French First-Aid Approval: National or Departmental — Who Issues What?

“Where do I send my file: to the prefecture or to the ministry?” It is one of the first questions — and one of the most frequent — from structures that want to teach first aid in France. Since decree no. 2024-242 of 20 March 2024, the answer is clearer than before, provided you identify your situation correctly. Here is the full map of competent authorities and of how networks operate.

The allocation rule since the 2024 reform

The old regime distinguished national and departmental approvals. The new framework, written into articles R. 726-1 et seq. of the internal security code, reasons by category of structure and scope of activity:

Structure	Competent authority
Association, union or federation of associations	Minister for civil protection (DGSCGC)
Public service spanning several départements or active abroad	Minister for civil protection
Departmental public service	Prefect of the département
Health establishment (emergency-care teaching centre, CESU)	Minister for civil protection

The most structural change concerns associations: all associative authorisations are now national, issued by the minister. The departmental level does not disappear, though — it comes into play through two other channels: the authorisation of local public services and the declaration of training activity on each territory.

For the content of the application file itself (teaching team, internal frameworks, equipment), see our guide to obtaining the civil-protection authorisation in 2026.

How networks operate: the teaching permission

Most major first-aid players in France are federations with local branches. The reform formalised this in the order of 17 June 2024:

• the authorised national structure may grant its territorial entities a teaching permission (« autorisation d’enseignement du secourisme »);
• this permission lets the branch deliver courses and sign the session reports, competency certificates and attestations;
• any sub-delegation or transfer is prohibited — the right to teach does not travel beyond the first link;
• some strategic units of the pedagogical track (training of instructor-trainers, course design) cannot be delegated and stay at national level.

In return, the head of the network owes its branches genuine pedagogical support: running the trainer network, distributing the internal frameworks, harmonising practice. This is no footnote: it is precisely the network’s supervisory capacity that the authority evaluates when granting a national authorisation.

This tiered model has a documented pedagogical logic: the systematic review by Riggs, Franklin and Saylany published in 2019 in Resuscitation shows that the quality and recency of the training received are associated with responders’ willingness to intervene and their hands-on skills. A network that harmonises its training practice means a more consistent chain of survival across the country.

The prefecture, an unavoidable local counter

Even when the authorisation is national, the prefect of each département remains a mandatory contact. Every entity training on a territory must declare itself there, providing in particular:

• a copy of its teaching permission (or of its authorisation order);
• the identity of its pedagogical lead;
• the teaching-aptitude list of its trainers;
• the inventory of teaching equipment.

On top of that come the follow-up obligations shared by all authorised structures: activity declarations in every département of operation and an annual report before 1 April. These administrative appointments weigh heavily at the three-year renewal — our article on renewing the first-aid authorisation details what is at stake at that milestone.

Three typical situations to find your bearings

• Independent local association. No affiliation to an authorised network: you file your own authorisation application with the DGSCGC, with a complete file (associative governance included), then declare yourself to your prefecture.
• Branch of a national federation. You do not need your own authorisation: you request the teaching permission from your federation, then declare yourself to the prefecture with your supporting documents (pedagogical lead, trainers, equipment).
• Departmental public service. A local authority or service whose activity stays within one département: the file goes to the prefect. As soon as your scope becomes multi-departmental, competence moves up to the minister.

A final word on the neighbouring field: workplace first aid (the SST scheme) follows a completely different logic — authorisation by the Assurance maladie – Risques professionnels / INRS network, open to training organisations and companies. Our SST authorisation page covers that separate framework.

Take action

Locate your situation on the map above, then build the corresponding file — your own authorisation or a teaching permission through your network. Our first-aid approval page gathers the complete scheme, the steps and our detailed guide so nothing gets forgotten.