Did you qualify as a nurse or physiotherapist in a European Union country? You can apply for a European Professional Card (EPC), an electronic procedure for the recognition of your qualification. It is neither a card you keep in your wallet nor a guaranteed shortcut: it does not exempt you from registering with the Ordre. Here is what it is, how to apply and what it does not do.
What is the European Professional Card?
Despite its name, the EPC is an electronic procedure, in place since 18 January 2016. It was introduced by Directive 2013/55/EU, which amends Directive 2005/36/EC (Articles 4a to 4e). Your file travels between the authority in your country and the French authority through IMI, the Internal Market Information System.
It is optional: you can choose the card or the usual recognition procedure for your occupation.
Who can apply?
Among the healthcare workers Suxens supports, only nurses responsible for general care and physiotherapists can apply (Article L4002-2 of the French Public Health Code). It does not exist for healthcare assistants, occupational therapists, midwives or doctors: see our guides for healthcare assistants, occupational therapists, midwives and doctors.
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The application step by step
Step 1 — Apply online
You apply with the European Commission's online tool, which you access with an EU Login account (link on the Your Europe page on the European Professional Card). The tool automatically creates your file in IMI, and your application is handled by the competent authority of the country where you are established.
Step 2 — The authority in your country checks your file
It acknowledges receipt within one week, tells you about any missing documents and checks your file within one month. It asks you for translations according to what France has declared; no proof of language knowledge is required at this stage.
Step 3 — France decides
Your file is then sent to the French authority. For a nurse whose qualification complies, the national council of the Ordre des infirmiers issues the card within one month. For a physiotherapist, or a nurse whose qualification does not comply, the French authority may impose a compensation measure within two months. For public health reasons, these periods may be extended by fifteen days, and this extension may be renewed once. If no decision is taken within the period, the card is deemed issued.
Step 4 — Register with the Ordre
The card is not an authorisation to practise: the card document says so itself. Registration on the Ordre's register is still compulsory to practise, whether you are a nurse or a physiotherapist. See our guides for nurses and physiotherapists.
What the texts say. The card procedure is set by Articles 4a to 4e of Directive 2005/36/EC and by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/983; in France, Article L4002-2 of the Public Health Code opens it to nurses and physiotherapists. The directive states that the card does not give an automatic right to practise where registration or control procedures existed before it. For a physiotherapist, the texts we consulted do not say whether the card exempts you from the regional prefect's authorisation provided for by Article L4321-4; the same question remains open for a nurse whose qualification does not comply (Article L4311-4).
Card or usual procedure: what to remember
| Nurse (compliant qualification) | Physiotherapist | |
|---|---|---|
| Usual procedure | Registration with the Ordre's departmental council; decision within 3 months of a complete file (2 more months only if an expert assessment is ordered) | Authorisation from the regional prefect; 4-month silence after a complete file = refusal |
| With the card | Card issued by the Ordre's national council within one month | Compensation measure possible within two months; place alongside the authorisation not established |
| In every case | Registration on the Ordre's register | Registration on the Ordre's register; ask whether the prefect's authorisation is still needed |
No text allows us to say the card is faster: its time limits and those of the usual procedure do not measure the same thing. Before choosing, ask the competent authority what the card will change in your case.
Working temporarily in France with the card
The card also exists for the freedom to provide services, that is, to come and practise in France on a temporary and occasional basis while remaining established in your country. This service-provision card does not allow you to settle in France: for that, the application described above applies.
Frequently asked questions
Is the European Professional Card compulsory?
No. It is optional: you can choose the card or the usual recognition procedure for your occupation.
Is the card faster?
No text allows us to say so. For a nurse with a compliant qualification, the card is issued within one month by the Ordre's national council, but you then have to register with the Ordre; for a physiotherapist, the texts we consulted do not say whether it exempts you from the prefect's authorisation.
Is it a real card?
No. It is an electronic procedure: your file travels between the authority in your country and the French authority through IMI.
Does the card exempt me from registering with the Ordre?
No. The card is not an authorisation to practise; registration on the Ordre's register remains compulsory.
What happens if France does not decide within the period?
The card is deemed issued. That does not exempt you from registering with the Ordre.
Can healthcare assistants, occupational therapists, midwives or doctors apply?
No. In France, among the occupations Suxens supports, the card is open only to nurses and physiotherapists. The other occupations follow the procedure described in the guide for their occupation.
Official sources
- Your Europe — The European Professional Card
- Directive 2005/36/EC, consolidated version — EUR-Lex (Articles 4a to 4e)
- Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/983 — card procedure
- French Public Health Code, Article L4002-2 — occupations concerned
- French Public Health Code, Article R4321-32-1 — card for physiotherapists