Source date: 2026-06-09
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Administrative papers
How long should you keep your everyday documents? Published on June 10, 2026 - Service Public / Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
These could be an insurance contract, a vehicle transfer certificate, your current account statements, or your pay slips... Some papers must be kept because they allow you, among other things, to assert a right. The retention period varies depending on the type of document. Service Public informs you of the minimum periods during which it is advisable to keep your everyday papers.
You must keep certain documents permanently. This is particularly the case for:
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your family record book;
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your health record;
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your marriage contract;
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an adoption judgment;
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the deed of sale for a home.
On the other hand, you can dispose of your lease agreement and inventory of fixtures 3 years after the end of the lease; and your tax notices and income tax returns at the beginning of the 4th year following the year for which the tax is due (for example, you can dispose of your 2026 declaration on 2025 income from January 1, 2029).
Your pay slips, for their part, must be kept until you have claimed your pension rights from the various pension funds to which you were affiliated during your career.
In these different cases, these are the periods during which you can exercise a right, or during which something can be claimed from you (recovery, etc.). Whether the original document was issued to you in digital or paper format, the minimum retention period is the same.
You can obviously keep these documents longer; this may notably allow you to provide proof in court if necessary, or in various situations. For example, it may be useful to keep your pay slips even when you are retired, for calculating the annuity that may be paid to you in case of occupational disease occurring after your retirement.
Some papers must also be kept, even after the death of the holder of these documents. These can indeed prove debts or claims transmitted to heirs during succession.
A Service Public simulator allows you to quickly find out the minimum retention period for everyday documents (taxes, housing, work, vehicle, health, banking, etc.).
When the original of a document was issued to you in paper format, it is advisable to keep this version.
If you digitize or photocopy an original paper document, the electronic/photocopied version only has the value of a copy. Now, a copy can only serve as proof on condition that it is reliable (this is particularly the case if the copy results from an identical reproduction of the form and content of the document); furthermore, when the original of a document still exists, its presentation may be required.
Online services and forms
- Check how long to keep a document Simulator
See also
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Retention period for papers Service Public
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Should you keep the paper or electronic original of a document? Service Public
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Change of address? Notify organizations and the administration in a few clicks! Service Public
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Allô Service Public 3939, the administrative information service Service Public
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Source: Service-Public particuliers