Bank account in France: identity document and proof of address, and the droit au compte if the bank says no

Yes, as a Dutch national you open a French bank account with two documents: a valid identity document with a photo — passport, identity card or an EU residence card — and a justificatif de domicile, such as a tax assessment, a rent receipt or an energy bill. What it costs is up to the bank; French banks often charge monthly fees, and that is allowed. The find is on Service-Public: a bank "is free to refuse", but must then point you to the droit au compte, and with that refusal the Banque de France designates within one working day a bank that must open a free basic account for you. The trap is that the droit au compte only works with a refusal on paper — and that you may not have another French current account beside it.

What do you bring, and what may the bank ask?

Document	What applies
Identity document	valid and with a photo: passport, national identity card or a carte de séjour UE
Proof of address	for instance a tax assessment, a rent receipt, a water or electricity bill; if you live with someone, an attestation d'hébergement
Signature	you deposit your signature with the bank; whoever gets a power of attorney does so too
On acceptance	you sign the convention de compte with the conditions and tariffs, on paper or digitally
On refusal	the bank must inform you of the possibility of turning to the Banque de France

What the bank may not do: impose "Mademoiselle" on you as an unmarried woman, and refuse you for not living in France if you legally live in the EU — the latter is European law. What it may do is ask for more than the rules prescribe, and that happens: an employment contract, a payslip, a residence card that is not compulsory. So bring your complete rental file; what convinces a landlord convinces a bank too.

What is the droit au compte, and how do you use it?

A right for whoever lives in France, has no individual account in their own name, and has been refused by a bank. The procedure runs through the Banque de France and has hard deadlines:

• You hand in the bank's refusal letter — or the receipt of your registered application if the bank has not answered after fifteen days — plus an identity document, a proof of address less than three months old and a declaration on honour that you have no other current account.
• Within one working day of receipt the Banque de France designates by letter the bank that must open the account. That designation is valid for six months.
• The designated bank sends you within three working days the list of documents needed and the address of the branch, and opens the account within three working days of receiving those documents.

The account gives access to the services bancaires de base, and those are free: opening and management, domiciliation of transfers, a monthly statement, cash transactions, cashing cheques and transfers, deposits and withdrawals at the counter and the cash machine, paying by direct debit and transfer, checking the balance remotely, a payment card on which every payment is authorised by the bank, and two banker's cheques a month. The bank may close the account only on the grounds the law names — such as a second current account in France — and then with two months' notice.

Ask for the refusal on paper, even if it feels awkward. A bank that says "we don't do that for newcomers" out loud has given you nothing. Ask for a written refusal or submit your application by registered post: that letter or that receipt is the ticket to the Banque de France, and naming the droit au compte out loud is often enough at the counter.

What do you arrange in which order?

The bank comes after the proof of address and before the rest. Without a justificatif de domicile no account; without a French IBAN no application to the CPAM, no salary, no energy contract in your name. So put energy and internet in your own name on day one — the first bill is your proof of address — and then go to the bank. Whoever wants to open the account from the Netherlands already runs into the address requirement: some banks allow it, but the rules give you no right to it.

Your Dutch account you keep in the meantime: that is where your M return, your pension and every refund arrive, and why you never cut that line is explained separately. In the roadmap for France the bank account is the fourth step of the basics phase, in the chain address → healthcare → tax office → bank.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.4: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to France or go straight to step 4.4 in the open plan.