·

How to Get a Medical Certificate to Run Races in France

Trail des Forts de Besançon
From the Trail des Forts de Besançon.

If you’re running a marathon or any other race in France, you’ll need a medical certificate (or un certificat médical). The medical certificate is document signed by a doctor that says you’re physically fit to participate in the race, and have no conditions that would make racing too risky.

This is a concept that frequently confuses foreigners, as it’s not a common practice in other countries with popular international races. Even Italy, also known for requiring medical certificates, recently relaxed its rules: as of 2019, foreigners running Italian marathons and half marathons as individuals just need to sign a liability waiver.

As an avid marathoner and American who’s lived in France, I’ll be going over how to get a French medical certificate, where you can find a blank one to print, and what you can expect during the medical exam.

Posing in front of the vineyard with my finisher's bottle of wine at the 10km de Beaune
The most French race ever—a 10k through the vineyards in Beaune. Instead of getting a medal at the end, you got a bottle of wine! 

Why Does France Require a Medical Certificate for Running?

You might be wondering why France even requires a medical certificate in the first place for its races. Why can’t you just sign a liability waiver, like in the US? In the US, when you sign a liability waiver, you basically attest that you’re in good physical condition to participate, you recognize the potential risks, and you give up your right to sue the organizers if you get hurt.

I’ve read a few articles, and it seems to be an insurance issue—organizers want to be covered in case there’s an incident caused by a participant’s physical condition. It’s unclear why signing a liability waiver isn’t enough though. It could be that insurance companies want real proof, or that organizers really want to screen for conditions that participants themselves might not know about (this is kind of a flimsy hypothesis, as the thoroughness of the medical exams is not standardized).

Either way, you’ll absolutely need a medical certificate to run an official race, no matter the distance (even if it’s just a 5k!). There are no exceptions, so don’t even bother trying to talk your way out of it. I almost got turned away even for not having a copy of my certificate (I only had the original, and they wanted to keep a copy of it for their records). So, here’s what you need to know to get your certificate.

How to Get a French Race Medical Certificate

certificat medical
Here’s what a typical medical certificate in French looks like.

1. Print out a blank medical certificate.

First, you’ll need to print out a blank copy. The Paris Marathon has a medical certificate in English that will work, and Saint-Tropez Classic has a French/English medical certificate. I would recommend the second certificate for people getting exams in their home countries, as having a French translation can be helpful, in case organizers won’t accept one totally in English. While these medical certificates are from specific races, they are general enough to apply to any race.

If you decide to get a blank medical certificate from another source, make sure it says that you have no conditions that would prevent you from participating in running competitions, not just running (in French, that’s course à pied en compétition). This is extremely important, as there is a distinction between recreational running and running races.

changing leaves in Burgundy
A beautiful 14km trail race in Burgundy called La Madone.

2. Schedule an appointment with a doctor.

Be sure not to do this too early, as your medical certificate is only valid for one year. If you’re planning to do other races in France, try to schedule your appointment so you don’t need to go back and get another certificate.

If you’re in your home country:

If you’re in your home country, schedule a physical with your doctor. You can also just bring a blank medical certificate to your annual checkup, but let your doctor know in advance that you’re bringing it. When you make your appointment, verify that you will be seeing a medical doctor; while nurses can sign off on physicals in the US, the French won’t accept a medical certificate signed by a nurse. 

This appointment won’t cost you extra if you’re just doing it at your annual checkup, but you might have to pay a small fee otherwise—usually $20 or so. Always check with your doctor’s office though, as surprise medical bills are unfortunately common, at least in the US…

One thing to remember is that you should get your doctor to write the date of the exam DD/MM/YYYY instead of MM/DD/YYYY. You could end up with a medical certificate that’s valid for shorter if the date is written in the wrong order. For instance, a September 5th exam (9/5 in American date format) could be read as May 9th if the month isn’t spelled out. To be the absolute safest, have them spell out the date in words, instead of just using numbers.

If you’re in France:

If you’re in France already, the good thing is that doctors are super used to signing off on these. French healthcare is also amazingly cheap, even without insurance. Doctor’s appointments are a flat rate of 25 euros, all across the country! (Be sure to bring cash in case your doctor doesn’t take debit or credit cards).

To find a doctor, I’d recommend looking up “médecins sans rendez-vous.” These are doctors that don’t do appointments, and only have drop-in hours. This will allow you to see a doctor on the same day you need one, though you may have a bit of a wait (sometimes just 10 minutes, other times more than an hour).

If you want to make an appointment to be sure, you can also just call doctors in your area to set one up, or use DoctoLib, a platform that lets you search for doctors and other health specialists, see their availability, and book an appointment online.

