Criminal Record Extract
A criminal record extract (extrait de casier judiciaire in France) is an official document issued by the National Criminal Records Office summarizing criminal convictions against an individual. In France, there are three bulletins: B1 (reserved for judicial authorities), B2 (accessible to certain administrations and employers), and B3 (requested by the individual, listing only the most serious convictions). It is equivalent to the DBS check in the UK or the FBI background check in the US.
The criminal record is a centralized file managed by the Ministry of Justice, based in Nantes, France. Bulletin No. 1 (B1) contains all convictions and court decisions. Bulletin No. 2 (B2) is accessible to certain employers and administrations (particularly for positions involving contact with minors, security professions, or public procurement) and excludes certain minor convictions. Bulletin No. 3 (B3) is the only one that citizens can request for themselves and lists only convictions for serious crimes and offences.
In background check and compliance procedures, the criminal record extract is required for many regulated positions, public procurement, certain visa applications, and professional accreditation processes. It forms part of the overall integrity verification of a candidate or company director. The AML Directive also mandates criminal background checks for certain sensitive positions in the financial sector.
Document verification solutions like CheckFile.ai enable authentication of criminal record extracts by verifying the official document format, security features (watermark, ministry header), issuance date, and information consistency. AI detects common forgeries such as removal of convictions, date modifications, or use of fake administrative headers.
Regulations
Real-world examples
- 1.A private security firm requests a B3 criminal record extract from each job applicant, as required by regulation for licensed security personnel (CNAPS).
- 2.A local authority checks the B2 bulletin of a candidate for a youth worker position involving contact with minors, in compliance with safeguarding regulations.
- 3.A law firm verifies the criminal record extract of a company director as part of due diligence prior to a merger and acquisition transaction.