French pension life certificate in the UK
French pension funds ask retirees abroad for a life certificate once a year; without it, the consulate's life certificate page warns, payments can be suspended. If your phone and your documents meet the app's conditions, you can do it from your phone.
The app first
"Mon certificat de vie" checks your identity biometrically. The page lists three conditions: your pension fund must know your date of birth, your phone must run iOS 14.3 or later or Android 9 or later, and you need a valid passport or an ID card issued by a European state, Algeria or Morocco.
The app is the route the page puts first. Once your identity is checked, the certificate goes straight to your pension fund.
| Route | What you need | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| App | compatible phone and valid passport or ID card | when your fund asks |
| Paper certificate | signature of a competent local authority or the consulate | send within 2 months |
| Without internet | certificate received and returned by post | as above |
The paper certificate
If the app fails, you download the certificate from your personal space on the Assurance retraite site ("Transmettre mon certificat de vie"), have it completed by the competent local authority in the UK or by the consulate, then scan it and upload it within 2 months.
The Assurance retraite site lists, country by country, which local authority can sign.
Every honorary consul in the official directory lists life certificates among its services, and the Edinburgh consulate books them through its appointment link for proxies, legalisations and certificates.
Certificates of residence and the Registre
Some funds also ask for proof of where you live. A certificate of residence costs nothing for people on the Registre and their families, and £33.44 (€40) for others, on the consulate's fee table.
People on the Registre can also download a certificate of registration and residence from their Service-Public.fr space, without an appointment.
Honorary consuls work on a voluntary basis and keep short hours, and several close for weeks at a time: check the dates on their page before you book one for a certificate.
- Your pension number and personal space login
- A compatible smartphone, for the app
- A valid passport or ID card
- For paper: the certificate from your fund and an appointment
A certificate of residence, which some funds also ask for, is free for people on the Registre.
Try the app before booking anything: it saves the trip entirely.Official sources: Certificat de vie; L’Assurance retraite, justifier de son existence à l’étranger.
Last checked against uk.diplomatie.gouv.fr and the sources linked above on 10 November 2026.
Independent information, not an official service: frenchconsulates.co.uk has no link with the French authorities.
We read the official pages, date what we use and report disagreements between them. Always check with the consulate before you go.