Two British citizens can still organise their life together in France through a pacte civil de solidarité, commonly called a PACS. A PACS is a French civil partnership: it is a legal contract between two adults who want to organise their shared life. It is not a marriage, it does not automatically make one partner the heir of the other, and it is not by itself a post-Brexit residence permit. The practical difficulty for a British couple is usually the documentary file, not the nationality question. A mairie, meaning a French town hall, or a notaire, meaning a French civil-law notary, will need to understand UK civil-status documents and their French legal effect.
This guide focuses on two British citizens who intend to establish their common residence in France and want to register a PACS there. It explains the choice between the mairie and the notary, the birth certificates and certificates of customary law that may be requested, the apostille and sworn-translation process, and the written response to prepare if an official refuses a document. It then explains the consequences for ownership, debts, the survivor, a French will and inheritance tax. The purchase process for French property is outside this article; the relevant question here is what happens to property and evidence once a couple has a PACS or an existing French home.
The safest approach is to treat registration and succession as two linked but separate files. First, prove that the PACS can be validly registered. Secondly, prepare coordinated wills and a cross-border succession plan. A PACS without a will can leave the surviving partner with important practical difficulties even though the tax treatment of a bequest may be favourable. The couple should check the mairie or notary’s requirements before ordering legalisation or translation.
I. How can two British citizens register a PACS in France after Brexit?
A. Can two British citizens sign a PACS, and where is it registered?
Brexit did not create a nationality ban on a PACS concluded in France. The official French form for a PACS states that no nationality condition is required when the PACS is concluded in France. The starting rule is found in Article 515-1 of the French Civil Code. The official text begins: « Un pacte civil de solidarité est un contrat conclu par deux personnes physiques majeures ». In English, the essential point is that the parties must be two adult individuals who use the contract to organise their common life. The rule is not limited to French citizens or EU citizens.
The two applicants must nevertheless satisfy the ordinary conditions. Article 515-2 of the French Civil Code prevents a PACS between close relatives, between people where at least one is already married, or where at least one is already bound by another PACS. A British divorce, dissolution of a previous civil partnership or death of a former spouse must therefore be documented if the civil-status file shows an earlier relationship. A couple should not assume that a UK decree absolute or dissolution certificate will be self-explanatory to a French official. The document may need an apostille, a French sworn translation, or both, depending on the document and the authority receiving it.
The place of registration matters. Under Article 515-3 of the French Civil Code, the joint declaration is made before the civil-status officer of the commune in which the partners establish their common residence. The French expression officier de l’état civil means the official responsible for civil-status registration. In practical terms, this is normally the mairie for the commune where the couple actually lives. The couple must submit the PACS agreement, or convention, with the joint declaration. The mairie registers the declaration and carries out the required publicity formalities.
A notary can also receive the joint declaration and register a notarial PACS. This route is not merely a ceremonial alternative. It may be useful where the couple wants a tailored agreement, has substantial assets, has already acquired property in different proportions, has a previous marriage or civil partnership, or needs a professional to coordinate the PACS with wills and a succession file. A notary does not remove the need for accurate UK documents. It does, however, give the couple a single professional point of contact for the agreement and the later estate-planning questions.
The rule is different for a couple who remains resident in the United Kingdom and wants to register a PACS abroad. The last part of Article 515-3 concerns registration abroad by French diplomatic or consular officers where at least one partner is French. Two British citizens who are both resident in the UK should not assume that a French consulate can register their PACS simply because they plan to spend holidays in France. If their common residence is in France, the French mairie or a French notary should be approached. If their common residence remains abroad and neither is French, the couple needs a separate advice on the available route and the consequences of trying to register in the wrong place.
The PACS date also has practical importance. It is the date of registration, not the date when the couple first began living together, that normally gives the contract its French civil-law effects. The couple should keep the registration confirmation, a complete copy of the convention and proof of the date. Those papers may later be requested by a bank, an insurer, a pension administrator, a tax authority, a prefecture or a French notary dealing with a death.
