School trip permission slips in France: getting every one back without chasing parents

On Thursday you handed out twenty-seven slips for the outing on the 14th. By Tuesday morning, nineteen have come back. Two are signed but undated, one just says "OK" in pencil, and Leo swears his is "in my bag", where it has been sleeping for a week. The outing's file goes to the head teacher on Friday.

Hardly any parent says no. The slip gets lost, forgotten, or comes back half filled in. This article covers the rules that apply in French state schools, source by source, then a method and two templates so that every slip comes back complete, without chasing the parents who have already replied.

When is parental consent actually required?

The reference text is the circular of 16 July 2024 on the organisation of school outings and trips (opens in a new tab) (in French), which replaced the one of 13 June 2023. It distinguishes two cases.

Compulsory outings "take place during the teaching hours set in the pupils' timetable and require the same attendance. They may include the lunch break" (our translation). The weekly swimming lesson is one of them. All other outings are optional, in particular day outings to a neighbouring country and residential trips, which include at least one night away. A museum visit that runs beyond the class hours set in the timetable also becomes optional (service-public.gouv.fr (opens in a new tab), in French).

The rule then fits in one sentence of the circular: "Whatever the school level concerned, as soon as a school outing is optional, the consent of the legal guardians of the minor pupil must be collected" (our translation). The Éduscol guide for primary schools (opens in a new tab) (December 2025, in French) confirms it the other way round: a compulsory outing "does not require parental consent". Parents must still always be told in advance.

So school trip permission slips are only needed for optional outings, and consent must be written, "dated and signed", the guide adds. A pupil who does not take part is looked after at school, the circular says.

These rules apply to French state schools. If you run a holiday club or youth group, or teach outside France, they don't apply as such, but the collection method below works just as well.

Do both parents have to sign?

No, as a rule. The Éduscol guide puts it this way: "The signature of the parental consent form by one of the holders of parental authority is enough, the other parent's agreement being presumed. However, this presumption falls if one of the two parents expresses disagreement" (our translation).

Service-public.gouv.fr (opens in a new tab), the French government's information site, draws the consequence (in French): one parent's agreement is enough, but "if the school is informed of a disagreement between the parents, the consent of both parents is required". The page for secondary schools (opens in a new tab) (in French) says the same.

Separated parents with no conflict known to the school: one signature is enough. If one of them has told you they disagree, you need both, which is worth noting in your tracking from day one.

What else does a trip abroad require?

A travel authorisation for minors, the autorisation de sortie du territoire (AST), for each pupil under 18. Parents fill in form Cerfa no. 15646*01 (opens in a new tab) without going to the town hall (service-public.gouv.fr (opens in a new tab), in French). A single parent with parental authority signs it, for one year at most.

The Éduscol guide spells out what the teacher needs in hand: "The original AST, together with a copy of the signatory's identity document, will be requested from minors when crossing the border, including when the destination country belongs to the European Union or the Schengen area" (our translation). For a day trip to a neighbouring country, these ASTs and copies are part of the file and must be kept by the teacher for the whole outing. The pupil also needs their own valid ID.

Two points of caution, from the same guide: a court ban or an administrative objection to leaving France stops the child from travelling even with an AST, and if the school knows of a conflict about the trip, "the agreement of the second parent must be sought".

Those copies of parents' ID documents have no use once you're back: see what the GDPR and the CNIL say about ID copies.

Can you require proof of insurance?

No. The Éduscol guide is clear: "During a school outing (compulsory or optional), proof of insurance cannot be required. However, families are strongly advised to take out insurance" (our translation).

Recommend it in your letter to families, but don't make it a compulsory box on the slip.

What about the health form?

It isn't a paper like the others: it contains health data, which the CNIL (opens in a new tab), France's data protection authority, classes as sensitive data (in French). European law prohibits collecting such data in principle, with exceptions.

The Éduscol guide recommends asking parents for written consent to give their child any care they may need during the outing. Beyond that: "If the family considers it useful to provide further information, it is recorded on a health form which is handed to the teacher in charge of the class. Confidential information intended for a doctor, or the child's health record book, may be entrusted to the teacher in a sealed envelope" (our translation).

In practice: a form handed to the teacher in person, never photographed into a parents' group chat or forwarded to the whole team, and returned or destroyed afterwards. Keep it out of your permission slip tracking sheet.

Which slip should you hand out so it comes back complete?

The French ministry offers an official form, the request for a minor pupil's participation in an optional school outing or trip (opens in a new tab) (in French). If you prefer your own slip, leave as little room as possible for forgetting: the pupil's name already written in, the date and place, two boxes (yes, no), one line for the date and one for the signature.

PERMISSION TO TAKE PART IN AN OPTIONAL SCHOOL OUTING

Pupil: [First name LAST NAME], class [class]
Outing: [place], on [day and date], leaving school at [time], back at school at [time]
Contribution requested from families: [amount or "none"]

I, the undersigned [First name LAST NAME of the parent or legal guardian],
holder of parental authority,

[ ] give permission for my child to take part in this outing
[ ] do not give permission for my child to take part in this outing
    (they will be looked after at school that day)

Phone number on the day of the outing: [number]

Signed at [town], on [date]
Signature:

Please return to [teacher's name] by [day and date] at the latest.

The "do not give permission" box stops you from confusing a refusal with a forgotten slip. And the deadline has to come early. In French primary schools, for an optional day outing, the parental consent forms are part of the file the teacher hands to the head teacher at least one week before the outing (fifteen days for a neighbouring country). For a residential trip, they are not attached to the file, but that file goes to the inspector at least one month before departure (a month and a half for a trip abroad), according to the Éduscol guide (opens in a new tab). Count backwards from those dates, not from the day of the outing.

How do you remind only the parents who haven't replied?

With a class list and three columns: "received, complete", "received, to redo" (no date, no signature, no box ticked), "nothing received". Check each slip the day it comes back, not the day before departure. The general tracking method is explained in how to collect documents from multiple people.

The group message is the reflex to avoid:

Reminder to all parents: please return the permission slip for Friday's outing ASAP!!

It annoys the nineteen families who have replied, and each of the other eight assumes it isn't meant for them. Write instead to each parent concerned, through the home-school notebook or the school messaging system:

Dear [Mr / Ms LAST NAME],

For the class outing to [place] on [day and date], I haven't yet received [First name]'s permission slip.

I'm putting a new slip in their notebook. Could you return it signed and dated by [day]? If you'd rather [First name] stayed at school that day, just tick the second box.

Thank you,
[First name LAST NAME], [class] teacher

The new slip matters more than the message: the first one may still be at the bottom of the bag. For an incomplete slip, start with what's fine: "Thanks for [First name]'s slip, only the date is missing." More wording in our reminder email templates.

And with four classes and a trip abroad?

The list works for one class. For a trip, with school trip permission slips, the AST and a copy of a parent's ID for every pupil, tracking becomes a job in itself.

Please Send It sends each family its own link with the list of documents requested, only reminds those who still have something missing, and files everything by pupil. Originals, such as the AST the pupil shows at the border, still have to be collected on paper.