French Social Security’s “free health check” is called the preventive health examination (examen de prévention en santé): about two hours at a health examination center, with lab tests and a consultation, fully covered (100%) from age 16. It can be combined with Mon bilan prévention, France’s national prevention check-up program — a 30- to 45-minute consultation with a professional at four key ages — and with organized screening programs.
In our practice, the request often comes in the same form: “Doctor, I’d like a full check-up, for free.” Behind these words lie three different programs, all fully covered (100%) by French National Health Insurance (Assurance Maladie), but which differ in content, location and eligibility. This page describes them one by one, explains who is entitled to what and how to sign up, and points out what to avoid.
What is meant by a “free health check,” and which programs are fully covered?
Three prevention programs are fully covered (100%) by French National Health Insurance, with no upfront payment: the preventive health examination (EPS), carried out at a health examination center; Mon bilan prévention, carried out by a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or midwife at four key ages; and organized cancer screening programs, by invitation. The term “free health check” has historically referred to the first.
| Preventive health examination (EPS) | Mon bilan prévention | Organized cancer screening programs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other name | “Free health check,” CPAM health check | Prevention appointment, prevention check-up | Colorectal, breast and cervical cancer screening |
| Who is entitled | Insured people aged 16 and over and their dependents; priority for people who have little contact with the health system | Insured people aged 18-25, 45-50, 60-65 and 70-75 inclusive | Depending on age and sex, by invitation |
| Where | French National Health Insurance health examination center (about a hundred in mainland France and Guadeloupe) | Doctor’s office, nurse’s office or at home, pharmacy, midwife | Laboratory or at home (colorectal test), radiology practice, doctor, midwife or laboratory (cervical) |
| Duration | About 2 hours, fasting | 30 to 45 minutes | Varies by test |
| Content | Medical questionnaire; depending on your profile: blood draw, urine test, hearing test, cardiorespiratory test; medical consultation; information on your rights and the care pathway | Self-assessment questionnaire, discussion of lifestyle habits, choice of one or two topics, written Personalized Prevention Plan | A test targeting one cancer |
| Frequency | Renewable, generally every five years | Once per person and per age bracket | Every two years or more depending on the screening |
| Cost to you | €0, with no upfront payment | €0, with no upfront payment, no extra charges possible | €0 for the organized screening test |
| How to access it | Contact the health examination center or your health insurance fund, or respond to an invitation | Book an appointment with a participating professional (directory on sante.fr) | Invitation by mail; kit or prescription provided by the doctor or pharmacist |
These three programs complement each other: you can have a preventive health examination at 40, Mon bilan prévention at 47, and take part in organized screening from the relevant age. We describe the second in detail in the prevention check-up.
What is the preventive health examination and what does it include?
The preventive health examination is French National Health Insurance’s original “free health check.” It takes place at a health examination center (CES), lasts about two hours, fasting, and combines a medical questionnaire, tests suited to your profile and a medical consultation. It ends with information on your rights and on the care pathway.
A morning at a health examination center
The content is tailored to your age, sex, medical history and risk factors. According to French National Health Insurance, the morning may include:
- a medical questionnaire filled in on arrival or beforehand, about your medical history, treatments, lifestyle habits and social situation;
- a blood draw and a urine test, hence the instruction to fast;
- depending on your profile, a hearing test and a cardiorespiratory test;
- a medical consultation with the center’s doctor, who goes over the available results, examines you and reviews recommended screenings and vaccinations;
- information on your rights and on the care pathway.
What you receive afterward
The results are sent to you, and to your regular doctor (médecin traitant) if you agree. If a result calls for a consultation or further tests, your regular doctor arranges them; for people who don’t have one, the center guides them into the care pathway.
What the examination is not
The preventive health examination is not an exhaustive “check-up” in the sense offered by private clinics: it does not include routine imaging or a very broad panel of lab tests. Its content is tailored to your profile and risk factors.
Who is entitled to French Social Security’s free health check, and how do I sign up?
The preventive health examination is open to insured people aged 16 and over and their dependents, whatever their scheme (general scheme, MSA, etc.). French National Health Insurance intends it “primarily for those who have little contact with the health system”: jobseekers, people not in work, retirees, people exposed to particular risks. To sign up, contact the nearest health examination center or your health insurance fund, or respond to an invitation.
Who has priority?
