Any French citizen, whether by acquisition or since birth, must make sure that the French vital registry holds his civil status documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, acknowledgement of paternity, etc.) and acknowledge the enforceability of essential court decisions (change of name, divorce, etc.).

When these events occur in France, there are no difficulties. In other cases, it may be necessary to transcribe these documents and register them with the « Service central d’état civil » (SCEC), or in the case of foreign court decisions, to obtain recognition of enforceability from the « procureur de la République » (public prosecutor) at the « tribunal judiciaire de Nantes« .