Appeal deadlines in French civil and commercial proceedings

France gives one month to appeal a civil or commercial judgment, counted from service. Parties living abroad get three months instead, under the conditions of Article 643 CPC. This guide sets out how that extension works, when the deadline runs from actual delivery abroad, and which enforcement or insolvency appeals follow shorter timelines.

Published on 14 October 2026 · Updated on 2 October 2026

A party abroad that has won or lost a French civil or commercial case needs one date first: the appeal deadline in France. The ordinary rule gives one month from notification of the judgment to appeal in contentious matters. French law then adds two months for a party living abroad, three months in all, provided the court sits in metropolitan France.

The ordinary appeal deadline in contentious matters is one month from notification of the judgment

Under the Code of Civil Procedure (Code de procédure civile, CPC), an appeal against a judgment in contentious proceedings must be lodged within one month. The period is fifteen days in non-contentious matters (matière gracieuse). As a rule, the deadline runs from notification of the judgment, not from the day it is handed down.

Article 538 CPC sets this period for the ordinary remedies, which are the appeal and opposition. Opposition seeks withdrawal of a default judgment and is open only to the defaulting party (Article 571 CPC). This default rule of how civil proceedings run in France gives way to shorter deadlines set by specific texts.

Under Article 528 CPC, the deadline runs from notification of the judgment, unless the law makes it run from the date of the judgment. Notification means service (signification) by a commissaire de justice, the French judicial officer, or notification by the court registry, depending on the case. For a party served abroad, Article 687-2 CPC sets that date.

Article 528 adds a trap for the party that obtained the judgment: “The time limit runs even against the party giving notice” (our translation). By serving the judgment, that party starts its own time to appeal.

Filing the statement of appeal starts a second deadline

In an appeal conducted before a pre-trial judge (mise en état), the appellant must file its written submissions (conclusions) with the court registry. The time limit is three months from the statement of appeal (déclaration d’appel), under Article 908 CPC.

If that deadline is missed, the statement of appeal lapses (caducité), a sanction the court raises of its own motion. Our advice is therefore to plan both deadlines together when you instruct a French lawyer to handle the appeal.

Parties living abroad get two extra months to appeal a French judgment

Article 643 CPC adds two months to the deadlines for appeal, opposition and appeal to the Cour de cassation for parties living abroad. The extension applies where the case is before a court sitting in metropolitan France. For an appeal, the one-month deadline therefore becomes three months from notification of the judgment.

The text lists the deadlines it extends: time to appear, appeal, opposition, third-party opposition under Article 586(3), application for revision and appeal to the Cour de cassation. Parties living in the overseas territories it names get one extra month instead.

The test is where the party lives, not whether it is a foreign national. Article 643 refers to persons living abroad, and draws no line between individuals and companies.

In a 2010 ruling published in the Bulletin, the Cour de cassation applied Article 643 to service at an elected address in metropolitan France (domicile élu). Such service does not deprive a person living abroad of the extension, unless the extension is expressly excluded (Cass. 2nd civ., 9 September 2010, No. 09-70.087). The case concerned a company based in Luxembourg and a contredit, a challenge to jurisdiction, rather than an appeal.

The act of service deserves a full reading. A 2015 ruling, also published, concerned a Swiss company served with a judgment of the Nice tribunal de grande instance (Cass. 2nd civ., 19 February 2015, No. 14-10.916). The act stated one month at its head, but reproduced and expressly cited Article 643, so the deadline was clearly indicated. The Cour de cassation therefore upheld the finding that the appeal, lodged more than three months after service, was out of time.

For a party served abroad, the deadline runs from delivery or valid notification of the judgment

For a party served outside France, the appeal deadline runs from the day the judgment is delivered or validly served on that party. Article 687-2 CPC fixes that date of service. The deadline no longer runs from service on the French public prosecutor’s office, a fiction the Cour de cassation describes as ended.

The principle: delivery or valid notification to the recipient

Article 687-2 was created by Decree No. 2019-402 of 3 May 2019. The article dates service abroad, “as regards the person to whom it is made”, on the day the document is delivered or validly served on that person (our translation).

