France's categorised dogs: the permit regime behind the labels

Service-public's fiche structures the regime: dogs in either category trigger obligations — the permis de détention, the behavioural evaluation of the animal, and specific conditions on access to public spaces. The 1st category (chiens d'attaque) is defined morphologically — crosses assimilable by their characteristics to types like the American Staffordshire terrier without LOF pedigree; the 2nd category covers the pedigreed guard-and-defence breeds. The permit is issued per owner-and-dog at the mairie, on a file including the evaluation and training attestation.

Teeth, verbatim: miss the behavioural evaluation and you are liable to a fine of up to €750.

Source: Service-public.fr, F1839 — avoir un chien de catégorie, read 6 September 2026.

The fiche's insurance line deserves its own paragraph: civil-liability insurance guaranteeing the damage your dog may cause to third parties is compulsory — and the members of your family are considered third parties. Absence of insurance is itself sanctionable. For arriving owners this is usually a rider on the multirisque habitation policy rather than a standalone product — but it must actually name the categorised dog.

Entry to France runs the same EU movement rules as everywhere (our France dog guide); the category regime is the residence layer on top, and muzzle-and-lead rules follow the category in public spaces.

The sequence for a categorised-dog household: confirm the category reading (morphology matters more than papers for category 1), book the behavioural evaluation early, line up the insurance rider, then the mairie's permit file — alongside the human paperwork the France hub documents:

Print the moving checklist