Any insured person can request the examination. Priority goes to people who have no regular medical follow-up: no regular doctor, no consultation for a long time, financial hardship, looking for work, or exposed to particular risks. If you are regularly followed by your regular doctor, it may take longer to get an appointment.
Where can I get a free comprehensive health check?
Examinations are carried out at French National Health Insurance’s health examination centers, “about a hundred in total, spread across mainland France and Guadeloupe” according to ameli.fr, French National Health Insurance’s website. The list and contact details are available on ameli.fr and from your health insurance fund.
How do I sign up?
There are three ways, described by French National Health Insurance and service-public.fr, the French government’s official services website:
- Contact the nearest health examination center directly, by phone or email, to request an appointment;
- Contact your health insurance fund (CPAM, the local health insurance office; MSA, the agricultural scheme; etc.), which forwards your request;
- Respond to the invitation that the fund sends by mail to some insured people.
There is no “free health check form” to buy: the process is direct and free. Some centers offer online booking. The steps for both programs are detailed in where and how to book a prevention check-up.
Minors aged 16 and 17
Young people aged 16 and 17 can have the examination, accompanied by a legal guardian or on their own with signed parental consent.
Can I have a free health check every 5 years?
The preventive health examination is renewable. An interval of “every five years” is very often cited, but it does not appear on the official ameli.fr page about the examination: so let’s say “renewable, generally every five years.” The center or your health insurance fund will tell you how often you can come back depending on your situation.
Two points, however, are certain: Mon bilan prévention is possible only once per age bracket (18-25, 45-50, 60-65, 70-75), and each organized screening program has its own schedule, stated in the invitation letters. Between two examinations, your regular doctor provides preventive care over the course of your consultations.
What is the difference between a health check and a prevention check-up (Mon bilan prévention)?
The health check (preventive health examination) is an examination of about two hours at a dedicated center, with lab tests, other tests and a consultation. The prevention check-up (Mon bilan prévention) is a 30- to 45-minute consultation with a local professional, with no lab tests, focused on your lifestyle habits and a written action plan, offered at four key ages. Both are fully covered (100%) and can be combined.
Mon bilan prévention in brief
Mon bilan prévention is “a time for discussion dedicated to preventive health.” It is available once per age bracket to people aged 18-25, 45-50, 60-65 and 70-75 inclusive, and can be carried out by a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or midwife who takes part in the program. It has three steps: you fill in a self-assessment questionnaire before the appointment (online in Mon espace santé, France’s personal digital health record, or as a PDF), you choose one or two topics to act on with the professional, and you leave with a written Personalized Prevention Plan. This plan is sent to your regular doctor unless you object. The professional is paid €30 (€31.50 in the French overseas departments and regions) directly by French National Health Insurance; you pay nothing and no extra charge is possible.
Which one should I choose?
It is not really a matter of choosing. If you are in one of the four age brackets, Mon bilan prévention is open to you whatever your medical follow-up. If you have little contact with the health system, have no regular doctor or haven’t seen a doctor for a long time, the preventive health examination also provides lab tests and a medical examination, and helps you get back into the care pathway. The two can be done a few months apart.
What neither of them does
Neither replaces follow-up by your regular doctor or organized screening programs, and neither makes a diagnosis on its own: they identify risks and refer you to a consultation.
Are organized screening programs part of the free health check?
Organized cancer screening programs are a third program, separate from the preventive health examination and Mon bilan prévention, but also fully covered (100%). They concern colorectal, breast and cervical cancer, at ages and intervals set nationally, by invitation by mail. The preventive health examination and Mon bilan prévention are often used to check that you are taking part.
| Organized screening program | Who it concerns | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Colorectal cancer | Women and men aged 50 to 74, test every two years | Fecal immunochemical test done at home; kit provided by the doctor or pharmacist, or ordered online |
| Breast cancer | Women aged 50 to 74, mammogram every two years | Mammogram at an approved radiology practice, with double reading |
| Cervical cancer | Women aged 25 to 65; cytology test at 25 and 26, then 3 years later, then HPV test every 5 years from 30 to 65 | Sample taken by a doctor, a midwife or at a laboratory |
During a preventive health examination or a prevention check-up at ages 45-50 or 60-65, the professional checks that these screenings are up to date and, if not, includes them in your plan or gives you the kit: that is one of the benefits of these appointments even when you feel healthy.
