Now in receipt of my French Pension I’ve been asked for a ‘Life Certificate’.
Has anyone any experience of who to get this signed by in the UK?
Hi Tim, I’d forgotten you moved back to UK…
I know that our Mairie does the Life Certs for French people as well as foreigners … so if you’ve not received guidelines with the document itself… perhaps find someone who can give it the “official looking” stamp, once they’ve completed their bit…
(I’ve never seen a French LC so am presuming it’s a bit like the English variety…)
best of luck
This appears to be the list of acceptable organisations
description
Registry office - Officiers d’état civil locaux
Civic centre - Mairie
Local council/Court - Conseil municipal/Tribunal
Local police station - Commissariat de police local
Justice of the peace - Juge de paix
Commissioner for oaths - Commissaire à l’assermentation
Solicitor/Lawyer/Barrister - Avocats, avoués
Notary public
JobcenterPlus - Agence pour l’emploi
You follow links from the service public fiche
I can get it done at a Notary Public but it costs around £100 which is a lot of money if it has to be done every year, I was hoping someone might have used a different method of getting this signed off which was acceptable to the pension authorities.
Go to your Town Hall or Local Council Offices… or Police Station
ask them to help and/or give their advice.
I’d have used my UK Family Doctor… he certainly knew we were alive… 
It’s really just someone in authority who knows who you are… 
Do you have any civil servant friends, teacher friends or any friends in public professional jobs? They may be acceptable and not charge for their signature.
I imagine that in reality anyone with a stamp will do! So could quite easily be your local library 
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@tim17 just give it your best shot, using one of the “freebies” we have mentioned… no way pay someone for the pleasure…
I doubt French Pension folk will query it… clearly completed, signed, stamped… what’s to query ??? nowt !
Or do a Del Boy special homemade stamp and scrawly signature! John Bull printing set springs to mind that we all had as kids, can still hear mum moaning about the black fingerprints everywhere now.
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oh yes, we had those… such fun…
but I’m sure your suggestion is only a joke … 
(isn’t it… )
Of course, it just reminded me of when the Trotters fabricated exam certificates.
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If you’ve now registered to vote maybe the electoral department of the local authority could stamp it?
I used to sign and stamp them when people brought them into the Police Station.
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Hi Tim
The French simply want to make sure that you are still alive and that your pension is being used by you.
The first year I had to visit the French embassy to get my certificate. They changed the rules. Nowadays I go to the local council office to get it stamped.
The council do not check its accuracy. The first time I had not noticed that the French authorities had the wrong address in the printed form. It took me a lot of time and effort to get it changed.
The other thing that has changed is that you no longer need to send it by registered post. You can send it electronically
By the way you can avoid losing out on exchange rates by having it sent to a French account if that’s practical for you
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