CléA numérique: What France's Digital Skills Certificate Is and How to Get It in 2026

Checking a schedule online, filling in a form on a tablet, replying to a customer by email: digital tools have crept into almost every job. For workers who struggle with these everyday tasks, France has a dedicated, nationally recognised certification run by the social partners: the CléA numérique certificate. Here is exactly what it covers, and how to obtain it in 2026.

What is the CléA numérique certificate?

CléA numérique is the certification of fundamental digital skills in a professional setting. It is awarded by Certif’Pro, the national inter-professional association created by France’s social partners (employer and employee organisations) — the same joint body that owns the core CléA certificate. This joint governance is its defining feature: representatives of employers and employees define the framework and award the certificate, which gives it direct legitimacy in the world of work.

On the regulatory side, the scheme flows from France’s 2018 “avenir professionnel” (professional future) law: the framework of fundamental digital uses complements the core base of professional knowledge and skills defined in the Labour Code, specified by a ministerial order of 19 February 2019. The certification is registered in the Répertoire spécifique (France compétences’ register of complementary certifications) under number RS5616, which makes it eligible for CPF funding (the personal training account).

Do not confuse it with the CléA certificate: that one covers the whole core base (seven domains, including basic digital skills), whereas CléA numérique goes deeper on digital specifically. The two certificates are independent — neither is a prerequisite for the other.

A 4-competency framework built around real work

The framework does not target mastery of any particular software; it targets the ability to operate in a digitised work environment. It is organised into four competencies:

1. Identifying your environment and using the associated tools — recognising the hardware and applications of your workstation, logging in, navigating.
2. Finding and using information — searching for, sorting and using information in a digitised professional environment.
3. Interacting collaboratively — communicating and working with others through email, shared spaces and business applications.
4. Applying digital-security rules and good practice — protecting your credentials and data, and adopting the right reflexes against common risks.

To obtain the certificate, all four competencies must be validated; each one is validated when 75% of its sub-competencies are achieved, with some sub-competencies being mandatory.

This structure mirrors the European reference frameworks: version 2.2 of the DigComp framework, published in 2022 by Vuorikari, Kluzer and Punie for the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, organises citizens’ digital competence around the same pillars — information, communication and collaboration, security.

Who should prepare for it?

The certificate is aimed at employees, jobseekers and people on integration pathways who want to prove — or acquire — a solid command of basic digital skills. The need is far from marginal: France’s national statistics institute (INSEE) estimated in 2019 that 38% of internet users lacked at least one basic digital skill, and that digital illiteracy affected 17% of the population.

Research also shows that the difficulty is not where you might expect. A study by van Deursen and van Dijk published in 2011 in New Media & Society, based on real-task performance tests, found that operational skills (using a browser, clicking, filling in a field) are widespread, but that information and strategic skills — finding the right information and using it to reach a goal — are lacking in a large share of users, including regular ones (see the study). That is exactly what the CléA numérique framework assesses: real-life usage, not isolated manipulations.

The steps of the pathway in 2026

The pathway follows a simple logic: assess first, train only on what is missing, then certify.

1. The initial assessment

An authorised organisation assesses the candidate’s existing skills across the four competencies, using professional scenarios. If everything is already mastered, the file can go straight to the jury. Otherwise, the assessment produces a precise map of strengths and gaps.

2. The targeted training pathway

Training covers only the competencies not yet validated. A candidate close to validation follows a short pathway; a candidate further from digital tools builds skills progressively. Nobody re-learns what they already know.

3. The final assessment and the joint jury

A final assessment covers the competencies worked on during training. The complete file — initial assessment, pathway, final assessment — is then submitted to the joint jury, which decides whether to award the certificate.

Where can you prepare CléA numérique?

Only organisations authorised by Certif’Pro (or by the networks it has mandated) can run the assessments, in line with the scheme’s national specifications. Before committing, check the organisation’s authorisation for CléA numérique assessment — and, if the pathway is publicly or jointly funded, its Qualiopi certification, which is mandatory for the provider in that case. Training organisations that want to join the scheme themselves go through Certif’Pro’s authorisation campaigns: we cover the process in our article on CléA numérique authorisation for training organisations.

On budget, there is no single national price: the cost depends on the organisation and on how much training the initial assessment reveals is needed. Funding, however, is well signposted — starting with the CPF, since the certification sits in the Répertoire spécifique alongside other complementary professional certifications (how registration in the Répertoire spécifique works).

Take action

The CléA numérique certificate is the reference tool — jointly governed and CPF-eligible — for certifying basic digital skills at work. For the full picture of the scheme — framework, procedures, frequent questions — see our complete guide to the CléA numérique certificate, then find an authorised organisation and book the initial assessment: it is what sizes your whole pathway.