The police ask for a patient's file in France: what can a psychologist do?

In France, a judicial requisition (réquisition judiciaire) is a request, written or oral, from a public prosecutor, an investigating judge or a police or gendarmerie investigator acting within the legal framework, asking a person to hand over information useful to a criminal investigation, such as a patient's file or a psychologist's session notes.

A call from a police station or an email from the gendarmerie asking for "Mr X's file" is rare in private practice, but it happens. Do you have to hand over your notes? Can you refuse? And does it matter whether you are a psychologist, a psychotherapist or a psychiatrist? This article sets out what the texts we read actually say, and flags the points that remain uncertain. It is not legal advice on your own situation.

What is a judicial requisition for a psychologist in France?

The Code of Criminal Procedure (CPP) uses the same mechanism in all three types of investigation. Article 60-1 covers investigations into offences in progress (flagrance), article 77-1-1 covers preliminary investigations, and article 99-3 covers judicial investigations led by an investigating judge. In all three, the authority may, "by any means", require any person likely to hold information relevant to the investigation to hand it over.

Who can issue it? Under article 60-1, the public prosecutor, a judicial police officer or, under that officer's supervision, a judicial police agent (and, in one specific case, an investigation assistant). In a preliminary investigation (article 77-1-1), it is the prosecutor or, with the prosecutor's authorisation, a judicial police officer or agent. During a judicial investigation (article 99-3), it is the investigating judge or a judicial police officer appointed by the judge.

These articles are in force today. An ordinance of 19 November 2025 reorganises the Code of Criminal Procedure, and their numbering will change on 1 January 2029. Until then, they apply as they stand. Three points in the text matter to you.

• Secrecy does not simply disappear. Information must be handed over without the duty of professional secrecy being raised "without a legitimate reason" (sans motif légitime). The text therefore accepts that a legitimate reason can be raised.
• Some people must give their consent. When the requisition concerns the people listed in articles 56-1 to 56-5, information can only be handed over with their agreement. Article 99-3, for judicial investigations, refers to articles 56-1 to 56-3 and 56-5.
• Silence has a cost. Failing to respond "as soon as possible" is punishable by a fine of 3,750 euros, except for the people listed in articles 56-1 to 56-5. This rule sits in article 60-1, and articles 77-1-1 and 99-3 refer to it. It therefore applies in all three settings.

Note the word "respond". Responding does not mean handing everything over. The report on requisitions by the French National Medical Council (CNOM) reminds doctors that they must make their answer known, whatever it is.

Does article 56-3 apply to psychologists or only to doctors?

Article 56-3 sets rules for searches in the office of a doctor, a notary or a bailiff (huissier). They are carried out by a judge, in the presence of the person in charge of the professional order or organisation the professional belongs to, or their representative. The neighbouring articles (56-1, 56-2, 56-4 and 56-5) cover other professions or places, such as lawyers or the press.

Psychologists are not mentioned in any of articles 56-1 to 56-5. Here are the consequences, as we read the texts:

• A psychiatrist is a doctor and is covered by article 56-3. For requisitions, handing over information requires their consent, and the fine for not responding does not apply to them.
• A psychologist or a psychotherapist who is not a doctor is not on the list. The consent rule does not apply to them, and the 3,750 euro fine appears to apply if they do not respond. What remains is the notion of a legitimate reason, which none of the texts we read defines.

This is a reading of the texts, not settled case law. If you receive a requisition, we recommend getting support before you reply.

Are psychologists bound by professional secrecy in France?

Yes, according to the most recent ministerial answer we read. Replying on 8 April 2025 to written question no. 610, the Ministry of Justice states that psychologists are not health professionals within the meaning of the Public Health Code, but that psychologists in private practice are bound by professional secrecy, in particular under article 226-13 of the Criminal Code, as the Cour de cassation regards them as "necessary confidants". The same answer adds that psychologists do not benefit from the option to lift secrecy in cases of domestic violence provided by article 226-14.

The ministry relies here on Cour de cassation case law, not on a text that names psychologists. The practical conclusion is clear: treat what your patients tell you as covered by secrecy.

