Legal framework and considerations
- AI: Not Recognized
- NI: Not Recognized
- Sperm donor agreement: Unknown
France’s framework for sperm donation and parentage is built around licensed clinical ART, the Civil Code (filiation), the Public Health Code, and bioethics legislation (including the 2021 Loi de bioéthique). Informal peer-to-peer donation is not a protected statutory “safe harbor” comparable to California Family Code § 7613. Planning baseline: clinic pathways for lawful ART; high legal risk for at-home known-donor AI and NI.
Core provisions
| Provision | Source | Key implications |
|---|---|---|
| Parentage / filiation | Code Civil | Birth mother is legal mother; paternity via presumption, acknowledgment, or judicial proof. Biology and civil status dominate outside regulated ART. |
| Assisted reproduction | Code de la santé publique / bioethics law | ART delivered through authorised centres. 2021 reform opened ART to lesbian couples and single women—still clinic-based. |
| Donor / origins | Bioethics reforms | Clinic gamete anonymity has been reformed toward access to origins for donor-conceived persons; do not confuse that with informal privacy contracts. |
| Surrogacy | Code Civil Art. 16-7 | Surrogacy agreements void; foreign recognition issues are separate and complex. |
| Informal AI / NI | General filiation | Not the protected clinic model. Known donors risk paternity findings; NI is ordinary sexual conception risk. |
Practical steps and risks
- Prefer CECOS / licensed ART centres when donor non-parentage and medical screening matter.
- Written private agreements may evidence intent but are weak against filiation and support rules.
- Health screens remain essential for any informal path; they do not create legal non-parentage.
- Non-bio parents: use adoption or other formal French routes—do not rely on informal labels alone.
- Counsel: Conseil national des barreaux for referrals.
Resources
Last reviewed: July 2026. Not legal advice.