French Sports Code
In forceWhen the service is first provided, the Prefect, or the Minister responsible for sports for the activities mentioned in 1° and 2° of article R. 212-91 and for the activity of medium mountain leader, may, in order to avoid serious damage to the safety of the beneficiaries of the service, carry out a prior check of the professional qualifications of the service provider.
Within one month of receipt of the declaration file, depending on the case :
1° Where applicable, the Prefect or the Minister responsible for Sport for the activities mentioned in 1° and 2° of article R. 212-91 and for the activity of mountain leader, will notify the service provider of a reasoned request for additional information as well as the additional time required before the expiry of which he will inform the service provider of his decision, in any event before the end of the second month following receipt of the additional information;
2° In the event that the Prefect, or the Minister responsible for sports for the activities mentioned in 1° and 2° of article R. 212-91 and for the activity of mountain leader, does not verify the qualifications, the Prefect will notify the service provider of a receipt for the declaration of the provision of services, which allows the service provider to carry out its activity on national territory under the same conditions as holders of the diplomas, professional qualifications or qualification certificates included on the list drawn up by the Minister responsible for sports, as provided for in article R. 212-2 .
3° In the event that the Prefect, or the Minister responsible for Sports for the activities mentioned in 1° and 2° of article R. 212-91 and for the activity of mountain leader, verifies the qualifications, the service provider is notified of the decision either to issue him with the receipt for the declaration of provision of services by the prefect, or to subject him to an aptitude test when this verification shows that there is a substantial difference between his professional qualifications and the professional qualifications required on national territory which is likely to affect the safety of the beneficiaries of the provision of services and which is not covered by the knowledge, skills and competences that he has acquired in the course of his full-time or part-time professional experience or lifelong learning, by the Prefect, or the Minister responsible for sports for the activities mentioned in 1° and 2° of article R. 212-91 and for the activity of mountain leader.
In all cases, it must be possible to provide the services within two months of receipt of the complete declaration file, unless there are particular difficulties justifying extending this period to three months.
In the absence of a response within the above-mentioned time limits, the service provider is deemed to be legally operating in France.
If there are serious and concrete doubts about the declarant's level of knowledge of the French language, the Prefect, or the Minister responsible for sports for the activities mentioned in 1° and 2° of article R. 212-91 and for the activity of mountain leader, may require, after verification of qualifications where applicable and prior to the issue of the receipt for the declaration of provision of services, that the declarant submit to a test, in order to guarantee the safe practice of physical and sporting activities and his/her ability to alert the emergency services. The declarant has the right to appeal.
