Applying for housing allowance for the first time
If you are not known to the CAF (you are then a 'non-allocataire'), your first application for housing allowance is made online, on the CAF website, in the following steps:
Step 1 – Create your CAF account
You have to go through the section 'Faire une demande de prestation' to create your CAF account.
On the CAF website, go to the section 'Aide et démarches', 'Mes démarches', then 'Faites une demande de prestation en ligne', 'Logement'.
Then, click on 'Faire la demande' under the section 'Aide au logement', and finally click on '
Créer un compte'.
> Find out more about the creation of a CAF account (in French)
You do not have a French social security number ?
You can create a CAF account even if you do not have a French social security number.
You will then be given a temporary identifier ('identifiant provisoire'), which you will use to access your CAF online account (until CAF sends you a social security number by post).
Step 2 – Applying for housing allowance
Once you have created your account, you can apply for housing allowance online via the 'Faire une demande de prestation' section.
You will then need to log back into your account.
In order to be able to enter all the requested information, you must have with you at the time of the request:
- If you live in a CROUS residence, the 'attestation CAF', which you can obtain from your residence reception desk or download from your account on MesServices.etudiant.gouv.fr, section 'Cité U',
- If you live in another type of accommodation, your rental contract or lease, as well as the contact information of your landlord (owner, agency...), the Siret number if the landlord is a company, and the amount of the rent,
- The amount of your income over the last 12 months (whether the income was received in France or abroad),
- Your bank details (your RIB, or the IBAN and BIC numbers of your account in the SEPA).
If you do not have all the necessary information with you, it is possible to suspend the online application, and resume it later, within a maximum of 30 days.
At the end of the online procedure, once your application has been validated, a list of the documents you need to send to CAF will appear on the screen, and a summary document of your housing allowance application will be available to download in PDF format.
We recommend that you make a note of the list of documents (by taking a screen shot, for example), and that you download the summary document (it is a proof that you have completed your application and allows you to check the information you have entered).
Step 3 – Send the requested documents to CAF
You can send the requested documents to CAF:
- Via you CAF online account, by clicking on "Transmettre un document" (send a document),
- By post / mail to the CAF in your département of residence,
- By dropping them off at a CAF office:
Depending on your situation, you may be asked for different documents.
But you will have to provide at least the documents listed below.
Please note that the copies of your documents must be of good quality.
Everyone:
- Copy of your ID (passport, or ID card)
- Copy of your birth certificate in the original language (along with the French translation if you have it)
Europeans (EU / EEA) or Swiss nationals:
- Copy of your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) (or of your French health insurance certificate if you have no EHIC)
- Copy of your certificate of enrolment (‘certificat de scolarité’) at a higher education institution (if applicable)
Third-country nationals (outside EU / EEA or Switzerland):
- Copy of your visa and the certificate confirming validation of the registration of your long-stay visa serving as a residence permit (‘Confirmation de la validation de l’enregistrement de votre visa long séjour valant titre de séjour’), or of your residence permit card.
Employed / salaried doctoral students:
- Copy of your work contract