Aide Juridictionnelle in France: 2026 Income Limits and How to Apply

If you are facing a court case in France and cannot see how you would pay a lawyer, aide juridictionnelle is the scheme that exists for exactly that situation. The state takes on all or part of the cost of your lawyer and of the other formal steps a case requires. It is not charity and it is not a favour: it is a statutory entitlement under the loi n° 91-647 du 10 juillet 1991, and it is decided by a bureau d'aide juridictionnelle attached to a court, not by the lawyer.

The part that trips people up is how the amount is decided. Many readers arrive expecting a proportional calculation, where a slightly higher income means slightly less help. That is not how it works. There are three fixed rates and a small number of hard ceilings, and a few hundred euros of income can be the difference between the state paying everything and the state paying a quarter. This page sets out the 2026 figures, where they come from, and what each band means in practice.

Information last verified on 21 July 2026. This page presents general legal information, not legal advice.

One condition sits ahead of the money. Aide juridictionnelle is open to French nationals and to nationals of another European Union state apart from Denmark. A person of any other nationality must habitually reside in France, and Service-Public is explicit that this holds even where the residence permit is not valid. The residence requirement is waived for minors, for beneficiaries of an ordonnance de protection, and for anyone involved in criminal proceedings as an accused, an assisted witness or a civil party.

The three rates, and why it is not a sliding scale

Aide juridictionnelle is granted either in full or in part. Full aid, aide juridictionnelle totale, is a rate of 100 percent: the costs covered by the scheme are met entirely by the state. Partial aid comes in exactly two flavours, 55 percent and 25 percent of the maximum. There is nothing in between and nothing below.

That structure has a consequence worth stating plainly. The bands are discrete, so movement across a threshold is a cliff, not a slope. Crossing the full-aid ceiling by a single euro does not shave a little off your entitlement. It moves you into the 55 percent band, and the difference in what you pay is substantial.

The rate is set by the bureau d'aide juridictionnelle after it examines your tax position. Neither you nor your lawyer negotiates it.

The 2026 income ceilings for a single-person household

The current ceilings were set by the circulaire of 16 January 2026, reference NOR JUST2601659C, issued by the Ministry of Justice. They are calculated from the consumer price index updated in December 2025 and rounded to the nearest whole euro. For a person who is alone in their tax household, the bands are as follows.

The monthly column is indicative only. The decision is made on the annual revenu fiscal de reference printed on your most recent avis d'imposition, not on a monthly payslip figure.

Put the date on this. These amounts are re-indexed every January, so a figure copied from an article written a year ago will be wrong. The circulaire itself is explicit that applications lodged before its ceilings took effect are assessed against the 2025 ceilings, and it does not apply in New Caledonia or in Wallis-et-Futuna, which have their own instruments.

How household size moves the ceilings

If your tax household contains more than one person, every ceiling rises. The increase is not a flat percentage: the first two additional people each add 2,332 euros to the income ceiling, and each person after that adds roughly 1,473 euros. The published table is the safest reference.

Beyond seven people, the income and movable-asset ceilings rise by a further 1,473 euros per additional person.

The two asset ceilings that stop an application dead

Income is only the first test. Two further ceilings apply to assets, and unlike the income bands they are absolute: exceeding either one means no aid at all, at any rate. Exceeding the income figure for full aid does not end the application, it simply moves you into a partial band, and only income above the top band, 19,433 euros for a single person, rules the application out on income grounds.

The first is movable and financial assets, which includes savings. For a single-person household the limit is 12,957 euros, the same figure as the full-aid income ceiling. It rises with household size on the same table: 15,289 euros for two people, 17,621 euros for three, and so on.

The second is property. For a single-person household the limit is 38,866 euros, rising to 45,861 euros for two people and 52,857 euros for three. Crucially, this valuation excludes your main residence, and also excludes assets used for your profession. The rule exists because the scheme is not designed to force people to sell the home they live in or the tools they work with.

If you declare assets of zero, the circulaire instructs the bureau not to demand proof of it. The application is treated as declarative, and offices are told to limit requests for further documents to what is strictly necessary.

Three worked examples, one household size

The clearest way to see the cliff edge is to hold the household constant and move only the income. Each of the people below lives alone, has savings of 4,000 euros and owns no property apart from the flat they live in, so both asset tests are satisfied in every case.

Claire, revenu fiscal de reference 11,400 euros. She is below the 12,957 euro line, so she is awarded aide juridictionnelle totale at 100 percent. Her lawyer's fees for the covered work are paid by the state and she is not asked for a contribution towards them.

Marc, revenu fiscal de reference 13,900 euros. He is 943 euros above Claire's ceiling and lands in the 12,958 to 15,316 euro band. His rate is 55 percent. The state pays a share of the fees and Marc must agree the remainder with his lawyer in a written convention d'honoraires.

Sofia, revenu fiscal de reference 18,200 euros. She sits in the 15,317 to 19,433 euro band, so her rate is 25 percent. The state contribution is real but modest, and the majority of the fee is hers to negotiate and pay.

