Since May 2012, the national Health Insurance Center requires that foreign vital records (such as birth and marriage certificates) bear the apostille or be authenticated to complete registration. In general, it is now necessary to check for each foreign national, according to the country that issued the record, if it should be authenticated or apostilled. Some countries are exempted from this requirement.
It should be noted that foreign consulates in France are not always entitled to proceed with the authentication or apostille of vital records issued by their country. In this case, the foreign national must apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country that issued the record. A record of civil status, and the apostille stamp or authentication, must be translated by a sworn translator registered with the Courts of Appeal and Cassation in France.