The justificatif de domicile: the paper all of France asks for

France registers you nowhere — and solves that in its own way: at almost every step a counter asks for a justificatif de domicile, proof that you live where you say you live. The bank, the school, the insurer, the number plate, your children's carte d'identité later on: they all want to see one. Whoever knows the game builds up a little pile from day one; whoever doesn't gets stuck at the third counter.

What counts as proof

The classics, always in your name and with your address on them:

• An energy, water, internet or telephone bill (mobile counts too)
• The quittance de loyer — the rent receipt from your landlord or the letting agency
• Your avis d'imposition (tax assessment) — as a newcomer you only have that after your first return, but after that it's the strongest of them all
• An attestation from your home insurance — often the quickest proof of all to arrange, because you're taking out that policy anyway
• The title deed, if you've bought

If you're living (temporarily) with someone else, there's a fixed form for that: an attestation d'hébergement — a signed declaration from your host, with a copy of their identity document and their own proof of address. Three documents, and a counter may not demand more.

How recent does it have to be? That differs — really

The internet says "three months", and that's just a bit too simple: the shelf life is regulated per procedure. For a carte d'identité or passport the proof may be up to a year old; for the droit au compte at the Banque de France, bills and receipts have to be younger than three months; for an ordinary bank account the regulations name no period and the bank decides itself. The safe habit: keep your monthly bills and receipts digitally, then you always have something fresh.

The chain starts with your energy contract

Practically this is the order: sign the rental contract → put energy and internet in your own name straight away → first bill in = first justificatif. From that moment everything is possible: the bank, the CPAM application, the school. Whoever lets the utility contracts run on in the landlord's name saves a chore and pays for it with a gap in their chain of proof.

And if a bank refuses despite your tidy little pile — it may, without giving a reason — there's the droit au compte: within one working day the Banque de France designates a bank that must give you a basic account, free, with a card and direct debits. The first bank's letter of refusal is then your ticket in. Saying that right out loud is usually enough.