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France has one of the highest fax usage rates in Western Europe. Administrative institutions, government agencies, notaires, and law firms all rely on fax as a primary channel for formal document exchange. Whether you're submitting paperwork to your local préfecture, sending medical documents to the CPAM, or exchanging an acte de vente with a notaire, you will almost certainly be asked to send a fax at some point when dealing with French institutions. This guide explains how French fax numbers work and how to send one from anywhere in the world.

French fax number format

France's country code is +33. When dialling internationally, drop the leading 0 from the French local number.

French telephone numbers are 10 digits long. The first digit after the leading zero indicates the region or type of number:

Important: Always drop the leading 0 when entering the number internationally. A Paris fax number listed locally as 01 44 32 10 00 becomes +33 1 44 32 10 00 — enter it in the form as 1 44 32 10 00 after selecting +33.

Numbers beginning with 06 or 07 are mobile numbers and cannot receive faxes. Numbers starting with 08 are special-rate service numbers and are generally not used as fax lines.

Who uses fax in France

Tax and public finance

The DGFiP (Direction générale des Finances publiques), which operates under the Impôts brand, is France's tax authority. Local tax offices — the Services des impôts des particuliers (SIP) and Services des impôts des entreprises (SIE) — publish fax numbers for correspondence related to tax return corrections, payment disputes, and administrative requests. While the DGFiP has expanded online services through impots.gouv.fr, written submissions to local offices are often still accepted — and sometimes required — by fax. Each tax office (centre des finances publiques) has its own fax number, typically listed in the annuaire des services publics.

Social services and family benefits

CAF (Caisse d'Allocations Familiales) administers family allowances, housing assistance, and other social benefits across France. Local CAF offices publish fax numbers for sending supporting documents — birth certificates, income declarations, lease agreements — as part of benefit claims or renewals. The CPAM (Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie), which manages health insurance under the Sécurité sociale system, uses fax extensively for medical document exchange. GPs (médecins généralistes) send prescriptions, lab referrals, and treatment summaries to the CPAM and between each other by fax. Hospitals transmit patient discharge summaries (comptes-rendus d'hospitalisation) to treating physicians by fax as standard practice.

Administrative and prefectural submissions

Préfectures and sous-préfectures across France are key administrative hubs for residency permits (titres de séjour), vehicle registration (certificats d'immatriculation), and licences. While many services have migrated online, fax is still accepted — and in some cases required — for urgent or exception-based submissions. Prefectural offices for foreign nationals especially tend to maintain fax numbers for administrative follow-ups. Similarly, mairies (town halls) in smaller communes often prefer fax for official communications.

Courts and legal professionals

French civil procedure under the Code de procédure civile expressly recognises fax as a valid method for certain court notifications and service of process. Tribunaux judiciaires (the merged civil/criminal courts), Cours d'appel, and specialised courts such as the Conseil de prud'hommes (employment tribunal) and Tribunal de commerce (commercial court) all maintain fax lines and accept fax submissions in defined procedural contexts. Avocats (barristers and solicitors) rely heavily on fax for inter-counsel correspondence. It is standard to send procedural documents, mise en demeure letters, and settlement offers by fax with a confirmation of transmission (accusé de réception) as proof of delivery.

How to send a fax to a French number

1. Go to Send Fax on this site.
2. Upload your document as a PDF. Ensure it is complete and legible before sending.
3. In the country code dropdown, select France (+33).
4. Enter the fax number, dropping the leading 0 — a Paris number listed as 01 47 52 80 00 is entered as 1 47 52 80 00.
5. Add a cover page note if required (useful for identifying yourself or the reference number), then review your page count and credit cost.
6. Complete payment (or use existing credits) and send. A delivery confirmation is emailed once the fax goes through.

Pricing

Credit packs start at $4.99 for 50 credits. No monthly subscription. Credits do not expire. International faxes to France consume credits per page at the standard international rate.

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FAQ

What is the country code for France? France's country code is +33. When dialling from abroad, drop the leading 0 from the French local number. For example, 01 44 XX XX XX becomes +33 1 44 XX XX XX.

Do I need to speak French to use this service? No. You simply need the recipient's fax number. The fax itself can be in any language — the service transmits your PDF as-is to the French fax machine.

How do I find my local DGFiP tax office fax number? Visit impots.gouv.fr and use the "Trouver un contact" directory to locate your local SIP or SIE. Each office listing includes a fax number alongside the phone number and address.

Can I fax documents to the CAF or CPAM? Yes. Both CAF and CPAM offices list fax numbers on their regional contact pages at caf.fr and ameli.fr respectively. Use the fax number for your département (department of residence).

Are faxes to France legally valid for court submissions? In many procedural contexts under French civil law, yes. The Code de procédure civile allows certain documents to be filed or notified by fax. However, rules vary by court and by document type — check with your avocat or the relevant court's registry (greffe) to confirm requirements for your specific matter.

How long does it take for a fax to reach France? Most faxes reach their destination within 1–3 minutes. If the recipient line is busy, the system will retry automatically. You receive an email confirmation once delivery is complete.

Related guides:

• How to fax legal documents online
• How to send an international fax online
• Is online fax secure?