According to the Cour de cassation, these provisions “put an end to the fiction of service on the public prosecutor’s office” (our translation). That fiction artificially started a time limit for challenge against the recipient of the document (Cass. 2nd civ., 26 March 2026, No. 23-10.788).

When service cannot be completed or the foreign authority stays silent

Article 687-2 provides fallback dates where the document could neither be delivered nor validly notified to the recipient. Service is then deemed made on the date the competent foreign authority, or the French consular or diplomatic representative, attempted it. If that date is unknown, service is deemed made on the date one of them informed the French requesting authority that service was impossible.

If the foreign authorities issue no certificate of execution despite the steps taken, service is deemed made on the date the document was sent to them. The Cour de cassation requires the requesting party to prove those steps, taken before the recipient appealed. Otherwise, “the time limit for appeal cannot run” (our translation). The article does not expressly state this timing requirement.

The 2026 case concerned an exequatur order served on parties in Benin (see how to enforce a foreign judgment in France). The follow-up came after the appeals, so the ruling that the appeals were late was quashed. A party relying on the dispatch date must prove earlier follow-up.

EU regulations and international treaties come first

Article 683 CPC applies these rules “subject to the application of European regulations and international treaties” (our translation), so an applicable instrument prevails. For cross-border service within its scope, Regulation (EU) 2020/1784 generally applies from 1 July 2022. For other countries, a treaty such as the Hague Convention of 15 November 1965 may apply.

Article 687-2 also reserves Article 687-1. That article covers a report by the requested authority or the postal services that the recipient does not live at the address given. The recipient must also have no known home or residence.

Opposition and appeal to the Cour de cassation carry the same two-month extension for parties abroad

In contentious matters, the ordinary deadline for opposition is one month. An appeal on points of law to the Cour de cassation (pourvoi en cassation) must, as a rule, be lodged within two months. Article 643 adds two months to both deadlines for a party living abroad, where the court sits in metropolitan France.

That one-month period for opposition comes from Article 538. Article 612 sets the deadline for the pourvoi en cassation. “The time limit for an appeal to the Cour de cassation is two months, unless otherwise provided” (our translation).

Article 643 names opposition and the pourvoi en cassation alongside appeal. The extension applies when the claim is brought before a court whose seat is in metropolitan France. Both deadlines then grow by two months for a party living abroad. Under these ordinary rules, the totals are three months for opposition and four for the Cour de cassation.

Time runs from notification of the judgment, unless the law makes it run from the date of the judgment (Article 528). For a party served abroad, notification dates in principle from delivery or valid notification to that party (Article 687-2). That article also sets fallback dates when the document cannot be delivered or validly notified.

Enforcement, insolvency and ex parte orders follow shorter appeal deadlines

Three French procedures carry appeal deadlines shorter than the ordinary one month. Enforcement judge decisions allow fifteen days and insolvency judgments ten days. The refusal of an order sought without notice can be appealed within fifteen days. Whether the extension for parties living abroad applies to them is not established by any text or ruling we have identified.

Enforcement judge decisions: fifteen days

A decision of the juge de l’exécution (JEX, enforcement judge) may be appealed within fifteen days of its notification. The rule is Article R. 121-20 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures (Code des procédures civiles d’exécution, CPCE). This wording applies to appeals lodged since 1 September 2024 (Decree No. 2023-1391). See how to appeal a decision of the enforcement judge.

Insolvency judgments: ten days

Unless otherwise provided, parties have ten days from notification to appeal insolvency decisions, including safeguard, reorganisation and liquidation. The rule is Article R. 661-3 of the Commercial Code (Code de commerce). For the debtor alone, the ten days to appeal a judgment approving or rejecting the sale plan of the business run from its pronouncement. The article lists other specific cases. Creditors should also know how French insolvency proceedings treat creditors.

Orders made without notice: fifteen days, or an application to the judge

Article 496 CPC governs the ordonnance sur requête, an order made on an application without notice. If the application is refused, the applicant may appeal within fifteen days, unless the order comes from the first president of the court of appeal. That appeal is heard as in non-contentious matters.

If the application is granted, “any interested party may refer the matter to the judge who made the order” (our translation). This is not an appeal. For orders made under Article 145 (measures of inquiry before any trial) on or after 1 October 2026, an application to the judge must be brought within one month of service of the order, failing which it is inadmissible (Decree No. 2026-683 of 27 July 2026).

