How to Apply for your Numéro de Sécu and Carte Vitale in France

What is a “Numéro de Sécu” (Social Security Number) and Why is it Important?

In actuality, the term “numéro de sécu” is a colloquialism; its real name is “NIR” but I have never heard anyone use that term ever.

The social security number is unique to each person and allows for your identification with many governmental bodies. This includes your: primary health insurance fund (CPAM); family allowance fund (CAF); pension fund; unemployment (Pôle emploi); mutual insurance company (or complementary health insurance); a departmental home for the disabled (MDPH).

Essentially, it is a really important number.

It is extremely important because it allows you to benefit from universal healthcare as well as other government aid programs. As the French government states, all have “the right to have their health care costs covered on a personal basis throughout their life: this is the principle of universal health coverage.”.

Who is Eligible for a Numéro de Sécu?

Everyone born in, employed in, or living in France on a stable and regular basis is able to be attributed a numéro de sécu. However, the circumstances under which you are in France will change how quickly you can apply for your numéro.

There are two main categories applicants fall under: people who are employed (or those with certain exempting circumstances) and those who are unemployed.

You can apply for your numéro right away if you are employed. In theory, your employer should apply on your behalf. In my case, though, they told me they had tried, but it would not work for some reason (my experience is discussed below).

For those unemployed (not falling under the exempting circumstances), you must wait until you have lived in France for a minimum of three successive months in order to apply.

For those who are not directly employed when entering France, I suggest an external healthcare coverage plan to cover (at minimum) the first four months of your stay; I did this through Europ Assistance when applying for my Visa VLS-TS before coming to France (and finding a job).

Where and How Do You Apply for a Numéro de Sécu?

You can apply for your numéro de sécu in person or via post at your department’s “Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie.” Also called the “CPAM,” it is your primary health insurance fund. I did this in person, but you can always send your application documents (copies-not originals!) through the post.

In a couple of weeks or potentially months, you will receive what they call a “numéro provisoire” (provisional social security number). This is a temporary number and you will have to wait several more months, or in my case, more than a year (lookin’ at you French Government…), for your definitive number.

Unfortunately, this provisory number is not applicable towards all government aid programs, but you can still use it to claim reimbursement for your healthcare costs (which is super important!)

When you receive your “numéro provisoire,” it will not be anything fancy; in fact, it is a paper printout. I suggest making copies and keeping one tucked away in your wallet, you never know when you may use it! Depending on where you go, they are sometimes able to put the number directly into the computer system for reimbursement. In other cases you will receive a “feuille de soins” (treatment sheet) that you must complete and send to your local CPAM.

The Application Documents

(remember to only send copies if applying by post)

If you are Employed or Fall Under Exemptive Categories:

Form cerfa no. 15763*02
Copy/original passport
Copy/origjnal of valid titre de séjour (long-stay visa, temporary or multi-year carte de séjour, or residence permit)
Copy/original of certified birth certificate (with apostille) and its translation (get this done in France by a “traducteur assermenté”)
Proof of employment such as a work contract or a pay slip
Relevé d’identité bancaire (RIB) including IBAN (for reimbursement)
If you have children, form cerfa no. 14445*2 (please see the third page of the form for any justifying material you must provide)

If You Are Unemployed:

Form cerfa no. 15763*02
Copy/original passport
Copy/origjnal of valid titre de séjour (long-stay visa, temporary or multi-year carte de séjour, or residence permit)
Copy/original of certified birth certificate (with apostille) and its translation (get this done in France by a “traducteur assermenté”)
Proof that you have lived in France for more than three months (lease or successive rental receipts, electric/gas/water/landline phone bills in your name).
If you do not have any bills in your name, you will need whomever owns/rents the property to write you an “attestation d’hébergement” stating that you live with them. This should be accompanied by a copy of their ID and three successive months of bills in their name
Relevé d’identité bancaire (RIB) including IBAN (for reimbursement)
If you have children, form cerfa no. 14445*2 (please see the third page of the form for any justifying material you must provide)

You Have Received Your Definitive Numéro de Sécu, Now What?

Congratulations are in order! Mainly because as I am writing this now, after over a year of waiting, I still don’t have one… Count me jealous.

Now that you are official, you can create your Ameli account using your numéro de sécu as an identifier to log in. Ameli is an online portal to access l’Assurance Maladie. L’Assurance Maladie is the French government’s universal health insurance scheme. Using your Ameli account, you can consult reimbursements, send and receive documents, and even request your Carte Vitale (as discussed below).

What Is A Carte Vitale?

Your “Carte Vitale” ( or “vital card,” yes, like “vital signs”) is a free card that attests to your rights to universal health care in France. It works everywhere in metropolitan France and DROM-COM (overseas France). With the card, reimbursement for healthcare costs takes about a week. Much like a debit card, it has an electronic chip which you insert into a card reader. This allows the healthcare provider can access your health information and facture you.

