Whether your foreign degree "counts" in France depends entirely on what you need it for. The two most common paths (general comparison versus regulated-profession recognition) are handled by completely different bodies, with different rules and different outcomes.
The ENIC-NARIC France centre, run by France Éducation International, issues an attestation de comparabilité: a documented opinion stating that your foreign diploma's academic level is broadly comparable to a named reference French diploma. This is useful for job applications, further study, or simply having an official reference point an employer or institution can understand. What it is not: a legal equivalence, and it does not authorize you to practice a regulated profession, even if the comparison names an equivalent French professional diploma.
As of 2026, this attestation can no longer be used to support a French naturalization application (a rule change effective from decree n°2025-648, with naturalization-grounds requests refused since October 2025). If that was your reason for requesting one, confirm with a specialist which document you actually need instead.
The application is entirely online through the France Éducation International portal, costs €120 (paid in two instalments), and takes 4 to 6 months to process. Plan for the upper end if your original documents need translation or your home country's ministry needs to confirm the diploma's authenticity along the way.
If your profession is regulated in France, and more than 200 professions are, spanning legal and judicial roles (avocat, notaire), healthcare (médecin, pharmacien, chirurgien-dentiste), and technical/built-environment professions (expert-comptable, architecte, géomètre-expert), ENIC-NARIC does not handle your recognition at all. You apply directly to the relevant professional order, DREETS, chamber, or ministry, and the process is governed by EU Directive 2005/36/CE when it applies.
This matters because founders sometimes get an ENIC-NARIC comparability attestation, assume it clears them to practice, and only discover the gap when the professional order rejects their registration. If your profession involves a protected title, a required diploma, mandatory registration with a supervisory body, or a code of ethics (the hallmarks of a regulated profession in France), check with that profession's order directly before assuming any general comparison document is sufficient.
Qualifications earned within the EU benefit from mutual recognition frameworks that make cross-border professional practice meaningfully smoother, particularly for regulated professions under the 2005/36/CE directive. Non-EU qualifications are assessed case by case, with no presumption of equivalence, which is exactly why the ENIC-NARIC comparison, imperfect as it is, remains the standard first step for non-EU-trained professionals trying to establish where they stand before applying anywhere else.
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