France · Access to Administrative Documents

Access to French administrative documents, with the CADA step built in

AccessPoint runs requests for administrative documents under the Code des relations entre le public et l'administration (CRPA, art. L300-1 et seq.) — the one-month deadline, the L311-5 and L311-6 limits, and the mandatory prior opinion of the CADA before the tribunal administratif — running inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

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France at a glance

Response standard
One month to respond; silence for one month is an implied refusal (refus tacite)
Mandatory CADA opinion
Seize the CADA within two months of a refusal; its advisory opinion follows within one month (art. L342-1)
Exemptions
The L311-5 non-communicable documents and the L311-6 documents released only to the interested party
Charges
Reproduction at cost — €0.18 per A4 black-and-white page; delivery by email is free (art. L311-9)
Oversight
Commission d'accès aux documents administratifs (CADA)
Languages
French, with English available

Built for France

One platform for the whole access-and-privacy mandate, pre-configured for this regime and running in your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

The CRPA request lifecycle

Intake to communication under the Code des relations entre le public et l'administration — the one-month deadline, the L311-5 and L311-6 limits, and CADA referrals — all built on Microsoft 365.

The mandatory CADA opinion

Before the tribunal administratif, the applicant must seek the CADA's advisory opinion. AccessPoint tracks the two-month window to seize the Commission and manages the file to its one-month avis and the administration's answer.

The one-month clock

Respond within one month; silence beyond a month is an implied refusal that opens the CADA route. AccessPoint computes the deadline and flags the implied-refusal point.

Limits and redaction

Apply the CRPA limits line by line — the L311-5 documents that cannot be released, and the L311-6 documents released only to the interested party (privacy, medical confidentiality, commercial and industrial secrets) — on a colour-coded, audit-trailed record.

Reproduction charges

Charge reproduction at cost under art. L311-9 — €0.18 per A4 black-and-white page, €2.75 per CD-ROM — while delivery by email is free, with the charge itemised for the requester.

In your own tenant

Every request and record stays inside your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant — no third-party cloud, no cross-border transfers, and no per-user fees.

The mandatory CADA opinion

In France, you can't go to court until the CADA has given its opinion — even though that opinion isn't binding.

French law makes access to administrative documents the rule, answered within a month; silence for a month is an implied refusal. But a requester cannot take a refusal straight to the tribunal administratif. First they must seize the Commission d'accès aux documents administratifs within two months, and the CADA issues an advisory opinion — generally within a month — on whether the document should be released. The opinion doesn't bind anyone, yet the referral is a compulsory gateway to the court. AccessPoint tracks the refusal, the two-month window, and the CADA's avis on one timeline.

Two-month window The deadline to seize the CADA after a refusal, tracked from the decision.
The CADA avis The Commission's advisory opinion, generally within one month.
Mandatory step The CADA referral is compulsory before the tribunal administratif, even though the avis is advisory.

Configured out of the box

Installing the fr-cada configuration pack seeds your tenant with everything this regime needs — a starting point you can adjust, not a lock-in.

Related guide: FOI Workflow Quick Check
  • The Code des relations entre le public et l'administration (art. L300-1 et seq.) as the legal-authority and citation spine
  • The French public-holiday calendar and the one-month response and implied-refusal rules
  • The mandatory CADA referral — the two-month window, the file for the Commission, and tracking to its avis (art. L342-1)
  • The L311-5 and L311-6 limits, colour-coded for redaction
  • Reproduction-cost charges under art. L311-9 — the €0.18 per-page rate, with email delivery free
  • The route to the tribunal administratif after the CADA opinion
  • Correspondence templates in French with the CRPA wording, English available
  • French timeliness tracking and the implied-refusal (refus tacite) trigger

France Questions

When must a French administration respond to a request?
It has one month from receipt to communicate the document; if it stays silent for a month, that silence is an implied refusal (refus tacite) that opens the CADA route. AccessPoint computes the one-month deadline and flags the implied-refusal point.

What makes France different — the CADA opinion?
Yes. A requester cannot take a refusal straight to court: they must first seize the Commission d'accès aux documents administratifs within two months, and the CADA issues an advisory opinion (avis) — generally within a month — before any appeal to the tribunal administratif. The opinion is not binding, but the referral is mandatory. AccessPoint manages the window, the referral, and the avis.

What can be charged?
Access on site and delivery by email are free; for copies the administration may charge reproduction at cost under art. L311-9 — €0.18 per A4 black-and-white page, €2.75 per CD-ROM. AccessPoint computes the charge and itemises it for the requester.

Where does data reside?
Entirely within your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant. Requests, documents, and audit history never leave your control — no third-party cloud, no vendor access, and no cross-border data transfers.

Run Access to Administrative Documents in One Platform

Try AccessPoint free for 30 days, pre-configured for France. No credit card required.

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