A PACS is contractual, but it is not a substitute for every other contract. It does not transfer ownership of a house already owned by one partner. It does not make a UK pension automatically payable to the other partner. It does not rewrite a beneficiary nomination on a life-insurance policy. It does not create a joint will. Those questions require separate documents, and the couple should record them in a schedule which identifies the asset, the owner, the beneficiary and the governing institution.
The French form and the current administrative notice should be downloaded from the official source rather than copied from an old website. The official Service-Public page for the Cerfa 15726*02 PACS convention form explains that a couple may use the standard agreement or a specific convention. The official Service-Public page for the joint PACS declaration describes the supporting documents and the particular evidence that may be required where a partner was born abroad. This is the right starting point, but the chosen mairie or notary should still confirm the final file because local appointments and document checks can differ.
The couple should ask one question in writing before booking the appointment: “Please confirm the exact documents you require for two British citizens born in the United Kingdom, including legalisation, apostille, French translation and the certificate of customary law.” That short message creates a record. If the answer later changes, the couple can show what the office originally requested and identify the precise point of disagreement.
B. Which UK documents, apostille and translations will the mairie or notary require?
The documentary file normally has four layers. The first layer proves identity. The second proves birth and civil status. The third proves that each applicant is free to enter the PACS. The fourth proves the form and content of the agreement. A British passport is evidence of identity, but it is not normally a complete substitute for the civil-status documents used to verify parentage, previous marriages, changes of name and the absence of an existing PACS.
For identity, prepare a clear copy of each current passport and keep the original available for the appointment. If a passport uses a different spelling from a birth certificate, marriage certificate or deed poll, prepare the chain of documents linking the names. A middle name omitted from a French form can produce an avoidable delay when the mairie compares the passport with the birth record. The couple should also prepare proof of the common French address, such as a lease, utility bill, insurance certificate or other document accepted by the office. The evidence should show that the address is a real common residence, not merely a property visited from time to time.
For birth and civil status, the office may require a recent full UK birth certificate or an equivalent document showing the information required under French law. “Recent” is not a universal number of months for every foreign document, so the couple should obtain the written instruction of the mairie or notary before ordering it. A certificate issued by a registry in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland may have a different format. The authority may ask for a long-form version, an official certified copy or additional evidence where the certificate does not contain the information expected by the French form.
A British partner born outside the United Kingdom may need a different document set. The office may ask for the birth certificate from the country of birth, evidence of current civil status, and a certificate of customary law. A certificat de coutume, or certificate of customary law, is a document explaining the relevant personal-law rules of the applicant’s country and confirming that the proposed PACS is not prohibited for that person. It is not a general character certificate and it is not the same thing as a passport. The exact issuing body and form of the certificate should be confirmed with the mairie or notary.
French authorities also commonly ask a foreign-born applicant for evidence about the absence of an existing PACS. The official notice refers to a certificate or information obtained through the French civil-status system for a person born abroad. A British couple should not leave this question until the appointment. Ask whether the authority will obtain the information itself, whether the applicant must request it, and how long the document remains acceptable. Keep the request, the response and any tracking number with the rest of the file.
Previous relationships need their own sub-file. If a partner was divorced in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, provide the final divorce document and any evidence needed to show that it is final. If a partner was previously in a UK civil partnership, provide the dissolution order or death certificate of the former partner. If a partner has changed name, add the deed poll or other official evidence. The objective is not to tell the couple’s whole history. It is to allow the French official to answer three narrow questions: who is this person, what is the person’s current civil status, and is there any legal obstacle to the PACS?
Legalisation and translation must be treated as separate operations. An apostille is a certificate attached to a public document under the Hague Apostille Convention so that the receiving state can verify the origin of the signature or seal. It does not translate the document and it does not decide whether the contents are legally sufficient. The UK government explains the process on its official page about legalising a document for use abroad. The couple should verify whether the document needs an apostille, whether an electronic apostille is accepted, and whether the apostille must be attached to the original or to a certified copy.
A sworn translation is a translation made by a translator recognised by the relevant French court or authority. The French term traduction assermentée means a certified or sworn translation. The translation normally needs to cover the certificate itself and the apostille or legalisation wording that the French office must read. A translation of only the main birth-certificate page may be rejected if the apostille is left unexplained. Ask the translator to state the language of the source document, the identity of the translator and the certification formula required for use in France.
