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Age checks in France: what Arcom’s standard means for adult sites

France asks every site with pornographic content to use age verification that meets a technical standard set by the regulator Arcom, the “référentiel”. Nothing pornographic may be visible before the check. Here’s what that standard is about, what a good French gate looks like, and how to see what visitors from France meet.

Summary of the official sources · checked 14 October 2026 · Not legal advice. · Sources at the end

Applies from23 May 2024 (law) · référentiel Oct 2024

WhoSites showing pornographic content in France

RuleLCEN art. 10 (SREN law) · Arcom

Effort to fix1–2 days with a provider

What does a visitor from France see first on your site? Find out in about a minute.

Free · private · we never download your images or videos

In short

The 2024 SREN law gave Arcom the job of setting a technical standard for age verification on porn sites.
Arcom adopted that référentiel on 9 October 2024 and published it two days later; sites then had three months to comply.
Nothing pornographic may be visible before the age check: no explicit thumbnails, trailers or previews on the way in.
Bank-card checks were allowed as a temporary option only.

Does this apply to your site?

Ask yourself these questions about what a visitor from France meets.

✓
Your site shows pornographic content to people in FranceArcom’s rules look at access from France, not at where the company is registered.
✓
Your landing page already shows explicit pictures or clipsThe référentiel asks that nothing pornographic is visible before the check.
✓
Your gate is a simple age questionA question isn’t verification; the standard is about systems that verify.
?
You rely on a bank-card check todayIt was accepted as a temporary option. Check with your provider what they offer now.

What regulators expect

Read Arcom’s référentiel with your provider. Ask them to show, point by point, how their system meets it.
Make your landing page clean. Only neutral text, logo and the way to the check. Explicit previews come after.
Protect files and indexes too. Media files, sitemaps and media lists should not hand out content to visitors who haven’t passed.
Re-check from France after every change. Themes, plugins and CDN settings can quietly re-open a gap.

The référentiel is a technical document. Our summary is orientation only; the binding detail is in Arcom’s text, linked below.

What a good French age gate looks like

Contenu réservé aux adultesVérifiez votre âge pour continuer

Clean landing page

No explicit content, a short explanation in French, one clear step.

Vérification de l’âgepar un prestataire indépendant

Verification by a provider

A real verification step, handled by a provider whose system meets the référentiel.

Vérifié 18+ requis

Locked previews

Tiles stay neutral until the visitor has passed the check.

How No451 checks your site

We load your site through a French connection like a first-time visitor, capture what appears before the gate and check whether a sample of your media files answers without it. Header requests only; we never fetch your images or videos.

Fix firstYour media files open without the age check Example result

We asked for the headers of 10 media files linked from your home page, without passing the age check. All 10 answered “200 OK” to an anonymous visitor.

The fix: serve media only to visitors with a valid, signed age-check token. Copy-paste snippet for WordPress included.

Your age checkWhat kind of check a first-time visitor meets

Before the checkWhat’s visible behind the gate

Media filesWhether files open without passing

Public indexesSitemaps and media lists

Fake “over 18” cookieWhether a made-up cookie opens the gate

Common mistakes

An “Entrer / Sortir” splash screen. Two buttons are not verification.
Explicit trailers autoplaying behind the gate. They are visible before the check.
Locking pages but not the CDN. Direct file links still open.
Assuming an old bank-card setup is still fine. It was a temporary option.
Explicit content on the French landing page for ads. Campaign landing pages are part of your site too. Keep them neutral until the visitor has passed the check.

Enforcement

Arcom supervises these rules. It first sends a formal notice with one month to comply and can then impose financial penalties, which are higher for repeat cases.

Questions operators ask

What is Arcom’s référentiel?

A technical standard for age-verification systems on sites with pornographic content. Arcom adopted it on 9 October 2024 under the 2024 SREN law.

Is an “I'm 18” button enough in France?

Arcom's référentiel sets minimum technical requirements for the reliability of age-verification systems on services offering pornographic content. A self-declared click doesn't verify age. During a three-month transition Arcom said bank-card solutions could be used. A lawyer can confirm whether that's you.

Does it apply to sites based outside France?

Arcom's announcement of the référentiel (11 Oct 2024, checked 2 Nov 2026) describes the SREN law's powers over pornographic sites that don't prevent minors' access, and doesn't spell out every case by country of establishment. The official sources don't settle this yet. A lawyer can confirm whether that's you.

Can I keep showing blurred previews?

The référentiel asks that nothing pornographic is visible before the check. Neutral previews show nothing explicit before the check.

Does No451 certify that I meet the référentiel?

No. We show what a visitor from France sees and what opens around your gate. Whether your provider meets the standard is for them and Arcom to answer.

What should I ask an age-check provider for France?

Ask whether their method is built for Arcom’s référentiel, how the result reaches your server, and what visitors see before and during the check. Keep their answers on file; Arcom will look at your site, not at the provider’s marketing.

Sources

Not legal advice. This page summarises and links to primary sources; it does not tell you what the law requires of your specific site. Related: France overview · DSA in France · Fix guide: lock your media files

See what a visitor from France sees. Then clean up the way in.

One scan from a French connection shows your gate, what is visible before it and which files open without it, with evidence and fixes.

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