8. Works Declaration in France - Déclaration Préalable

1. Applicable Works
2. Application Procedure
3. Completion Notice
4. Appeal Procedure

8.2. Application Procedure for a Déclaration Préalable

In order to make a works declaration you need to complete two copies of the standard form, which can be obtained from your mairie.

The different application forms can also be downloaded from the following links:

• Déclaration préalable Cerfa 13703.02 for a house and annexes, including a swimming pool or a garage, and for new fencing.
• Déclaration préalable Cerfa 13404.02 for any other type of construction than to a single house or its annexes.
• Déclaration préalable Cerfa 13702.02 if the works involve the division of land and construction of more than one dwelling.

The application should be accompanied by other plans or documents, about which you should consult with your local planning authority, as requirements vary according to the type and location of the works.

You need to deliver the application by hand, or send by recorded delivery. The planning authority are obliged to confirm receipt of your application and provide you with a registration number.

Within 15 days of receipt of your application, the mairie are obliged to post notice of the application outside of the town hall where it should remain pending the consideration of the application.

The mairie have one month in which to advise you if the application has not been submitted correctly, from which point you then have three months to submit a correctly completed application.

Once the the planning authority have received a correctly completed application they have one month in which to determine it, which is increased to two months where it is necessary to consult with other public bodies. Thus, in the case of conservation areas and historic buildings the local planning authority are required to get the opinion of the Architecte des Bâtiments de France (ABF).

In the absence of a response with the prescribed timescale, approval is deemed to have been granted tacitly. Accordingly, in most cases, if you hear nothing within a month, you can assume your application has been approved.

In the vast majority of cases the approval is likely to be given tacitly, without the planning authority actually sending you a letter of approval. Nevertheless, you have the right to ask for a letter of approval or 'non-opposition'.

In other cases, the application may be approved with conditions, in which event a decision notice will be sent to you containing the conditions.

Once approved, a notice of non-opposition must be displayed at the mairie within 8 days of their decision. You are also obliged to place a standard notice on the site, and throughout the period of the works.

Display of the site notice grants third parties two months to oppose the decision. This two month period starts from the date the notice is erected on site.

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