Loans while listed in the French FICP register

If you live in France, or lived there and still have financial ties, you may have heard a French bank say that you are "fiché au FICP". For an English speaker this can be confusing: the United Kingdom has no equivalent state register, and the consequences are not the same as having a poor credit score in Britain. Being listed usually means French lenders will refuse new credit, at a moment when money is often already tight.

This guide explains in plain English what the FICP is, how people end up on it and how long it lasts, what you can still do while listed, and how the British credit reference system compares if you are moving between the two countries.

A loan commits you and must be repaid. Check that you can afford the repayments before committing yourself. (In French: Un crédit vous engage et doit être remboursé. Vérifiez vos capacités de remboursement avant de vous engager.)

What the FICP register is

The FICP (Fichier national des incidents de remboursement des crédits aux particuliers) is a national register of personal credit repayment problems, kept by the Banque de France. It is not a credit score and it does not record your general financial history. It contains only two types of information:

• Characterised payment incidents on personal loans, consumer credit, overdrafts and mortgages.
• Over-indebtedness measures (surendettement) when your case has been accepted by the Banque de France over-indebtedness commission.

Banks and credit providers must consult it before granting consumer credit. Landlords, employers and other third parties have no right to access it.

How people end up listed

For a loan repaid monthly, a listing is generally triggered when two consecutive monthly instalments remain unpaid. For other repayment patterns, it follows a significant arrears that has lasted around 60 days. Before registering you, the lender must write to warn you that a listing will be made unless the arrears are cleared within the notice period, usually 30 days. If you pay in that window, you should not be listed.

The second route is through over-indebtedness. When the commission declares your file admissible, you are recorded on the FICP for the duration of the measures put in place to resolve your debts.

The FICP is different from the FCC (Fichier central des chèques), which records bounced cheques and misuse of payment cards and leads to what the French call an interdit bancaire. Our page on loans under a banking restriction covers that situation.

How long a listing lasts and how to check it

A listing for a payment incident is removed as soon as the debt is fully repaid and the lender informs the Banque de France, and in any case after five years at most. For over-indebtedness, the listing normally lasts for the length of the repayment plan, within an overall maximum of seven years, and can end earlier if the plan is respected for five years. After a personal recovery procedure (rétablissement personnel), which wipes out debts, the listing lasts five years.

You can check whether you are listed, free of charge, by contacting the Banque de France with proof of identity. If a listing is wrong or has not been removed after repayment, ask the lender concerned to correct it, and contact the Banque de France if it does not act.

What you can still do while listed

Being on the FICP is not a legal ban on borrowing, but in practice almost every French lender will refuse. It does not stop you from having a bank account, and anyone refused an account in France can use the droit au compte procedure through the Banque de France. Realistic options include:

• Social and family support first: emergency help from the CCAS (local social action centre), the CAF, the departmental social services and charities, often reached through a social worker or a France Services counter.
• Personal microcredit with support (microcrédit personnel accompagné), offered through associations and social services with partner banks, which may consider people in difficulty case by case.
• Help to start a business: associations such as Adie finance micro-businesses for people excluded from bank credit, alongside support from France Travail for jobseekers creating a business.
• Help from relatives, ideally with a simple written agreement.

Be extremely wary of websites or social media accounts promising "credit despite FICP". They often ask for advance fees, collect identity documents for fraud, or arrange very expensive credit. Never pay anything before receiving a loan. If your debts already exceed what you can repay, read our guide to borrowing with too much debt; a new loan usually worsens the problem.

The British equivalent: credit reference agencies

The United Kingdom has no central state register like the FICP. Instead, lenders share data with private credit reference agencies, mainly Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Your UK credit file records both positive and negative information, including accounts paid on time.

• Missed payments and defaults stay on a UK file for six years from the date recorded, even if later repaid.
• County Court Judgments and their Scottish and Northern Irish equivalents appear on public registers and usually stay for six years, unless paid in full within one month.
• Insolvency, such as a Debt Relief Order, IVA or bankruptcy, appears on the Insolvency Register and on credit files.

You can check your UK credit report free with each agency, and ask for errors to be corrected. Free debt advice is available from StepChange, National Debtline, Citizens Advice and MoneyHelper.

Moving between France and the UK

A French FICP listing is not normally visible to UK lenders, and your UK file will not show French debts. That does not mean the debts disappear: you still owe them, French creditors can continue to pursue repayment, and lying on a credit application in either country can be fraud. If you move to Britain, expect a thin credit file at first. Registering on the electoral roll, keeping a UK current account in good order and paying bills on time all help. Our overview of borrowing safely in the UK explains low-cost options such as credit unions.

Checklist if you are on the FICP

• Have I checked my listing with the Banque de France and confirmed it is accurate?
• Have I contacted the lender to agree a repayment plan and get the listing removed once paid?
• Have I asked a social worker, the CCAS or France Services about emergency help?
• Have I considered the over-indebtedness procedure if my debts are beyond my means?
• Have I refused every "loan despite FICP" offer that asks for fees in advance?
• If I live in the UK, have I checked my British credit file too?

For broader support with arrears, see our page on debt and hardship help.