Ordre des Médecins France: Registration and PADHUE Route 2026

To practise medicine in France you must be registered on the roll (tableau) of the Ordre des médecins. The Ordre is organised in three levels: the Conseil national (CNOM), regional councils and departmental councils. The departmental council is the one you deal with when you register.

For doctors with a degree from outside the European Union, known in France as PADHUE (praticiens à diplôme hors Union européenne), registration comes at the end of a longer state procedure: competitive exams, a consolidation period in hospital and a ministerial-level authorisation to practise.

Key facts

What the Ordre does

• The CNOM coordinates the Ordre, defends the principles of medical ethics and is the profession's interlocutor with public authorities.
• Regional councils handle administrative representation and certain disciplinary functions.
• Departmental councils provide local presence: they register doctors, keep the local roll, check documents and act as the first point of contact for doctors and patients.

The public can search the roll by name, département or town. Annual dues are paid online.

The route for non-EU graduates

The French procedure for PADHUE is called the procédure d'autorisation d'exercice (PAE). It is a state procedure; the Ordre registers you only once it is complete.

Step 1: the EVC

The épreuves de vérification des connaissances (EVC) are written exams organised by the CNG for each specialty. They are competitive: a fixed number of places is set per specialty, and you must rank within them, not just reach a pass mark. The EVC also test French, because the exams are entirely in French.

Each session has its own registration period and timetable, published by the CNG. The 2025 session began in early December, but dates change, so always check the current session.

Step 2: the consolidation period

Successful candidates complete a parcours de consolidation des compétences as an associate practitioner (praticien associé) in an approved hospital service. For doctors this normally lasts two years. Rules adopted in 2025 allow the period to be shortened on a collegial opinion in some cases. The CNG notifies each candidate of their consolidation path.

During this period you work under supervision and are assessed on your clinical practice.

Step 3: authorisation to practise

At the end of consolidation, a national commission reviews your file and advises the CNG. The CNG then decides to:

• grant full authorisation to practise (autorisation de plein exercice),
• prescribe further consolidation, or
• refuse authorisation.

Step 4: registration with the Ordre

With full authorisation, you apply to the departmental council where you will practise. The council checks your identity, authorisation, good standing and your ability to practise in French, then registers you on the roll.

The route at a glance

Life as an associate practitioner

The consolidation period is real clinical work, not an observership. As a praticien associé you take part in the activity of the service, see patients, write notes and prescriptions and join on-call rotas under the responsibility of senior doctors. Your supervisors assess how you practise, and their reports feed into the final decision on authorisation.

A few points help during this period:

• Keep a log of the procedures, cases and teaching you take part in, so that your file reflects your experience.
• Ask for regular feedback rather than waiting for the final report.
• Learn the local systems early: electronic records, prescribing software and hospital protocols differ between hospitals.
• Plan your next post before consolidation ends, because authorisation and registration take time to process.

Where you complete consolidation also matters for your future: recent reforms aim to link EVC laureates more closely with the posts where they are needed, so the hospital and region you start in may shape where you settle.

EU and EEA doctors

If your qualification falls under EU automatic recognition, you do not sit the EVC. You apply directly to the departmental council with your diploma, proof of nationality and good standing. The council may check your French.

French language

There is no separate language exam at Ordre level for most routes, but French is assessed throughout: the EVC are in French, the consolidation period is clinical work in French, and the departmental council verifies that you can practise safely in French. Aim for confident clinical French, including written notes and prescriptions, well before the EVC.

Preparing for the EVC

The EVC are knowledge exams in your specialty, ranked against other candidates. A practical approach:

1. Study French clinical references and national recommendations in your specialty.
2. Practise in French, including terminology and abbreviations used in French hospitals.
3. Work timed questions to build exam stamina.
4. Review weak areas systematically rather than rereading strengths.

General clinical question banks such as MediFlow Exam Prep can help keep core medicine and reasoning sharp alongside French-language specialty material.

Fees (as of October 2026)

The Ordre charges annual dues, and some steps of the state procedure may involve costs for documents, translations and travel. The amounts are set by the Ordre and the relevant authorities and are not quoted here; check the official sites before you apply.

Typical mistakes

• Applying to the Ordre first. Without authorisation to practise, a non-EU graduate cannot be registered.
• Treating the EVC as a pass/fail exam. It is competitive within a limited number of places per specialty.
• Choosing the wrong specialty. You sit the EVC in a specific specialty, and your authorisation follows it.
• Underestimating French. It is tested implicitly at every stage.
• Relying on old temporary schemes. Exceptional authorisations from past years had deadlines and do not apply to new applicants.

Checklist

• Diploma and specialty documents, translated by a sworn translator.
• EVC registration for the right specialty in the current session.
• Strong clinical French.
• Plan for a two-year hospital consolidation period.
• Good-standing certificates from previous regulators.
• Departmental council identified for registration.

Related pages

Compare with the CGCOM in Spain and the Ordem dos Médicos in Portugal.

Next steps

1. Read the CNG's information on the current EVC session.
2. Decide your specialty and check the number of places.
3. Prepare documents and translations.
4. Contact the departmental council once you have authorisation.

Contact and official links

• Website: conseil-national.medecin.fr
• Registration: "S'inscrire à l'Ordre" section of the CNOM website
• EVC and authorisation: the CNG website

Contact details for the national and departmental councils are published on the Ordre's website.