Do not order an apostille on an ordinary photocopy merely because it is cheaper. The UK issuing authority, the certification method and the receiving French office must match. A mairie can refuse a document that is authentic in the United Kingdom but not presented in the format required for French use. The safer sequence is: obtain the correct official copy; ask the French recipient whether apostille or legalisation is required; legalise the correct document; then order a complete French sworn translation. If the office wants the translation performed in France, do not assume that a UK-certified translation will be accepted.
The PACS convention itself must be supplied in French if the standard French form is used. A couple may prepare a specific agreement, but an English-language agreement alone should not be treated as a French PACS convention. If the couple wants clauses about contributions, separate ownership, reimbursement of expenses or the treatment of jointly held assets, those clauses should be drafted or reviewed by a French professional. The agreement cannot override mandatory rules, create an inheritance right that the Civil Code does not grant, or replace a will.
The property regime must be selected consciously. Under Article 515-5 of the French Civil Code, each partner generally keeps the administration, enjoyment and free disposal of personal property unless the convention provides otherwise. Where neither partner can prove exclusive ownership of a movable item, the text creates a presumption of indivision, meaning joint ownership in defined shares. Keep purchase invoices, bank statements and gift or inheritance documents if one partner wants to establish that a valuable item belongs exclusively to that partner.
The agreement also has consequences for day-to-day liabilities. Article 515-4 of the French Civil Code imposes common-life and mutual-assistance duties and makes the partners jointly liable to third parties for certain ordinary household debts. It contains limits for manifestly excessive spending, instalment purchases and loans. A British couple should therefore distinguish the PACS agreement from a bank mandate. A PACS does not automatically allow one partner to operate the other partner’s UK or French bank account, and a joint account does not prove that every asset is jointly owned.
If a mairie refuses a document, ask for the refusal and the missing requirement in writing. A telephone answer such as “the certificate is not acceptable” is not enough to plan a correction. Request the legal or administrative basis, the acceptable alternative, whether the issue concerns format or substance, and whether the appointment can be kept while the replacement document is obtained. Send a short chronological file: the document supplied, its issuing body, apostille status, French translation status and the exact response received.
Where the dispute continues, the couple should avoid submitting multiple inconsistent versions. Preserve the original document, the envelope or electronic delivery record, the apostille certificate, the translator’s certification and every email. A lawyer or notary can then identify whether the problem is a missing civil-status document, a translation issue, an apostille issue, an incorrect commune, or a genuine legal obstacle. That distinction determines the next step and prevents the couple from paying twice for a document that was never the correct one.
II. What does a French PACS change for a British couple’s home, will and inheritance?
A. Does the PACS protect the survivor, and why is a will still essential?
The most important succession warning is simple: a PACS does not, by itself, make the surviving partner an heir. A partner can have rights connected with the shared home, tax exemption and a will, while still having no automatic entitlement to the deceased partner’s estate in the same way as a surviving spouse. The couple should therefore sign the PACS and prepare a succession plan as two separate decisions made on the same timetable.
Article 515-6 of the French Civil Code gives the surviving partner specific consequences at the end of a PACS, including the application of the temporary housing rule through Article 763 and certain succession-related provisions where the deceased expressly provided for the survivor by will. The wording matters. It is not a general declaration that every PACS partner inherits. The couple must read the PACS, the will, the ownership document and the family circumstances together.
Where the main home belongs to the couple or forms part of the estate, Article 763 of the French Civil Code describes a one-year period of free enjoyment for the surviving partner in the circumstances extended by Article 515-6. This is a temporary housing protection, not ownership. It can be affected by the way the home is owned, the nature of the partner’s rights and the facts at the date of death. The survivor should contact the notary immediately, preserve proof that the property was the principal home and avoid signing a release before understanding the estate.