Healthcare providers have access to your health information including:
– Your identity and any beneficiaries linked to your number (such as children)
– Your social security number (literally written on the Carte Vitale itself )
– The “caisse primaire” you are registered with (your primary health insurance company, also known as CPAM)
– Any other health insurance schemes you are affiliated with
– The health insurance scheme to which you are attached
– Any full third-party payer for the payment of a complementary health insurance (ACS). This allows you to benefit from a reduction on the cost of a mutual insurance company
– And if you are concerned by these rights: exemption from co-payment (100% coverage of health expenses reimbursable by the Assurance Maladie for long-term illness, maternity, work accident and occupational disease, etc.); complementary health insurance, which allows you to benefit from a free mutual insurance company

How to Apply for Your Carte Vitale

Now that you have your definitive numéro de sécu, you can apply for your Carte Vitale. This application takes place either online via Ameli or by post. (tip: online is faster)

In about two to three weeks, you will receive the physical carte vitale in the mail along with a copy of the information that it contains; you should check this to make sure everything is correct (if not, you need to contact your local CPAM). Keep this so that you can justify your rights to universal healthcare in case of a lost or broken card.

If you want to follow the progress of your demand, you can do this through your Ameli account. Go to “mes démarches” (my steps) and clicking “suivre ma commande de carte Vitale” (follow my demand of a carte vitale).

If you need to use your numéro de sécu in the meantime, you will need an “attestation des droits” that states you have rights to universal health insurance. Do this through your Ameli account by following “mes démarches” (my steps) and clicking “télécharger mon attestation de droits” (download my certification of rights).

Apply Online from Your Ameli Account

Log in to your Ameli account
Go to the section “mes démarches” (my steps) and click “commander ma carte Vitale” (order my carte vitale)
Select the person concerned (yourself or child)
Verify the information
Upload a digitized copy of your ID (passport) and a digitized copy of a recent ID photo
Verify and validate your demand
You will then get a confirmation screen of your demand

Apply Via Post

When you obtain your definitive numéro de sécu, they supply you with a paper form to apply for your carte vitale through the mail.

Check the information provided on the form and sign it. If there is any incorrect or incomplete information, you are advised to contact your CPAM and not to correct the form.
Attach a colored ID photograph in the space provided
Attach a copy of a photo ID (passport)
Put all the documents requested (ID copy and signed form) in the pre-addressed envelope and pop it in the post.

My Experience Applying for My Numéro de Sécu and Carte Vitale

To say this process has been a small hell would be quite an understatement. I am not sure where it all went wrong.

Either way, I am still waiting for my definitive numéro over a year later.

Here’s my story….

When I arrived in France in September 2019, I had my own insurance through Europ Assistance from my VLS-TS application. Later in the month, I was offered a job beginning in November. Typically, my employer should have applied for my numéro de sécu on my behalf before I began working. For some reason, they had some troubles with this, so I had to go and apply in person myself.

I applied at my local CPAM in November of 2019. I brought all the documents necessary to justify my situation and all was okay, they accepted my documents. Now, I just had to wait for my provisional number to come in the mail.

Nearly two months passed and it just so happened that I went to the doctor for some issues I was having. I did not yet have my provisional number. When I went to the CPAM to speak with them and submit my “feuille de soins” (treatment sheet), the man working the desk told me that I already had a provisional number! He was kind enough to print out the paper attestation for me, because I had no other way of accessing the information myself.

Another few months pass and I am patiently waiting for the definitive number to come in the mail… And some more months pass and we are placed in confinement due to COVID-19. Once everything is back open, I decide to go inquire at the CPAM if they can tell me anything about the process or why I have not received my number yet. They tell me that the file is handled by a main office in Paris, but everything seems okay on their end; of course, it is understandable that things are delayed because of the virus.

Now we finally get to the end of May and my husband and I are planning to leave Troyes, meaning we have to change departments and our registered CPAM office. I go to check once more on the status of my application, to no avail.

We move departments, but I dare not change my information for fear that it will slow the process even further. Throughout this time, I have been using my provisional number for my healthcare expenses.

This was until September 2020 when I went to the pharmacy to fill a prescription and the pharmacists told me that my number no longer works. As one would imagine, the number is temporary and would be likely to expire at some point…

To figure out what was necessary, I took a trip to the local CPAM of Eure et Loir to inquire about what could be done or to re-apply for a number. Because the CPAM is departmental, they could not access my documents at all and I did not re-apply. It was a waste of time. Around this time, I went back to Troyes to pick up my Carte de Séjour. While there, I took a stop at the CPAM de l’Aube where I was finally—finally—told that a copy of my birth certificate was missing!

Once aware of this, I sent a copy of my birth certificate (with translation) to the CPAM de l’Aube right away. We also contacted the head office in Paris to inquire about what else we could do. Because of this situation, they told us to keep my file in the Aube instead of trying to transfer it to Eure et Loir and to wait for the definitive number to come in a few months.

Here we are again, we have done a 360 (or should I say 365?) and we are back where we started. Waiting for who knows how many more months…

I do not mind waiting, but the issue is really that I cannot benefit from any of the programs offered by Pôle emploi, such as funding for obtaining your license or for studies, which I really want to partake in since it will make me more employable here in France.

TA DA and thank you for attending my pity party!

I genuinely hope you have a better experience than I did and wish you the best of luck.

Bisous,
Rose