---
title: "Carte Vitale"
chunk: 1/1
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carte_Vitale"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T11:58:21.629666+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

The Carte Vitale (French pronunciation: [kaʁt vital]; lit. 'Vital Card') is the health insurance card of the national health care system in France. It was introduced in 1998 to allow a direct settlement with the medical arm of the social insurance system. The declaration of a primary health insurance company (Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie) substitutes the card usage.
Since 2008, a second generation of smart cards is being introduced—the "Carte Vitale 2" carries a picture for identification and the smart card has additional functions of an electronic health insurance card to carry electronic documents of the treatment process. The first generation had been a family card carrying the names of all family members, thereby simply declaring they are covered by the French social security health care, while non-residents would need to use the European Health Insurance Card to prove their health insurance status.


== See also ==
Electronic health record
European health insurance card
Italian health insurance card


== References ==


== External links ==
 Media related to Carte Vitale at Wikimedia Commons