Proving you sent a letter in France, and sharing its tracking

The day someone says “I never got your letter”, you need something to show. A cancellation, a formal notice, a dispute with a seller: that is often where things are decided. Here are the documents that count in France, what each one really proves, and how to show your tracking to someone without handing over your letter.

The documents that prove you sent a letter

• The preuve de dépôt (proof of posting). La Poste issues it when the letter is handed in. It shows the date and the item number. It proves that a letter left on that day for that recipient.
• La Poste tracking. With the number, it shows the dated steps: accepted, presented, delivered, or held at the post office (mis en instance) if nobody was home.
• The avis de réception (proof of receipt). Only for a recommandé avec AR, the French registered letter with proof of receipt. It comes back signed by the person who received the letter, with the date. It is the strongest proof of receipt.
• A copy of the letter. Exactly as it was sent, dated, with the addresses.

What these documents don't prove

A registered letter proves that it was sent and received. On its own, it doesn't prove what was in the envelope. The recipient can always claim they got a blank sheet or a different letter. In practice, a copy of the letter kept with the proof of posting is usually enough, especially if its content fits the history of the exchange. When the content itself is what's at stake (a disputed lease termination, a large sum), service by a commissaire de justice (the French court officer, formerly huissier) remains the safest route.

A plain letter leaves no trace at all: no posting record, no delivery record. The guide ordinary, tracked or registered letter explains which one to choose.

Keeping your proof safe

• Keep everything in one place: the letter, the proof of posting, the proof of receipt, and the tracking history.
• Keep it for a long time. A dispute can come up months later. For a contract, keep the documents at least as long as someone could make a claim against you, often five years.
• Don't open a letter that comes back to you. Sealed, with La Poste's markings, it shows what was sent. See unclaimed registered letter.

Cachet's proof file

For every tracked or registered letter sent with Cachet, the tracking page offers a proof file, in a single PDF. It contains:

1. a cover page with the reference, the recipient, the La Poste number and the dates (payment, sending, posting, delivery);
2. the letter as it was printed;
3. La Poste's proof of posting;
4. the signed proof of receipt, for a registered letter, as soon as it has come back.

Download it once the letter has been delivered, and keep it. The text of the letter is deleted from our servers 30 days after sending: after that, the file only contains La Poste's proofs. If a dispute starts, you can add your own documents (contract, invoices, photos) with the free tool to merge PDFs.

Showing the tracking without giving everything away

Sometimes you just want to show that the letter went out: to a relative, to your insurer, to a mediator, or to the customer service that insists it received nothing. The link to your tracking page isn't right for that. It also opens the proof file, so the text of your letter and the addresses.

That's why the tracking page offers a second link, in the “Partager le suivi” (share tracking) box. Whoever opens it sees:

• where the letter is, step by step;
• the recipient's name, the type of mail and the La Poste number;
• the dated history.

They don't see the letter, the proof of posting, the proof of receipt, or the proof file. And this link can't be used to get back to yours.

Keep the full link to yourself. Only give it to someone who needs to read the letter, such as your lawyer. Same for the proof file: send the PDF itself rather than its link.

If your AI assistant posted the letter, it knows both links. Ask it for “the link to share the tracking”: it gives you the one that shows only the tracking. See have ChatGPT or Claude send a postal letter.

Frequently asked questions