Why a specific page for the French B3
When a French national moves to Spain, the criminal record they provide is not a generic certificate — it is a very specific document: the Bulletin n°3 of the Casier judiciaire national, issued in Nantes, with two particularities that set it apart from other countries' equivalents:
- No apostille required: it is covered by EU Regulation 2016/1191 with its multilingual annex already built in.
- A highly distinctive structure: document identifier, control key, verification hashes, references to Articles 777 and R.84 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure, and the multilingual standard form on the back.
Translating the B3 without understanding that framework is one of the errors that lead to rejections at Spanish Immigration. Hence this dedicated page.
What the Bulletin n°3 (B3) is
The French Casier judiciaire has three distinct bulletins, each with different recipients and contents:
- Bulletin n°1 (B1): complete record, accessible only to magistrates and certain judicial authorities.
- Bulletin n°2 (B2): partial record reserved for public administrations and sensitive employments (civil service, work with minors, etc.).
- Bulletin n°3 (B3): the most restricted bulletin, and the only one the individual themselves can request about themselves. It contains only the most serious convictions (Article 777 of the Code de procédure pénale): prison sentences without substitution exceeding two years, certain prohibitions and deprivations still in force, and convictions for offences against minors that have not been amnestied.
When the applicant has no convictions that must appear in the B3, the document carries a diagonal bar (Article R.84 CPP) — France's regulatory way of saying "no convictions". The sworn translation respects that bar and describes it explicitly.
When Spain asks a French national for "criminal record from country of nationality", the expected document is the B3 — neither the B1 nor the B2 (which the applicant cannot obtain).
Who issues it and where
The sole issuer is the Casier judiciaire national, the centralised service of the French Ministry of Justice, based at 44317 Nantes CEDEX 3. It reports administratively to the Direction des affaires criminelles et des grâces. Each bulletin is electronically signed by the head magistrate of the Casier judiciaire national service.
Unlike other European countries where criminal records are decentralised — Germany by Bundesland, the UK by ACRO/PSNI/PoSC jurisdiction, the United States by state or FBI — France centralises everything in Nantes, which simplifies the process for the citizen.
How to request it
Three official routes, depending on the applicant's situation:
Online route (the fastest)
- Available at casier-judiciaire.justice.gouv.fr.
- Requires identification via FranceConnect (Impôts, Ameli, La Poste, MSA accounts, etc.) or direct declaration.
- Only available if you were born in metropolitan France or in an overseas department (DOM).
- The B3 downloads as an electronically signed PDF, normally within minutes or hours.
- Carries a QR verification code, a document identifier (format AAJJJSSSSSSSSB3 — year, Julian day, sequence, B3 suffix), an alphanumeric control key and a series of hash codes for verification against the official site.
Postal route (for those born outside France)
- Application to Casier judiciaire national – 44317 Nantes CEDEX 3 by mail.
- Attaching a copy of ID and birth details.
- Also free; 2-3 week turnaround.
- For French nationals born abroad or in DOM-TOM, this is usually the only available route.
Assisted application from abroad
- French consulates can help process the postal application to the Casier in Nantes for French residents abroad.
- Roughly the same timeline as the postal route.
In all cases the B3 is free — a favourable contrast with the UK ACRO (£55 + £14 apostille) and the US FBI Identity History Summary (~$18 + federal apostille).
Document elements and what we translate
Our sworn translation of the B3 reproduces every formal element of the document:
- Institutional header: Ministry of Justice, Directorate of Criminal Affairs and Pardons, Casier judiciaire national, 44317 Nantes CEDEX 3.
- "Bulletin numéro 3" heading and issue date.
- Verification URL (
casier-judiciaire.justice.gouv.fr/verif), document identifier, date and time of issue, control key and series of verification hashes ("Résultat à vérifier" — several lines of 32 hexadecimal characters in groups of 8). - Holder identification: surname(s), forename(s), sex, date and place of birth, nom d'usage (marital usage name, common in France, with no exact Spanish equivalent — translated with explanatory note).
- References to Articles 777 and R.84 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure: these articles define respectively which convictions must appear in the B3 and the diagonal-bar rule in the absence of convictions. We translate them with their exact numbering so that the Spanish official can contextualise.
- Outcome: when there are no convictions, the diagonal bar between the legal paragraphs. We describe it in the sworn translation with the corresponding note.
- Signature of the head magistrate of the Casier judiciaire national service and seal "Ministère de la Justice – Casier judiciaire national".
- Annex II — Complete multilingual standard form (EU Regulation 2016/1191), including the Member State mark (FR), information on the form's issuing authority, information on the public document (criminal record extract), holder identity details and signature box. The multilingual glossary (final section of the annex with headings in the 24 EU official languages) is not translated because it is already in Spanish by design of the Regulation — we leave it as is.
EU Regulation 2016/1191: why no apostille is needed
Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 6 July 2016, abolishes between Member States the requirement of apostille and legalisation for public documents on civil status and similar matters, among which Article 2.1.l expressly includes "the absence of a criminal record".
This means that:
- ✅ The B3 issued in France is accepted in Spain without apostille (and vice versa).
- ✅ The multilingual standard form (Annex II) accompanies the main document and helps the receiving authority read it.
- ❌ But the multilingual form does not exempt from translation: the receiving authority may require it, and Spanish Immigration Offices request one systematically.
A near-unique case among the foreign criminal records we translate: French applicants save the apostille step but still need a sworn translation.
Spanish bodies that accept our translation
- Immigration Offices and Sub-delegations of the Government: NIE, EU citizen residency certificate, residency-and-work authorisations, modality changes.
- Spanish consulates in France (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bayonne, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Montpellier, Toulouse) when the procedure is initiated from the consulate.
- Ministry of Justice – General Sub-directorate of Nationality and Civil Status: Spanish nationality by residency files.
- Civil and family courts: when filed as evidence.
- Calls for civil-service competitive exams and regulated employments requiring proof of absence of criminal record (healthcare, education, private security, work with minors).
Delivery format and timing
We deliver as PDF signed electronically with the sworn translator's qualified digital signature, valid before all Spanish administrations and consulates. The B3 is usually 4 to 6 pages (body + complete multilingual form + untranslated glossary), so the billable page count typically ranges from 2 to 4 depending on the actual length of the form.
For urgent needs ahead of immigration appointments or oposición deadlines we offer expedited delivery (24 h and 12 h with surcharge).
Common pitfalls we avoid
- Believing the multilingual form already is the translation. It isn't — it's a translation aid. The Spanish authority can and usually does require a sworn translation of the entire document.
- Requesting an apostille on the B3. French prefectures and the Cour d'appel will refuse the apostille request because the document is already covered by the EU Regulation. Don't request it, you don't need it, and we don't charge for it as a separate item.
- Translating only the body and forgetting the form. A complete B3 includes both blocks (bulletin + Annex II). Our sworn translator integrates them as a single document with continuous pagination.
- Name discrepancies between the B3 and the passport or Spanish ID: we cover this with a translator's note when nom d'usage differs from nom de naissance. Let us know when uploading.
- Expired B3 because the procedure was postponed. Request a fresh one (free, fast) and re-translate; we apply a discount for documents already known to us if you request the update within six months of the first translation.
Related pages
- Sworn translation of a criminal record certificate — general page on foreign criminal records for Spain.
- Sworn translation of UK ACRO Police Certificate — equivalent for UK nationals (apostille required).
- Sworn translation of FBI background check — equivalent for US nationals (federal apostille required).
- Sworn translation of a birth certificate — the other key document in immigration files from France (also covered by EU Regulation 2016/1191).