CNDA appeal: get a free lawyer through legal aid
What is this for
If OFPRA rejects your asylum claim, you can appeal to the CNDA (National Asylum Court). The procedure is free, and legal aid (aide juridictionnelle) gives you a lawyer paid by the State, unless the appeal is inadmissible. The rules and deadlines differ according to the procedure shown on OFPRA's decision. Read this guide on the day you receive the decision.
Important points
- Warning: Deadlines are counted to the day. The 15-day legal aid deadline is not extended like an ordinary appeal deadline. In the accelerated procedure, you only have 10 days. Get help as soon as you receive the decision.
- Note: The CNDA procedure is free. With legal aid, you do not pay your lawyer. Translating your documents may remain at your own cost.
Steps to follow
Step 1: Check the procedure on OFPRA's decision
For applications lodged since 12 June 2026: in the normal procedure, you must appeal within 1 month of notification. In the accelerated procedure, after an inadmissibility decision or at the border, the deadline is only 10 days. Write down the notification date immediately.
Step 2: Normal procedure: apply for legal aid within 15 days
Send your legal aid application to the CNDA in Montreuil within 15 days of notification of OFPRA's decision. From the moment you send it, the 1-month appeal deadline is suspended. It starts again, for the time that was left, from the legal aid office's decision. Warning: an application sent after 15 days does not suspend the appeal deadline.
Step 3: Accelerated procedure or inadmissibility: your appeal counts as a legal aid request
Since 12 June 2026, in these procedures, simply filing your appeal counts as a legal aid request, unless you expressly refuse it. The Court appoints a lawyer after your appeal is registered. So you must send your appeal, in French, within 10 days. A special form is available on the CNDA website.
Step 4: Fill in the form
The form is on service-public.gouv.fr or at the CNDA reception desk. Give your surname, first names and postal address (domiciliation), attach a copy of OFPRA's decision and sign it. If a lawyer has already agreed to represent you under legal aid, attach their certificate.
Step 5: Choose a lawyer or let the Court appoint one
If you have found a lawyer who agrees, that lawyer represents you. Otherwise, the CNDA appoints one from the list of the bar where you live or, failing that, where the chamber hearing your appeal sits. An association helping asylum seekers can help you find a lawyer.
Step 6: Stay in touch with your lawyer
If you cannot reach the appointed lawyer, contact the CNDA reception to find out whether an appeal has been filed and to check the lawyer's contact details. If no appeal was filed in time, go back to the legal aid office: it can appoint a new lawyer.
Step 7: If legal aid is refused, challenge it within 8 days
You can challenge a refusal of legal aid with the President of the Court within 8 days of notification of the refusal: by fax, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, or by handing it in on site. At the same time, check how much time you have left for the appeal itself.
Documents to prepare
- OFPRA's decision (or a copy) and the envelope or notice showing the notification date
- The signed legal aid application form
- Your postal address (domiciliation)
- The lawyer's certificate, if you have already chosen one
Official links
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