In short:
- Meal vouchers are an optional benefit: the employer has no obligation to provide them.
- The employer funds between 50% and 60% of the voucher’s value.
- Use is capped at 25 euros per day.
- Until the end of 2026, vouchers can be used to buy all food products, including those that are not ready to eat.
Meal vouchers: definition
Meal vouchers (titres-restaurant) are payment vouchers that allow employees to pay for their meal when they have no company restaurant. They come as a paper booklet, a rechargeable prepaid card or a phone application.
Employees covered
When the employer sets up meal vouchers, they can be given to employees on permanent or fixed-term contracts, temporary agency workers, apprentices, interns and employees working remotely.
Funding
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Obligation for the employer | None, provision is optional |
| Employer’s share | Between 50% and 60% of the voucher’s value |
| Employee’s share | The balance |
The share funded by the employer is one of the benefits that add to the pay shown on the French payslip.
Conditions of use
- Cap: 25 euros per day.
- Days: working days. Sundays and public holidays are excluded, except for employees who work on those days.
- Use: strictly personal.
- Place: in the department of the workplace and neighbouring departments.
- Shops: restaurants and approved food retailers (butchers, bakeries, greengrocers).
- Validity: until 31 December of the year of issue, with a tolerance for January and February of the following year.
The temporary rule on food products
Until the end of 2026, meal vouchers can be used to buy all food products, not only those that are ready to eat.
Setting up meal vouchers
- Decide the number of vouchers provided and their value.
- Set the employer’s share between 50% and 60%.
- Choose the format: paper, card or application.
- Inform employees of the rules of use.
This benefit can be part of a wider reflection on QVCT (quality of life and working conditions) and on pay policy, which the pay transparency reform invites employers to formalise.
For any question, the official guide refers to the Commission nationale des titres-restaurant (CNTR).
Number of vouchers and exemption from contributions
One voucher per meal
An employee can only receive one voucher per meal included in the daily working schedule. Employees are not required to accept the meal vouchers offered by their employer.
Conditions for the exemption
To be exempt from social security contributions, the employer’s contribution must meet two conditions:
- represent between 50% and 60% of the voucher’s value;
- not exceed 7.32 euros per voucher for 2026 vouchers.
The employer can go beyond this limit, which is not prohibited. In that case, the portion above the cap no longer benefits from the exemption.
An example
For a voucher worth 12 euros, the employer’s share must be between 6 euros and 7.20 euros. It then stays below the 7.32 euro cap that applies in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How do meal vouchers work in France?
Meal vouchers (titres-restaurant) are payment vouchers given by the employer to the employee to pay for a meal or food products. The employer is not required to provide them. When it does, it funds between 50% and 60% of the voucher’s value, the rest being paid by the employee. Use is limited to 25 euros per day.
Is the employer required to provide meal vouchers?
No. Providing meal vouchers is optional. The employer freely decides whether to offer them and sets their number.
Can meal vouchers be used on Sundays?
Meal vouchers are used on working days. They cannot be used on Sundays and public holidays, except by employees who work on those days.
Sources
- Service-Public, Comment obtenir et utiliser des titres-restaurant ?, guide checked on 8 July 2026, consulted on 4 October 2026.