The will is the instrument that normally gives the PACS partner a direct inheritance benefit. A British couple should usually consider two separate wills, each identifying the partner and the assets covered, instead of assuming that one English document will be understood everywhere. A French testament olographe is a handwritten will. Article 970 of the French Civil Code requires it to be written entirely, dated and signed by the testator. A typed document merely signed at the bottom may fail this French form, even if the signer regarded it as a valid UK will.
A notarial will can reduce the risk of a document being lost, misunderstood or challenged, particularly where one partner owns a French home, holds UK investments, has children from a previous relationship or has used a UK will before moving. The notary should know about every existing will, codicil, trust, pension nomination and life-insurance beneficiary clause. Changing a French will without reviewing a UK will can create conflicting revocations or duplicate instructions.
Children and reserved shares must be reviewed. Article 912 of the French Civil Code defines the réserve héréditaire, or reserved portion: the part of the estate that the law protects for certain heirs who are called to the succession and accept it. The remainder is the quotité disponible, or disposable portion, which can be left freely. If French succession law applies to all or part of the estate, the couple cannot simply leave an amount to the survivor that removes a child’s protected share.
The cross-border law question cannot be answered from nationality alone. The European Succession Regulation contains rules on the law applicable to an international succession and on a possible choice of the law of nationality. The official text is available on EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) No 650/2012. A British national may need advice on whether and how a choice of UK law can operate in the particular estate, how French reserved-heir rules interact with that choice, and which country’s courts and notary are competent. Brexit makes this analysis more important; it does not turn every British will into an automatic French will or make every French will effective for UK assets.
Recent Judilibre material illustrates the practical importance of the wording and evidence. In Tribunal judiciaire de Toulon, 28 April 2026, RG no. 25/03366, the court examined a PACS, successive handwritten wills, a property held in indivision and a challenge based on capacity and undue influence. In its reasoning, the court stated that the later legacy « s’inscrit dans une volonté cohérente et continue du de cujus de gratifier sa conjointe ». The citation was checked against the decision through Judilibre and returned a conforming verdict. The case is not a British case and does not decide every cross-border question, but it shows why the chronology of the relationship, the PACS, the property and the wills must be documented.
The survivor should also know what the PACS does not provide. A PACS does not automatically create a survivor’s pension, does not make the partner the beneficiary of a workplace pension and does not override a life-insurance nomination. A UK pension administrator may apply its own scheme rules. A French insurer may require its own beneficiary form. A bank mandate may end or be restricted at death. The couple should ask each institution for its current beneficiary and death-notification procedure rather than relying on the existence of the PACS.
Tax and civil rights must also be separated. Article 796-0 bis of the French General Tax Code states: « Sont exonérés de droits de mutation par décès le conjoint survivant et le partenaire lié au défunt par un pacte civil de solidarité. » In English, the surviving PACS partner is exempt from French inheritance-transfer duties on the qualifying inheritance. That exemption does not remove the need to file the succession, identify UK assets, assess UK inheritance tax, apply any treaty relief and comply with the French notary’s timetable. Tax exemption is not the same as inheritance entitlement.
Before signing a will, make a simple asset map. For every home, bank account, investment, pension, insurance policy and valuable item, record the legal owner, the account country, the beneficiary designation, the likely succession law and the document proving ownership. Mark assets that are jointly owned in unequal proportions. If a French property is owned through an SCI, a French property-holding company, the company shares and the articles of association require a separate review; the PACS does not replace that work.
B. What should British PACS partners do about tax, residence, pensions and everyday evidence?
The PACS changes the couple’s French administrative life from the date of registration. It can affect the French income-tax household, social benefits and certain wealth-tax calculations. The couple should notify the French tax administration through the appropriate current channel and keep the registration date. A British bank account, UK dividend, UK pension or UK rental income remains a foreign-source item even if the couple is taxed jointly in France. The PACS does not decide the France–UK treaty residence question and does not turn UK income into French income.
For the first French tax return after the PACS, keep the PACS certificate, both identity documents, the French address evidence and a schedule of UK income. The schedule should distinguish the UK State Pension, private pension, employment pension, annuity, interest, dividends, rental receipts and capital gains. Each category can have a different treaty rule. The couple should also preserve evidence of tax already withheld in the United Kingdom and copies of every declaration. If the tax office asks why the return changed from separate to joint, the registration date and the legal PACS document answer the question.