How does it differ from a paid private check-up?
A private check-up is a paid service, not reimbursed, offered by clinics and specialized companies: it generally combines a broad panel of lab tests, sometimes imaging, and a detailed report, at prices ranging from a few hundred to several thousand euros. French National Health Insurance programs target what has proven value in prevention for your profile, with no out-of-pocket cost.
Orders of magnitude
Prices checked on September 14, 2026 on the websites of several French offers range from €365 for a twelve-month support program to €990 for a one-and-a-half-hour check-up, and up to several thousand euros for packages lasting several hours with follow-up. A “complete blood test” requested at a laboratory without a prescription costs around €45 to €65 according to third-party websites; with a prescription, it is partly reimbursed. We compare content, prices and limitations in private check-up or covered check-up.
What the price doesn’t buy
A broader panel of lab tests is not, in itself, more effective prevention: it increases the likelihood of finding a slightly out-of-range value of no consequence, which causes worry and leads to additional tests. Our position as doctors: start with what is covered, do your organized screenings, and discuss with your regular doctor whether an additional test is worthwhile before paying for it.
“Free” offers that aren’t
Some private offers present a “free check-up” or a “complimentary check-up” that serves as a gateway to a subscription, a paid program or the sale of supplements. This is not illegal, but it is not a free health check in the French National Health Insurance sense. Read what is included, what will be billed afterward, and who interprets the results.
Which pitfalls should I avoid, and what do reviews say about the free CPAM health check?
The most common pitfalls are unofficial websites that charge for “registration” or a “form,” private offers presented as “free check-ups,” and disappointment if you were hoping for an exhaustive check-up. Reviews of the preventive health examination are mixed for a simple reason: it is very valuable for people who have little contact with care, and offers less to those who are already well followed.
Three pitfalls to avoid
- Paying to sign up. Registration for the preventive health examination is done through the health examination center or your health insurance fund, free of charge. No website or intermediary is authorized to charge for a “file,” a “form” or “priority access.” If you are asked for a bank card, it is not the French National Health Insurance program.
- Confusing it with a commercial offer. A “free health check” offered by a retail chain, an app or a supplementary health insurer (mutuelle) follows a different logic: it may be useful, but check what is included, what will be billed and who reviews the results.
- Expecting an exhaustive check-up. The preventive health examination targets your profile; Mon bilan prévention involves no lab tests. Neither prescribes imaging “just to check” in the absence of symptoms or risk factors.
What do reviews say?
Reviews of the preventive health examination depend mainly on the person’s situation. For someone with no medical follow-up, half a day with lab tests, an examination and time for explanations is genuinely helpful. For someone who is already well followed, the content may seem “basic” and the wait long: the program is designed for those who don’t have access to this kind of prevention elsewhere. In that case, Mon bilan prévention at the key ages and organized screening programs are probably better suited. Common questions are covered in our FAQ.
Preparing for your appointment
Whatever the program, bring the list of your treatments, your vaccination record and the dates of your latest screenings. For the preventive health examination, follow the instruction to fast; for Mon bilan prévention, fill in the self-assessment questionnaire before the appointment.
Key takeaways
- French Social Security’s “free health check” is the preventive health examination: about 2 hours at a health examination center, fasting, fully covered (100%) from age 16, with priority for people who have little contact with care.
- Mon bilan prévention is a 30- to 45-minute consultation with a local professional, at ages 18-25, 45-50, 60-65 and 70-75, once per bracket, with nothing to pay.
- Organized cancer screening programs are a third fully covered (100%) program, by invitation.
- All three can be combined; none replaces follow-up by your regular doctor.
- Registration is always free and direct: health examination center, health insurance fund or invitation. Beware of websites that charge and of commercial “free check-ups.”
What Sokrate lets you do
If you are between 18 and 25, 45 and 50, 60 and 65, or 70 and 75, the Sokrate service offers to help you prepare your prevention check-up in advance: an adaptive online questionnaire, to fill in at home, whose summary is given to the doctor who carries out your check-up. The Personalized Prevention Plan is signed by a doctor, a letter is sent to your regular doctor unless you object, and a coordinating nurse follows up with you on the next steps decided. The check-up itself remains fully covered (100%) by French National Health Insurance. To be informed when the service opens in your area, you can join the waitlist; how the official program works is detailed in the prevention check-up.