The official site service-public.fr lists psychologists among the professionals bound by medical secrecy, and states that a breach outside authorised cases carries up to one year in prison and a 15,000 euro fine. Article 226-14 provides for cases where secrecy may or must be lifted, such as certain reports of abuse. A requisition is not a report. It is a request from the authorities, governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The French Code of Ethics for Psychologists, in the version signed in 2021 by a number of psychologists' organisations, takes the same line. Its article 7 places secrecy within the conditions and limits of articles 226-13 and 226-14 of the Criminal Code and extends it to everything the psychologist learns in practice. Article 8 limits sharing to strictly necessary information. The code is a professional text, not a law or a decree, but it is a reference you can cite in your reply. For more, see our article on professional confidentiality and AI.

Requisition, search, seizure, testimony: what is the difference?

• A requisition is a request to hand over information. You remain in charge of your answer, within the limits above.
• A search (perquisition) takes place on your premises. For a doctor, it follows article 56-3 (a judge and a medical council representative).
• A seizure is when the authorities take documents. The CNOM states that a medical file handed over is placed under closed seal, except when the judge carries out the seizure.
• Testimony is a hearing where you are asked questions. We recommend getting advice before any hearing about a patient.

The police ask for a patient's file: what should you do?

Here is the approach we recommend. These are cautious habits, not legal obligations.

• Do not discuss the substance on the phone. Take down the caller's name, rank, unit and a call-back number. The law allows a requisition "by any means", but nothing stops you asking for it in writing.
• Check the requisition. Who signed it (judicial police officer, prosecutor, investigating judge)? Under which procedure? What exactly does it ask for, for which patient and for what period?
• Get support before replying. Psychologists in France have no professional council. You can contact your union (for example the SNP), the FFPP, the legal protection of your professional liability insurance, or a lawyer. Psychiatrists can contact their departmental medical council.
• Reply as soon as possible. Whether or not you hand anything over, a written, reasoned reply is better than silence.
• If you rely on a legitimate reason, explain it plainly (nature of the information, secrecy, the patient's interest). For a psychologist, how a court would assess that reason remains uncertain.
• If you hand something over, send only what is requested, nothing more. Ask for the documents to be placed under closed seal.
• Keep a trace. Keep a copy of the requisition, your reply and the list of documents handed over, and note the steps in the file.

For psychiatrists, the CNOM goes further. It states that a doctor is not required to agree to a requisition and urges doctors to refuse their consent to handing over information. That recommendation is addressed to doctors. It cannot simply be transferred to a psychologist, who is not covered by article 56-3.

What the patient can ask for is a different matter, covered in our article on patient access to therapy notes. How long your notes exist depends on your retention rules, see patient record retention periods in France.

How do you write session notes that a third party might read?

A requisition is a reminder that a file may one day be read by someone other than you. Article 23 of the Code of Ethics asks psychologists to file and archive their notes in a way that protects privacy and secrecy. We suggest a few habits.

• Date every note and link it to a specific session.
• Keep what you observed or what was said clearly apart from your clinical hypotheses.
• Write what serves the care, not everything you think. A hypothesis can appear, labelled as a hypothesis.
• Avoid judgements about named third parties (partner, colleague, parent) who have no place in the file.
• Reread before you validate.

Our session notes template and our clinical document templates give you a starting structure.

Where Delta fits in, and where it does not

Delta is the clinical assistant for mental health and allied health professionals. During the session it transcribes what is said, or you dictate your observations afterwards. Delta then generates the session report (short summary, detailed summary, topics for the next session), adapted to your approach, and updates the patient record. We recommend reviewing each report before keeping it. A record kept up to date this way helps you keep dated, factual notes that separate observations from hypotheses.

Data is hosted in France with an HDS-certified host, the patient's name and identifying details are pseudonymised before the AI step, no audio file is kept and the data is never used to train a model. Delta does not answer requisitions and sends nothing to the courts. When the authorities ask, you decide, with advice, what you hand over.

Sources

• French National Medical Council (CNOM), report on judicial requisitions addressed to doctors, February 2021
• Légifrance, article 60-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
• French National Assembly, written question no. 610 and Ministry of Justice answer, 8 April 2025
• Service-public.fr, Secret médical : de quoi s'agit-il ?
• Code of Ethics for Psychologists (France), 2021 version