Mandatory notices on printed matter distributed to the public

Regulatory fact sheet, updated on 2 November 2026. General information, not legal advice: legislation changes, so check it at the source.

In brief

• Any written material made public must state the name and address of the printer (Act of 29 July 1881, article 3).
• Failure to include this notice is punishable by a €3,750 fine for the printer; the same penalty applies to those who distribute printed matter without this notice.
• The wording “Ne pas jeter sur la voie publique” (Do not throw on the street) is not required word for word by any text we have found. However, paper printed matter intended for households is subject to an obligation to provide sorting information (see the fact sheet Recycling of printed matter).

1. The printer's name and address

Text. Loi du 29 juillet 1881 sur la liberté de la presse (Act of 29 July 1881 on the freedom of the press), article 3 (version in force since 6 January 2010):

• any written material made public, “with the exception of ouvrages de ville ou bilboquets” (social and jobbing printing), must state the name and address of the printer;
• penalty: a €3,750 fine against the printer;
• distributing printed matter without this notice is prohibited, and the same penalty applies to those who distribute it;
• six months' imprisonment may be imposed if the printer has already been convicted of the same offence in the preceding twelve months;
• where several printers using different techniques are involved, stating one of them is sufficient.

Source: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/article_lc/LEGIARTI000021662494

Note: many websites still cite “article 2” of the 1881 Act. Since Act no. 2010-1 of 4 January 2010, article 2 deals with the protection of journalists' sources; the obligation relating to the printer is in article 3.

What this means in practice.

• The notice concerns the printer, not the customer who placed the order. A common wording is “Imprimé par [company name], [address]” (Printed by…).
• “Address” (domicile) is understood in practice as the address of the establishment. To be confirmed with a legal professional. No official source consulted specifies whether a head office address is sufficient when printing takes place at another establishment.
• Exceptions: “ouvrages de ville ou bilboquets”. The Act does not define them. The Ministry of Culture describes them as printing done for the administration or for private use, not intended to be circulated commercially, an exclusion stemming from an old administrative tolerance. Citing case law, it mentions business cards, letterheads and headed envelopes, wedding, birth and death announcements, posters for sales or lettings, and more broadly printing related to family or social customs or to private interests (answer to written question no. 16937, JO Sénat of 16 September 1999, p. 3068). The same answer states that publications by local authorities made available to the public do not fall within these exceptions. Source: https://www.senat.fr/questions/base/1999/qSEQ990616937.html
• Printing done by the customer themselves (office printer, association): To be confirmed with a legal professional. The text refers to “the printer” without distinction; the practice of stating “Imprimé par nos soins” (printed by ourselves) is common, but we have found no official source that expressly validates it.

2. Flyers

• Distributing flyers on the street is free, including political flyers (answer from the Ministry of the Interior published in the JO Sénat on 26 January 2023, question no. 04739 from Mr Masson, referring to Act no. 2004-1343 of 9 December 2004). Source: https://www.senat.fr/questions/base/2023/qSEQ230104739.html
• Limits recalled in this answer:
  • distribution to drivers and occupants of vehicles travelling on a road open to public traffic is prohibited (Code de la route, the French Highway Code, article R. 412-52, 4th-class petty offence);
  • in the event of a disturbance of public order, the mayor may prohibit distribution by an order (arrêté) limited in time and place;
  • during an election period, distribution is prohibited from midnight on the eve of polling day (Code électoral, article L. 49).
• The printer's notice (article 3 of the 1881 Act) applies to flyers as to any written material made public.
• Letterboxes and vehicles: it is prohibited to put unaddressed advertising in letterboxes bearing a refusal sticker (“Stop pub”, “Pas de pub”…, i.e. no junk mail) (Code de l'environnement, the French Environmental Code, article L. 541-15-15), and to place commercial advertising material on vehicles (article L. 541-15-16). Penalty: the fine for 5th-class petty offences (€1,500 for an individual, €7,500 for a legal entity). Source: entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr, “Interdictions liées à la distribution de publicités” (prohibitions relating to the distribution of advertising, checked on 7 August 2026): https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F38153
• Cleanliness: depositing or abandoning objects on the public highway falls under the Code pénal (the French Criminal Code; petty offences under articles R. 632-1 and R. 635-8, depending on the case).

3. Posters

• White paper: it is reserved for posters of acts of the public authorities (Act of 29 July 1881, article 15, paragraph 3). A private poster may nevertheless be printed on white paper if it is covered with coloured text or illustrations and no confusion with an official notice is possible. Source: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/LEGITEXT000006070722
• Official sites: the mayor designates by order (arrêté) the places reserved for posters of the public authorities; posting private posters there is prohibited (same article 15).
• Article 15 provides for a criminal penalty in the event of a breach of its provisions. Source: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/article_lc/LEGIARTI000006419692
• Election posters: special rules, see the fact sheet Election posters and campaign material.
• Advertising posters (sites, permits, Paris local advertising regulations): outside the scope of this fact sheet.

4. “Ne pas jeter sur la voie publique”: mandatory or not?

• No legislation in force that we consulted requires this exact wording.
  • It does not appear in the Act of 29 July 1881.
  • The articles of the Code de l'environnement in force on paper printed matter (articles R. 543-207 to R. 543-213-1) contain no obligation of this kind; the former article D. 543-212-2, which required environmental information “in prominent characters”, has been repealed. Source: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/section_lc/LEGITEXT000006074220/LEGISCTA000006177002/
• What is mandatory today: since the AGEC Act (loi n° 2020-105 du 10 février 2020, the anti-waste and circular economy act), any product intended for households and subject to extended producer responsibility, which includes paper printed matter, must carry a logo (Triman) accompanied by sorting information (Code de l'environnement, article L. 541-9-3). Source: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000041556010 — details in the fact sheet Recycling of printed matter.
• The “Ne pas jeter sur la voie publique” notice does not replace this sorting information. It remains an optional, customary precaution.
• Some websites claim that it is required by article L. 541-10-1 of the Code de l'environnement, with a €750 fine. In its version in force (since 24 April 2024), this article merely lists the products subject to extended producer responsibility (including, under 1°, paper printed matter with the exception of books): it requires no notice to be printed and provides for no fine. Source: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000049464324

5. Other notices depending on the type of printed matter

This fact sheet only deals with printed matter as such. Other notices may be required depending on the content (advertising for alcohol, prices, commercial details of the issuing business, legal deposit notices for publications, etc.), to be examined case by case; for notices relating to legal deposit (books, periodicals, prints), see the fact sheet Legal deposit.

Main sources

• Loi du 29 juillet 1881 sur la liberté de la presse, articles 3, 15 and 17: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/LEGITEXT000006070722
• Code de l'environnement, article L. 541-9-3: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000041556010
• Code de l'environnement, articles R. 543-207 to R. 543-213-1: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/section_lc/LEGITEXT000006074220/LEGISCTA000006177002/
• Ministerial answer, JO Sénat, 26 January 2023: https://www.senat.fr/questions/base/2023/qSEQ230104739.html
• Ministerial answer no. 16937, JO Sénat, 16 September 1999 (ouvrages de ville): https://www.senat.fr/questions/base/1999/qSEQ990616937.html
• Code de l'environnement, article L. 541-10-1: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000049464324
• Prohibitions relating to the distribution of advertising: https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F38153

General information, not legal advice. Written on 1 November 2026.

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