Copie intégrale or extrait: which to request in France
The French acte comes in three sizes, and the difference between them is not cosmetic: it is what shows — and what hides — of parentage and margin annotations. Ordering the wrong size is guaranteed rework.
The three versions
- Copie intégrale — the record's complete transcription, with the mentions marginales: marriage, divorce, PACS, death, rectifications annotated in the margin over a lifetime. The French full transcript.
- Extrait avec filiation — a summary with the parents' names.
- Extrait sans filiation — a summary without parentage; it is the only one anyone obtains without proving a connection.
Why the mentions marginales matter
France annotates civil life in the margin of the birth record — whoever reads a copie intégrale reads the condensed civil biography. Proceedings and document chains depend on those annotations to confirm sequences (married? divorced? changed name?). The extrait hides exactly that; the practical rule is the usual one: for a proceeding, intégrale.
Who gets what (and the 75-year rule)
The copie intégrale of birth and marriage is protected: holder, ascendants, descendants, spouse — with identity and parentage declared. The acte de décès is public. And the genealogical key: 75 years past the event (or 25 past the holder's death), everything becomes public — old French records are among the world's most accessible, many already online at the Archives Départementales.
The typical package for use in Brazil
Copie intégrale + French apostille + sworn translation in Brazil. Mind the French particularities in the chain: accents and hyphens in compound names that Brazilian records simplified, and the republican-calendar dates in 1793-1805 records (an II, an XII...) — which require conversion and explanation in the translation.
Frequently asked questions
Does the multilingual extrait serve for Brazil?+
It eases uses within Europe. Brazilian bodies usually require the copie intégrale translated by a sworn translator — confirm with the recipient before economising on this step.
Is an 1850 record still at the mairie?+
The old record usually has double custody: the commune's collection and the greffe's, gathered at the Archives Départementales — which digitised massively. Browse online; ask the archive for the certified copy when the proceeding demands paper.
Informative content about request procedures. We do not cover citizenship or visa eligibility. Rules and amounts may change; always confirm before acting.