If you've spent an evening googling how to get legally married in France, you've hit this sentence: "you need 30 to 40 days of continuous residency."
You've probably also noticed something odd. One site says thirty days. The next says forty. A third says forty-five. None of them cites a source. And they all seem to be copying each other.
I'm French, I work in Paris every weekend, and I got curious enough to go and read the actual texts. Here's what I found — including the part where the famous number turns out not to be written anywhere.
What the law actually says
Two separate rules stack on top of each other. That's the whole explanation, and once you see it, everything makes sense.
Rule one — where you can marry. Article 74 of the French Civil Code says a marriage takes place in the commune where one of the spouses, or one of their parents, has their domicile or residence. Residence here means at least one month of continuous habitation, as of the date the banns are published.
Worth knowing: it can be a second home. It does not have to be your main address.
Rule two — the banns. The ceremony cannot take place before the tenth day following the publication of the banns. And it must happen within the year.
So where does "40 days" come from?
Put the two together and the arithmetic writes itself.
One month of continuous residence before the banns are published, plus ten days of publication before the ceremony can take place. Thirty plus ten. Forty days of minimum presence before your wedding.
That's my reading of it, and I want to be honest about what it is: no official source I consulted writes "40 days" as a residency requirement. The UK government's guidance mentions contacting the mairie "at least 40 days prior to the ceremony", which is consistent — but the legal text itself only ever refers to one month of continuous habitation as of the publication date.
So the number isn't wrong. It's just a reconstruction that everyone repeats without knowing where it comes from. Which is exactly why the figures drift between thirty and forty-five depending on which blog you land on.
The part that matters more than the number
Here's what I'd actually worry about in your position, and it isn't the arithmetic.
Residency has to be real, and it has to be proven. A sworn statement is not enough. Mairies ask for a lease, utility bills, a tax notice, or an employer's attestation. This is the point where most international plans quietly fall apart — not the counting of days, but the paperwork behind them.
If you're flying in for a week, no amount of day-counting helps. You don't meet the condition.
The documents, and one nasty surprise for British couples
Beyond residency, the file itself. Broadly, you'll be asked for:
- Birth certificates — issued within the last 3 months if French, up to 6 months if issued abroad. Apostille or legalisation and a sworn translation may be required.
- A certificat de coutume — a certificate from your own country's authorities confirming you're legally free to marry under your national law.
- A certificate of no impediment in some cases.
- Proof of identity and proof of residence.
And here's the trap. The United Kingdom does not issue a certificat de coutume or a certificate of celibacy. British couples arrive at the mairie with a list, and one item on it simply doesn't exist back home.
The workaround exists: GOV.UK publishes a self-declaration form for marriage or PACS in France, which some mairies will want notarised. British government guidance recommends contacting the mairie at least six weeks ahead. Ask the mairie directly what they accept — practice varies between town halls, and the answer you get in the 16th arrondissement may not be the one you get in Asnières.
Paris specifically
The City of Paris publishes its own timings, and they're stricter than the national minimum:
- at least four weeks between filing your file and the ceremony
- an appointment is required in most arrondissements — the 10th, 15th, 16th and 17th accept walk-ins
- allow at least thirty minutes for the filing appointment itself
Which, stacked with everything above, means the honest planning answer is: start three to four months out, not six weeks.
The option most couples actually take
I'm not going to pretend this is a small hurdle, because it isn't. Which is why a great many international couples do something simpler.
They marry legally at home — a registry office, ten minutes, two witnesses — and hold the real ceremony in France. A symbolic ceremony with a celebrant, in a garden, on a rooftop, in a château. Their own vows, their own words, no administrative constraints at all.
The symbolic ceremony has no legal force whatsoever. That's the trade, and it needs saying plainly, because plenty of websites are fuzzy about it. You are already married when you arrive. What happens in France is the wedding — the day, the emotion, the people — but not the legal act.
You'll see a statistic quoted a lot, that eighty or ninety percent of international couples do it this way. I couldn't trace that figure to any primary source, so I won't repeat it as fact. What I can tell you is what I see on the ground: among the international couples I photograph, it's clearly the common path.
What I'd do in your position
If you have a genuine tie to a French commune — a family home, a parent living here, a work posting — the legal route is real, and it's worth it. Talk to that specific mairie early.
If you're flying in for the wedding, marry at home first and give yourselves a free hand in France. You'll spend your energy on the day instead of on a file.
Either way, ask the mairie directly. Not a blog, not this article. Practice varies from one town hall to the next, and the person at the desk is the only one whose answer counts.
An honest disclaimer
I'm a photographer, not a lawyer. Everything above comes from the French Civil Code, service-public.gouv.fr, the City of Paris and UK government guidance — I've linked all of it below so you can check me.
Rules change. This article is dated for that reason. And your own case may have a wrinkle none of this covers.
But if this saves you from repeating the "40 days" line without knowing what's behind it, it's done its job.
I'm a French wedding photographer based just outside Paris, in Asnières-sur-Seine. I work in English, and I've photographed enough international weddings — Paris, and couples flying in from Houston to Sydney — to know that the paperwork is the least romantic and most stressful part of the whole thing. Happy to point you towards the right people.
Sources service-public.gouv.fr — Marriage in France (F930) · French Civil Code, article 74 · Paris.fr — Mariage et Pacs · GOV.UK — Self-declaration form for marriage or PACS in France