How to determine which Préfecture / Sous-Préfecture you belong to

25/10/2024

Step 1 - Identify your département

Step 2 - Identify your département's préfecture

Before you start

What is a Préfecture?

Determining which préfecture you belong to in France can be an important step in dealing with administrative matters, especially for matters like immigration, residency permits, or driving licenses. The préfecture is the local representative of the state, handling many of the administrative services, namely those related to immigration.

How is France divided?

France is divided into régions, each one divided further into départements. Each département has 1 préfecture. Most département is further divided into 3 or 4 arrondissements. Depending on the administrative service you need, you might need to reach out to the sous-préfecture. More on this later.

Source: https://www.prefectures-regions.gouv.fr/

Step 1 - Identify your département

• The first two digits of your postal code correspond to your département.

• Example: If your postal code is 75008 (Paris), the first two digits "75" indicate that you belong to the Paris département.

💡 Full list of département codes here: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_départements_français

Step 2 - Identify your département’s préfecture in the Préfecture Database

• Use this database Préfecture Database

• 1/ Look for your département number

• 2/ Under “Immigration Services”, confirm whether the immigration services are taken care of only/mostly by the préfecture or if you should check the sous-préfecture.

Go the Préfecture: in this case, follow the Préfecture Immigration Link. This will take you to the main Préfecture page on all topics related to immigration

OR Check Sous-Préfecture: in this case, some of the services might be carried out by a sous-préfecture (which could be closer to where you live). Follow the link under “Which sous-préfecture” to determine what sous-préfecture your city is attached to.

Note⚠️:

Not all sous-préfectures of a département might be active on immigration services. There are cases where you’ll still need to go to the main Préfecture even if your city is attached to a sous-préfecture.