If you're hiring childcare in France and someone tells you a sitter is "background checked," there's a question worth asking before you relax: checked how? Because in France, there's a specific, official answer — and most casual checks aren't it.
That official answer is the Bulletin n°3.
What the Bulletin n°3 actually is
France's criminal record (the casier judiciaire) comes in three extracts, called bulletins, each with a different level of access. The Bulletin n°3 is the one an individual can request about themselves. It lists the most serious criminal convictions and is the document used, across France, to confirm that a person is cleared to work in roles involving trust — especially roles involving children.
In plain terms: it's the real, government-issued proof, pulled from judicial records. Not a private database. Not a self-declaration. Not a photo match on an app.
Why this matters for childcare specifically
A lot of "verification" in the babysitting world is theatre. A checkmark next to a profile can mean almost anything — often just that an email was confirmed. That tells you nothing about whether the person has a history that should keep them away from children.
The Bulletin n°3 is the difference between we confirmed who they are and we confirmed they're cleared to be trusted with kids. For childcare, that second thing is the entire point.
Why a one-time check isn't enough
Here's the part most services skip even when they do run a check: people's records can change. A clean Bulletin n°3 from three years ago is not the same as a clean one today. Serious vetting means re-checking on a regular cycle — not verifying once and assuming it holds forever.
How to know your sitter actually has one
Ask directly, and listen to the quality of the answer. A service that genuinely runs Bulletin n°3 checks will say so plainly, explain that it comes from judicial sources, and tell you how often it's renewed. Vague language — "all our sitters are fully vetted" with no specifics — is its own kind of answer. You're allowed to ask exactly what "vetted" means, and a trustworthy service will be glad you did.
The bottom line
The Bulletin n°3 isn't bureaucratic box-ticking. It's the single clearest signal, within the French system, that the person caring for your children has been checked against the real records — by the real authority. When you're trusting someone with the people who matter most to you, "verified" should mean this, not a badge.