The PACS is not an automatic immigration route for two British citizens after Brexit. A British national who is moving to France must have the residence basis appropriate to the planned stay. The GOV.UK guidance on living in France explains the post-Brexit distinction between short visits, residence and the rights protected for people who were already living in France under the Withdrawal Agreement. The French Service-Public page on the effects of a PACS also separates the civil partnership from the residence position of a foreign partner. A PACS can be evidence of a stable private and family life in an application, but it does not guarantee a residence card.
That point is especially important where one partner has a Withdrawal Agreement residence card and the other arrives later. The resident partner’s status, the date of the common life, the length of residence and the applicant’s own visa history should be reviewed separately. Do not present the PACS as proof that all post-Brexit residence conditions have disappeared. Keep the PACS file, residence file and tax file in separate folders, with a shared chronology showing where the documents overlap.
Pensions need beneficiary checks as soon as the PACS is registered. Ask each UK scheme whether a PACS partner is recognised under the scheme’s expression of wishes, whether a new nomination is required, and what happens if the member dies while resident in France. The same exercise should be carried out for French life insurance, private medical cover, income protection, death-in-service benefits and any investment account. A nomination form can be more specific than a will for that product, while a will cannot always change a nomination made under the scheme rules.
Everyday financial obligations also deserve attention. Under Article 515-4, household solidarity can make a partner liable for some ordinary expenses, while Article 515-5 generally keeps personal debts and personal assets separate. Before signing a loan, guaranty or property-related commitment, write down who is the borrower, who owns the asset, who pays the instalments and what happens if the PACS ends. A joint French account may be convenient for bills, but high-value contributions should be traceable through bank records.
The end of the relationship must be planned as carefully as its beginning. Article 515-7 of the French Civil Code provides that a PACS can end through death, marriage, a joint declaration or the unilateral decision of one partner, with formalities for registration and notice. The unilateral route is not a casual email to the former partner. It involves service of the decision and registration formalities. The date on which the dissolution affects the partners and the date on which it becomes enforceable against third parties can matter for tax, property, debts and benefits.
A couple should keep a digital and paper evidence pack containing the signed convention, registration record, certified translations, apostilles, passports, birth certificates, divorce or dissolution documents, address evidence, wills, beneficiary forms and tax filings. Use filenames that include the date and the issuing body. Keep a note of which documents are originals, certified copies or translations. If a document is replaced, retain the old version and state why it was replaced. This evidence can shorten a later notarial review and can prevent a bank or administration from treating the partner as an unrelated third party.
If the couple lives in Paris or Île-de-France, the competent mairie or notary may still have its own appointment process and document checklist. The local location does not change the Civil Code, but it can change the practical route for submitting a file and obtaining a written answer. A couple should identify the office responsible for its actual common residence, not select an office merely because it is easier to reach. If the couple has no common French residence, the registration question must be resolved before any document is ordered.
Finally, do not allow the registration appointment to become the first time the couple discusses death, incapacity or separation. Agree who will hold the original wills, who will notify the notary, where UK documents are stored, who can access essential accounts and which person can speak to the pension administrators. These are practical instructions, not substitutes for a power of attorney or a will, but they reduce the risk that the survivor is left trying to prove a relationship with a French or UK institution while grieving.
Conclusion
Two British citizens can normally register a PACS in France if they establish the required common residence and provide a complete civil-status file. The most common obstacles are an incomplete birth certificate, an unexplained previous relationship, a missing certificate of customary law, an apostille or a translation that the receiving office does not accept. Obtain the mairie or notary’s checklist in writing before ordering documents.
The PACS then creates a framework for mutual assistance, household debts, property evidence and certain housing and tax protections. It does not automatically make the survivor an heir, replace a will, change a UK pension nomination or grant a post-Brexit residence permit. The strongest plan is therefore a coordinated file: valid PACS registration, separate and properly executed wills, beneficiary forms, an asset map, and a written tax and residence chronology.
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