Certificate of completion (certificat de réalisation) for French training providers

An OPCO that freezes a payment, a surveillance audit that flags an incomplete trainee file, a CPF session suspended on EDOF: in half these cases, the cause is the same — a missing, poorly filled, or inconsistent certificat de réalisation. Yet it is one of the simplest documents to get right once you know the rule.

The certificat de réalisation, in one sentence

The certificat de réalisation (certificate of completion) is the document by which a training provider certifies to the funder that an action was carried out on the dates and for the duration it states. It does not replace the training agreement (which commits the parties before the action) or the end-of-training certificate (given to the trainee): it exists solely to trigger or justify a payment.

Its legal basis is the arrêté (ministerial order) of 21 December 2018 on the documents required for the contrôle de service fait mentioned in article R. 6332-26 of the French Labour Code, which set a standard template meant to harmonise practices between OPCOs, training providers and CFAs (apprenticeship centres). The Ministry of Labour distributes this template, since adopted for CPF payments via EDOF by the Caisse des Dépôts and by nearly every OPCO.

Why this document exists: the contrôle de service fait

A funder — an OPCO, the State, a région, France Travail, or the Caisse des Dépôts for the CPF — only pays for a training action after verifying it actually took place. This is the contrôle de service fait (proof-of-delivery check). Article L6353-1 of the Labour Code sets the principle: the provider commits to carrying out the action in accordance with the programme and the terms set out in the contract or agreement. Article D6353-1 specifies the elements used to justify the trainee’s attendance:

• signed attendance sheets, or any document or data establishing effective participation;
• documents or data relating to the support provided by the training organisation;
• positioning reports and assessments organised by the provider;
• for remote-learning (FOAD) sequences, evidence proving the required work was completed.

The certificat de réalisation summarises this evidence into a single, signed declaration — easier for the funder to process than a full file of attendance sheets.

The mandatory clauses

The template distributed by the Ministry of Labour, now used by most OPCOs and by the Caisse des Dépôts, includes the following clauses:

Clause	Expected content
Provider identification	Legal name, SIRET number, activity declaration number (NDA), name and role of the legal representative
Beneficiary identification	Trainee’s first and last name (and, depending on the funder, date of birth)
Title and nature of the action	Precise title of the action, and its nature: training, skills assessment (bilan de compétences), VAE (accreditation of prior experience), or apprenticeship training
Dates and duration completed	Actual start and end dates, duration actually followed (in hours)
Signatures	Signature of the provider’s legal representative, and depending on the case, of the beneficiary or their employer

The most common pitfall: the duration stated must be the duration actually completed, not the duration planned in the contract. A trainee who attended 18 of the 21 planned hours must appear with 18 hours on their certificate — this figure must stay consistent with the attendance sheets kept in the file.

Certificat de réalisation, end-of-training certificate, attendance certificate: do not confuse them

Three documents often coexist in the same trainee file, with distinct roles:

• The certificat de réalisation is addressed to the funder; it triggers or justifies a payment.
• The end-of-training certificate, required under article L6353-1, is given to the trainee at the end of the action; it describes the objectives, nature, duration and, where relevant, the skills acquired.
• The attendance certificate is an internal or intermediate document, often used partway through longer programmes; it has no independent regulatory value but feeds into the evidence behind the certificat de réalisation.

Confusing these three documents, or producing only one to cover all three purposes, is a classic cause of file rejection by OPCOs and of remarks during a Qualiopi audit.

The link with Qualiopi: what the auditor expects

The certificat de réalisation is not named explicitly in the Référentiel National Qualité, but it is direct supporting evidence for two indicators:

• indicator 9 on the conditions under which the service is delivered, which requires proof that the service actually took place under the announced conditions;
• indicator 10 on implementing and monitoring the service, which requires evidence of effective delivery and individual follow-up for each beneficiary.

During an initial, surveillance, or renewal audit, the auditor may ask to reconstruct the full chain for a sample of beneficiaries: agreement, programme, attendance sheets or connection logs, certificat de réalisation, and where relevant proof of payment from the funder. A missing certificate, or one inconsistent with the attendance sheets, is enough to trigger a non-conformity — even if the training genuinely took place.

Producing your certificat de réalisation without errors

A few habits are enough to secure this document for good:

1. Prepare the template before your first session, following the clauses in the table above, rather than improvising it when closing an action billed to an OPCO.
2. Fill in the completed duration from the attendance sheets, never from memory or by copying the contractual duration.
3. Submit the certificate through the funder’s own channel — upload on EDOF for the CPF, dedicated extranet for most OPCOs — within the deadline it imposes, or payment can be suspended or refused.
4. Archive it with the full session file: agreement, programme, attendance sheets, evaluations. It is this assembled file, not the certificate alone, that serves as evidence in a retrospective check or a Qualiopi audit.
5. Check consistency with your annual BPF: trainee-hours declared in your bilan pédagogique et financier must match the completed durations on your certificates.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Systematically stating the contractual duration, even in the event of absences or partial dropout.
• Forgetting to issue a certificate for VAE or skills-assessment (bilan de compétences) actions, which are equally subject to this requirement once a funder is involved.
• Sending the certificate after the deadline set by the OPCO or the platform, delaying payment by several weeks.
• Failing to keep the link between the certificate and its corresponding attendance sheets, leaving the file undefendable in an audit.

Take action

The Complete Qualiopi Kit includes a ready-to-customise, compliant certificat de réalisation template, along with every document expected under the framework’s 32 indicators — attendance sheets, agreements, monitoring procedures (€297, 14-day guarantee). Just starting your organisation? The ebook Create your training organisation in 30 days walks through setting up your first trainee files, or choose the full pack — kit plus ebook — to have everything from day one.