Me at the Paris Marathon in front of the Arc de Triomphe
The finish line of the Paris Marathon, where I broke 4 hours!

What is the Medical Exam Like?

The exam itself really depends on the doctor and how diligent they want to be. The first time I got my medical certificate in France, I went to a university doctor who was super thorough. I was asked lots of questions (the only thing I remember was whether I was pregnant or had ever been pregnant, as I didn’t know the word “grossesse,” which means “pregnancy” in French). They also ran some tests I’ve never done before, like a lung capacity test where I had to forcefully exhale in a tube.

The second time I had an exam done, the doctor only took my heart rate and asked a couple general questions. She basically just made sure I was alive and signed off on the medical certificate. This is probably one of the main reasons people hate getting these certificates—it often seems just like a formality that doesn’t actually verify your physical fitness.

Be prepared to experience either scenario, or something in-between. If you want to learn more about doctor’s visits in France, my friend Diane from Oui in France has a great post on what to expect when going to the doctor in France (as a non-resident though, don’t worry about the insurance stuff!).

After the Exam

Before you walk out the door of your doctor’s office, double check two things: make sure the date is clear (DD/MM/YYYY or spelled out) AND that your doctor signed and stamped your certificate. The document won’t be valid otherwise.

Once you’re home, make multiple copies of the certificate if you plan to run other French races, and take a photo of the certificate. Larger races allow you to submit your medical certificate online, and you should absolutely do this if you have the option. This allows them to verify your document sooner, and they’ll let you know if there’s anything wrong with it before race day. You also won’t have to wait in line to get the certificate verified physically when you pick up your packet.

If you can’t submit the certificate online, bring a copy to packet pickup, and be prepared to hand it over to the organizers to keep.

Semi-marathon de Lyon
I don’t look very happy LOL, but this was an awesome half marathon in Lyon.

I hope this clears up the concept of the certificat médical. It can seem like a hassle at the beginning, but once you have it, you’re set for a year.

If you’re interested in learning more about French healthcare, I have a post on French vs. American healthcare, and another on what it’s like to get physical therapy in France.

I also travel and run quite a bit, so feel free to take a gander at my race recaps, many of which are from races in France.

Happy running,

signature-8297872

Similar Posts

14 Comments

  1. Thank you for this very niche and helpful article Lily! I am living in France for the year and needed a medical certificate to take a catamaran sailing course. Doctolib was super easy to navigate and worked like a charm for me.

  2. Hi, I’m doing the Paris Half in 2022 (hopefully if the French will let me in! lol)

    Thanks so much for this article, really helpful. Most of it I’d thought of but of course you’re right to have multiple copies and an electronic copy just in case.

    All my events have been in London or England so this will be my first event in Europe.

    Made the mistake or looking at the Marseille Races yesterday, those look beautiful but not sure if they are happening just yet, one step at a time though! haha.

    Just to let you know the second French/English link doesn’t appear to be working for the medical form. The all English link is fine.

    Thanks again, Andrew

    1. Hi Andrew! I’m glad the article was helpful. And thanks for letting me know about the broken link. I looked around for an alternative yesterday but couldn’t find anything quickly. I’ll try to come back to find a replacement later. Best of luck with your races, and fingers crossed for the Paris Half!

  3. Thank you very much for for the article! It helped!
    Do you know what is the “Race Number” on the Paris Marathon certificate?
    Thanks again, Felipe

  4. Thank you Lily. I’m an American who hopes to make France my home in the future. My wife and I are traveling to France in April for a vacation / scouting for retirement trip. I want to run the Aix to Marseille 70k Full Moon Trail race. The race director was kind enough to send me the bilingual “Certificat Medical”. Do they also require “race insurance”? The email referenced something like that, but it might be a translation misunderstanding. I really looking forward to reading the rest of your blog.

    1. Hi Pierre! That’s so exciting – I hope you enjoy the trip! I have heard of trail races requiring insurance in case you need a helicopter rescue or other medical care. You might want to check out ITRA’s insurance, as I think they’re the best-known for international trail race insurance. I would recommend confirming with the race director as to whether that’s what they’re looking for.

  5. Hi Lily, I’m an American, and my doctors don’t have a stamp for the medical certificate — do you know whether writing their address is sufficient?

  6. In Sweden such a test is expensive since it is not covered by taxpayers. Such health tests are usually done by companies wanting to check people who seek employment. Public medical centers don’t do them, they have more important things to do. Swedes need to find a private clinic and pay ≈100 € or run marathons in some other country than France.

    1. That’s really interesting! So routine physical exams are not covered in Sweden? Or is it that they require a more specialized exam to sign off on these certificates?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept the Privacy Policy