Registering with France Travail and claiming unemployment benefit (ARE)

Before you start

• Your employment contract has ended (or will end shortly)
• You live in France and are allowed to work here

Documents you need

• Passport or national ID card

  required

• Residence document authorising salaried work (non-EU/EEA nationals)

  France Travail asks for the number and expiry date (AGDREF number).

  optional

• Employer's certificate for France Travail (attestation employeur)

  Your employer must provide it when the contract ends; it is usually transmitted electronically.

  required

• Pay slips from the last 24 to 36 months

  Useful to check the hours and pay France Travail takes into account.

  optional

• Bank details (RIB) in your name

  required

• Social security number

  If you have one; see the guide on the social security number.

  optional

• Up-to-date CV

  optional

Step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: Check whether you are likely to qualify

   The main conditions are:

   • Involuntary job loss: dismissal, end of a fixed-term contract (CDD), mutual termination (rupture conventionnelle) or a resignation that France Travail treats as legitimate, for example to follow a spouse who moves for work. A resignation to carry out a validated career-change project can also qualify if you have worked continuously for five years.
   • Enough work: at least 130 days or 910 hours (about six months) in the 24 months before the end of your contract if you are under 55, or in the last 36 months if you are 55 or older.
   • First-time jobseekers: since 1 April 2026, people who have never received unemployment insurance, or not for more than 20 years, qualify after 5 months of work (108 days or 758 hours).
   • Other conditions: you live in France, are physically able to work, have not reached the age for a full-rate pension and are actively looking for work.
2. 2

   Step 2: Register online with France Travail

   Register on francetravail.fr in the jobseeker area (candidat). You will be asked about your identity, your last jobs, your training and the kind of work you are looking for, and you can request ARE at the same time.

   • EU, EEA and Swiss citizens only need a valid identity document.
   • Other nationals aged 19 or over need a current residence document that authorises salaried work; a valid receipt or provisional document is accepted if it authorises work. You enter its number (AGDREF number) and expiry date and the check is usually automatic. If needed, you will be invited to show the original at an agency.

   If you have difficulty registering online, you can call France Travail on 3949.

3. 3

   Step 3: Attend your first appointment and sign your commitment plan

   After registering you are contacted for a first interview with an adviser. Since the 2024–2025 "full employment" reform, every registered jobseeker builds a personalised plan and signs an engagement contract (contrat d'engagement). It sets out your job-search actions and support, and in principle includes at least 15 hours of activity a week, adapted to your situation.

   Keep your contact details up to date in your personal account and read your messages there; appointments and requests are sent online.

4. 4

   Step 4: Understand when payments start

   Payments do not start on the day after your contract ends:

   • a 7-day waiting period (délai d'attente) always applies;
   • a deferral for paid leave (différé congés payés) applies if your employer paid you for untaken leave;
   • a specific deferral (différé spécifique) applies if you received a termination payment above the legal minimum. It is capped at 150 days (75 days after an economic dismissal).

   France Travail tells you the start date and the daily amount in your notification of rights.

5. 5

   Step 5: Know how the amount and duration are calculated

   Amount: France Travail first works out your reference daily wage (salaire journalier de référence, SJR) from your gross pay over the reference period. Your gross daily ARE is generally the higher of 40.4 % of the SJR plus a fixed daily amount or 57 % of the SJR, within a minimum and a maximum. Social contributions are deducted. The fixed amounts are revised each July, so use the official simulator for current figures.

   Duration: roughly in line with the time you worked during the reference period, with a reduction coefficient applied since 2023. For contracts ending now, the maximum is 548 days (about 18 months) under 55, 685 days at 55 or 56 and 822 days from 57, with extensions possible for qualifying training.

   Higher earners: above a high daily threshold, the allowance can be reduced by 30 % from the seventh month.

6. 6

   Step 6: Update your situation every month

   Each month you must complete your monthly update (actualisation) online, declaring whether you worked, trained, were ill or were unavailable. Payment for the month depends on it. ARE is paid monthly, on the basis of 30 days per month whatever the calendar month.

   Declare any paid work, even a few hours, and any training or illness. France Travail then works out what is paid for that month; amounts paid on the basis of an incomplete declaration have to be repaid.

Watch out

Common mistakes

• Waiting for the employer's certificate before registering. Register as soon as the contract ends; France Travail can follow up missing documents.
• Forgetting to declare a short job or freelance income during the monthly update.
• Assuming benefit is calculated on net salary. The SJR is based on gross pay, and contributions are deducted from the allowance.
• Leaving France for a long period without informing France Travail; you must live in France and be available to look for work.

Tips

• Keep every pay slip and contract from French employers; they prove your hours if anything is missing.
• If you recently worked in another EU country, tell France Travail and ask how those periods can be taken into account.
• Use the official ARE simulator on francetravail.fr before deciding on a resignation or mutual termination.
• If your income is very low, also check your rights with the CAF, for example housing aid.

Frequently asked questions

Editorial answers written by our team, based on the sources below.

Official links

In your plan

• If your job ends, register with France Travail promptlyAdd to plan

Sources

Written and checked by HomiStart editorial against the official sources below. Next scheduled check: 4 Feb 2027.