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Is my health data safe abroad?

Is my health data safe in France?

France regulates where your records are stored as well as who reads them: the servers themselves must be certified. Ask the clinic which certified host it uses.

General information, checked against the law on 23 September 2026. For your own case, ask a lawyer in France.

What the law says

How France treats your health data.

The law
GDPR, applied in France alongside the Public Health Code[S76][S108]
The regulator
Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL)[S108]
Health data
Health data is a special category under Article 9 of the GDPR. It may be processed only on a listed ground, such as your explicit consent or care by health professionals bound by secrecy.[S76]
Sending it abroad
Data moves freely within the European Economic Area. Leaving it needs an adequacy decision for the destination or other safeguards (GDPR Chapter V).[S76]
Medical records
Anyone hosting health data for patients, doctors or clinics must hold health data hosting (HDS) certification, under Article L1111-8 of the Public Health Code.[S108][S109]
EU adequacy
Not needed: as an EU member, the GDPR applies directly.[S76]
If there is a breach
Within 72 hours to the national authority where feasible, and to the people affected without undue delay when the risk to them is high (Articles 33 and 34).[S76]
Fines
Up to EUR 20 million or 4% of worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher (Article 83).[S76]

Sending your records

The law protects the clinic’s copy. How it gets there is up to you.

Email and messaging apps leave a readable copy on every server they pass through, in France and at home. The safest file is the one that stays encrypted on your own phone, shown to the doctor in the room or sent by a link that expires by itself.

Who can see my medical records? Free check

Questions

France: common questions.

Is it safe to email medical records to a clinic in France?

Email is protected between mail servers only when both providers support TLS, and it stays readable on each server afterwards. Once your records reach a clinic in France, local law applies: health data is a special category under Article 9 of the GDPR. It may be processed only on a listed ground, such as your explicit consent or care by health professionals bound by secrecy. For a full history, use a channel where you hold the key, such as a link that expires by itself.

Are my medical records private in France?

Health data is a special category under Article 9 of the GDPR. It may be processed only on a listed ground, such as your explicit consent or care by health professionals bound by secrecy. Breaches must be reported within 72 hours to the national authority where feasible, and to the people affected without undue delay when the risk to them is high (Articles 33 and 34). The regulator is the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL).

Can a clinic in France send my medical records abroad?

Data moves freely within the European Economic Area. Leaving it needs an adequacy decision for the destination or other safeguards (GDPR Chapter V). Anyone hosting health data for patients, doctors or clinics must hold health data hosting (HDS) certification, under Article L1111-8 of the Public Health Code.

Keep reading

More on France, and elsewhere.

Sources are numbered in the text and listed in full in the reference list.