In France, thesis submission is regulated by the legal framework defined in the August 7, 2006 decree on submitting, referencing, copying, circulating and keeping theses or works defended for a doctorate.

The doctoral student must submit their thesis to the doctoral research office of their university three weeks before the viva. In some universities, the deadline may vary for easier management of the viva.

Upon submitting your thesis, you will be delivered a certificate confirming submission by the relevant doctoral research office.

If submitting in electronic format, you will be required to submit two separate versions:

• An integral version of your thesis (compulsory for archiving purposes)

• A partial version of the thesis, in order to allow for its circulation when its author has not obtained the required authorisations (see under Circulating).

In that case the submitting form will bear mention of the bowdlerised parts.

It is up to each university to choose one type of submission, either as a hard copy or in electronic format.

Depending on the choice made by each university, it may be either the electronic format or the hard copy that will count as the original thesis, an official administrative document.

Other existing versions will function and be marked as copies of the original document.

Once the thesis has been submitted, it is impossible to amend it in any way. Only the jury, following the viva, has a right to request corrections.

In that case, the doctoral student will be granted a three-month deadline to apply any corrections required.

These corrections will need to be validated by your supervisor, upon which your amended thesis will again be submitted to the doctoral research office in your university.