid by the CAF or MSA to the landlord;
• your bank account stays open, with no fees for rejected direct debits.

So a wage garnishment under way, or a visit from an enforcement officer, can no longer move forward, except for maintenance and fines.

Your obligations during the procedure

The protection comes with a counterpart. During this period, you cannot:

• take on more debt;
• sell or transfer your assets;
• repay your loans early, except the insurance on a home loan;
• pay the earlier debts listed in the file.

Two exceptions exist: rent arrears that a judge has spread out, and a payment that the judge authorises as an exception. You must also keep paying rent, running costs, maintenance, compensatory allowances and fines.

On housing, a landlord cannot end the lease solely because you filed for over-indebtedness. The commission can also ask the judge to suspend an eviction, but that suspension never happens automatically.

The solutions the commission can offer

Depending on your situation, the over-indebtedness procedure leads to one of three routes.

The negotiated recovery plan

This plan mainly concerns people who own property. It needs the agreement of your creditors. It can spread the debts, lower the monthly payments or the rate, grant a moratorium, or provide for the sale of the property.

Imposed measures

Without property, or after conciliation fails, the commission imposes measures. In particular, they can include:

• rescheduling over 7 years at most, or half the remaining term of current loans;
• payments going to the capital first;
• a lower interest rate;
• a payment deferral of 2 years at most, except for maintenance.

The 7-year limit does not apply to the loan on your main home when the measures avoid its sale. Moreover, according to service-public, a partial write-off, or a reduction of the home loan balance after the sale of the main home, requires your agreement. Finally, the commission can ask you to take steps: look for work, sell a vehicle, release savings.

These measures look like a negotiated payment plan, with one difference: creditors must accept them.

Personal recovery

When the situation is beyond repair, the commission points to personal recovery. Without assets of value, it imposes this route without liquidation, and your debts disappear. With significant assets, it refers the case to the judge, with your consent, for judicial liquidation: a liquidator then sells the assets. Items you need for daily life and for work do not count.

Debts that no procedure wipes out

Even at the end of the road, some debts remain due:

• maintenance debts, such as child support;
• criminal fines;
• damages owed to a victim under a criminal conviction;
• pawn loans;
• fraudulent debts to a social security body;
• sums that a guarantor or a co-debtor (a natural person) paid on your behalf;
• some tax debts.

Also, an old debt may no longer be enforceable. Before you list it, check the debt limitation period: a creditor who waited too long can no longer go to court.

FICP: how long does the listing last?

The listing lasts throughout the procedure. It disappears if the commission rejects your over-indebtedness file. After that, the length depends on the solution.

Solution	Length of FICP listing
Plan or imposed measures	Length of the plan, 7 years at most
Plan carried out without incident	Removal possible after 5 years
Personal recovery	5 years from approval or closure

Careful, though: early removal does not end the plan. You still carry it out to its term.

Over-indebtedness in figures

According to the Banque de France, households lodged 148,013 files in 2025 in mainland France, 9.8% more than a year earlier. The total debt of these households reached 5 billion euros. Still, filings remain about 32% below their 2015 level.

Finally, 476,000 people appeared on the FICP because of an over-indebtedness measure. Filing for over-indebtedness is therefore a common step, not an admission of failure.

Getting free help

You do not have to build your over-indebtedness file alone. The Banque de France first points to these free contacts:

• Points conseil budget (PCB): free, confidential and personal budget advice, open to all, in every département. The service-public directory lists them.
• The CCAS (municipal social action centre) of your town, and the département's social services.
• Family or consumer associations, which also help you fill in the form.
• Points-justice, about 2,000 across France, with a free first consultation. The number 30 39 guides you.

If you need to go before a judge, legal aid (aide juridictionnelle) can cover the lawyer. In 2026, full legal aid applies to a single person whose reference tax income does not exceed €12,957.

What a lawyer brings

The procedure does not require a lawyer. Still, a lawyer becomes useful at several points:

• before filing, to sort the debts, spot those that are time-barred or open to challenge, and check your good faith;
• after a rejection, to lodge the appeal within 15 days;
• on the statement of debts, to dispute an amount within 20 days;
• against imposed measures, to bring the case before the judge for protection disputes within 30 days;
• during a seizure, to act before the enforcement judge (juge de l'exécution).

A consumer law lawyer reviews your situation and tells you whether over-indebtedness proceedings are the right route. The official page is on service-public.gouv.fr.