Notice what those three cases show. The gap between Claire and Marc is under a thousand euros of annual income, and it is the difference between paying nothing towards fees and paying most of them. That is why checking the exact ceiling for your household size matters more than estimating.

When income is not examined at all

Some applicants are admitted without any means test. A minor heard in proceedings that concern them, for instance before the juge aux affaires familiales, receives aide juridictionnelle automatically and does not even have to apply. A minor in conflict with their legal representatives can be granted aid without their representatives' means being examined.

A victim of one of the gravest crimes against life or physical integrity, such as attempted murder, rape, or violence involving a weapon, is admitted without any examination of income or assets, although an application still has to be made. The same treatment extends to the victim's ayants droit.

Provisional aid also exists. A person seeking an ordonnance de protection as a victim of domestic violence can be granted aide juridictionnelle provisoire, as can an applicant in an urgent situation. Provisional aid is exactly that: if the later means assessment shows you did not qualify, you must repay what the state advanced, unless the bureau considers the case particularly deserving.

What the scheme pays for, and what it does not

Two categories of cost are covered. The first is the cost of the court action itself, including your lawyer's fees, commissaire de justice charges, service of documents and notary costs. The second is a lawyer's intervention outside a courtroom, and this is the part readers rarely know about. It includes court-ordered mediation, the questioning of a person held for an immigration check, a reconstitution, and the lawyer who attends a garde à vue or the détention of a minor.

Several things fall outside. In criminal matters certain fees are excluded, including the droit fixe de procedure and expert or commissaire de justice fees. The droit de plaidoirie, currently 13 euros, is never covered. Nor is anything you are ordered by the court to pay, such as damages or a fine.

Under partial aid, the balance of your lawyer's fee is not fixed by the state. It is agreed between you and the lawyer in a written convention d'honoraires before the work is done, which is the document to read carefully.

Applying, and challenging a refusal

An application can generally be made from before proceedings start until the case ends. It can be filed online, or on cerfa form 16146, which is compulsory if you are applying on someone else's behalf, such as a minor's. The Ministry of Justice also publishes an eligibility simulator, which is the fastest way to see which band you land in before assembling documents.

Where the file goes depends on the court. For an ordinary civil or criminal case it goes to the bureau d'aide juridictionnelle of the tribunal judiciaire for your home address, or for the place the case is being heard once proceedings have begun. Administrative courts, the Cour de cassation, the Conseil d'Etat and the Cour nationale du droit d'asile each have their own routing.

One timing rule catches people out. Costs incurred before the bureau's decision are not covered, and money already paid is not reimbursed. If a hearing arrives before a decision, you can ask orally or in writing for aide juridictionnelle provisoire so that the costs of that hearing are picked up.

If aid is refused, or granted only in part, you can appeal within 15 days of notification in the general case, or 8 days before the Cour nationale du droit d'asile. The appeal is sent to the bureau that made the decision, with your reasons and a copy of the decision. The reviewing authority may confirm it, cancel it, or change the rate, and its decision cannot itself be appealed.

For an overview of how the French justice system fits together, see our France legal guides.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is aide juridictionnelle calculated as a percentage of my income?

No. This is the single most common misunderstanding. The state does not compute a personalised share. It places your revenu fiscal de reference into one of three bands and awards a fixed rate: 100 percent, 55 percent or 25 percent. A person on 12,900 euros and a person on 12,000 euros both receive full aid. A person on 13,000 euros drops to the 55 percent rate, because they have crossed the 12,957 euro line.

What figure does the bureau d'aide juridictionnelle actually look at?

The revenu fiscal de reference shown on your most recent tax assessment (avis d'imposition), not your salary or your take-home pay. If you have no revenu fiscal de reference, or your circumstances have changed since your last tax return, the office instead takes double your taxable income over the last six months, less a 10 percent allowance.

Can I be refused even though my income is under the ceiling?

Yes. Two asset ceilings apply on top of the income test, movable and financial assets and property other than your main residence, and exceeding either one means no aid at all rather than reduced aid. The income test works differently: passing the full-aid figure only moves you into the 55 percent or 25 percent band, and it is only above the top band, 19,433 euros for a single person, that income alone rules you out. A refusal can also follow if your claim is inadmissible, if a legal expenses insurance policy already covers the costs, or if you did not supply the supporting documents.

Do I have to accept whichever lawyer I am given?

No. A person receiving aide juridictionnelle chooses their own lawyer freely, and may do so before the bureau has even ruled on the application. The lawyer is free to decline the instruction. If you have no lawyer or yours declines, you can ask the bâtonnier of the local bar to appoint one. The state pays the lawyer directly, so the money never passes through your hands.

What can I do if my application is turned down or I only get partial aid?

You can challenge the decision. In the general case the appeal must be lodged within 15 days of being notified, and within 8 days for a case before the Cour nationale du droit d'asile. The appeal goes back to the bureau that issued the decision, must set out your reasons, and must include a copy of the decision you are contesting. The authority reviewing it can confirm, cancel or change the rate. That second decision is final.