Whether the two-month extension (Article 643 CPC) applies to these shorter deadlines is not settled by any text or ruling we have identified. A party abroad should not count on it.

An appeal does not, in principle, suspend enforcement of a first-instance judgment

French first-instance decisions are enforceable on a provisional basis by operation of law, unless the law or the decision itself provides otherwise. The rule covers proceedings brought since 1 January 2020. As a rule, neither the appeal deadline nor the appeal itself therefore halts enforcement.

Article 514 CPC sets this principle of provisional enforcement (exécution provisoire). “First-instance decisions are enforceable on a provisional basis by operation of law unless the law or the decision given provides otherwise” (our translation). A statute may therefore exclude provisional enforcement, and so may the decision itself.

The official note to Article 514 limits the rule to proceedings brought before first-instance courts from 1 January 2020 (Decree No. 2019-1333 of 11 December 2019). Different rules applied to older proceedings.

A party that obtained the judgment may, in principle, enforce it while the appeal deadline is still running. Conversely, an appeal alone does not protect the party that received it. Halting enforcement pending appeal is a separate matter: see how to stop provisional enforcement on appeal.

Sources

Statutory texts (France)

Article 496, Code de procédure civile: appeal against an order made without notice, application to the judge
Article 514, Code de procédure civile: provisional enforcement by operation of law
Article 528, Code de procédure civile: starting point of the time limit
Article 538, Code de procédure civile: one-month time limit for ordinary remedies
Article 571, Code de procédure civile: opposition against a default judgment
Article 612, Code de procédure civile: two-month time limit for an appeal to the Cour de cassation
Article 643, Code de procédure civile: two-month extension for parties living abroad
Article 683, Code de procédure civile: priority of European regulations and international treaties
Article 687-1, Code de procédure civile: recipient with no known address
Article 687-2, Code de procédure civile: date of service abroad
Article 908, Code de procédure civile: time limit for the appellant’s submissions
Article R. 121-20, Code des procédures civiles d’exécution: appeal against decisions of the enforcement judge
Article R. 661-3, Code de commerce: appeal in insolvency proceedings

European Union instruments

Regulation (EU) 2020/1784: service of documents in the Member States

Case law (Cour de cassation)

Cass. 2nd civ., 9 September 2010, No. 09-70.087: extension kept despite service at an elected address in France
Cass. 2nd civ., 19 February 2015, No. 14-10.916: act of service reproducing Article 643, late appeal
Cass. 2nd civ., 26 March 2026, No. 23-10.788: date of service abroad under Article 687-2

FAQ: appeal deadlines in France

How long do I have to appeal a French judgment if I live abroad?

Usually three months. Article 538 of the French Code of Civil Procedure sets one month in contentious matters. Article 643 adds two months for a party living abroad, if the court sits in metropolitan France. No text or ruling we have identified establishes whether the extension applies to the shorter enforcement and insolvency deadlines.

When does the appeal deadline start for a party served abroad?

The deadline normally runs from the date the judgment is delivered or validly served on the party abroad, not its handover to the French public prosecutor. The rule is Article 687-2 of the French Code of Civil Procedure. Fallback dates apply if the judgment can be neither delivered nor validly notified. EU regulations and international treaties prevail where applicable.

Does an appeal stop enforcement of a French judgment?

In principle, no. Under Article 514 of the French Code of Civil Procedure, first-instance decisions are provisionally enforceable by operation of law. The law or the decision may provide otherwise. The rule covers proceedings brought at first instance from 1 January 2020.

What happens after I file an appeal in France?

In an appeal conducted before a pre-trial judge, the appellant has three months from the statement of appeal to file submissions at the registry. Otherwise the statement of appeal lapses, a sanction the court raises of its own motion (Article 908 of the French Code of Civil Procedure).

What if I miss the appeal deadline in France?

As a rule, the appeal can no longer be brought after expiry (Article 528, French Code of Civil Procedure). A Swiss company’s late appeal was inadmissible (Cass. 2nd civ., 19 February 2015, No. 14-10.916). Relief from the time bar may be available under Article 540 for a defendant who did not have timely knowledge of a default or deemed-adversarial judgment.

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