Recruitment: what information can an employer ask a candidate?

In short:

1. During recruitment, the employer can only ask for information with a direct and necessary link to the job offered.
2. Questions about health, family, religion, sexual orientation or trade union membership are prohibited.
3. The CNIL lists information that should not be requested, such as the social security number or bank details.
4. A candidate who suffers discrimination can bring a claim before the labour court.

Recruitment: the direct and necessary link principle

During recruitment, the information requested from the candidate must serve to assess the ability to hold the job or professional skills. Service-Public points this out in a news item published on 2 December 2024: each question must have a direct and necessary link with the position.

Information that can be requested

• Qualifications and diplomas.
• Professional experience.
• A driving licence, only if the job requires it.

The candidate must answer in good faith. False information can justify dismissal if it was decisive in the hiring decision.

Information that cannot be requested

The CNIL also points out that data revealing origins, political opinions or trade union membership must not be collected. The candidate can refuse to answer these questions.

Some of this information becomes necessary after hiring, in order to complete the hiring formalities for an employee.

Discrimination in hiring: remedies

The Labour Code prohibits any discrimination between candidates. Refusing to hire on the basis of name, origin, sex, family situation, physical appearance or religion is illegal. The candidate can bring a claim before the labour court and seek damages.

Securing a recruitment process

1. Follow the job posting rules and exclude any discriminatory criterion.
2. Prepare an interview grid limited to the expected skills.
3. Collect only useful data and govern its processing in line with the rules on HR software and personal data.
4. Inform candidates of how their data is used.

The CNIL’s detailed list

In its answer on recruitment, the CNIL lists the information that, barring special cases, should not be requested from a candidate:

• the social security number;
• the previous address and the family circle;
• health, height, weight, eyesight;
• whether the candidate owns or rents their home;
• membership of associations;
• bank details and loans taken out;
• the date of entry into France, the date of naturalisation, how French nationality was acquired and the nationality of origin;
• military status.

A regulated exception

The CNIL states that it remains possible, by way of exception, to collect some of this information under two cumulative conditions: obtaining the candidate’s written consent and being able to justify the request precisely by the specific features of the job.

Two examples

• Asking for a driving licence for a delivery driver position is legitimate: the information has a direct and necessary link with the job.
• Asking a candidate about plans to have a child is not: the question concerns family situation, with no link to skills.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Service-Public, Procédure d’embauche : quelles informations l’employeur peut-il vous demander ?, news item published on 2 December 2024, consulted on 4 October 2026.
• CNIL, Recrutement : quelles informations peut-on me demander ?, page consulted on 4 October 2026.