RFFT: who is entitled and how the training pay is paid

What the RFFT covers and what it does not

France Travail's training pay, shortened to RFFT, is a monthly income paid to some people registered as jobseekers in France while they follow a training course. In everyday use it follows on from the former names of the Pôle emploi training pay. Its role is simple: to let people train without losing all income when no unemployment benefit is due.

It does not pay for the training itself. The teaching cost is the responsibility of a funder (France Travail, a region or another body); the RFFT concerns the person's income. This distinction is the source of many misunderstandings: a fully funded course does not, on its own, guarantee that any income will be paid.

Nor is it a salary. It is a flat-rate trainee payment, with no standard payslip, and it cannot be combined with an unemployment insurance benefit paid for the same period.

Who is concerned, depending on their situation at entry

The scheme is aimed at people registered with France Travail who, when they start the course, receive no training-period unemployment benefit and are not entitled to it. People on the RSA (France's income-support benefit) who are registered as jobseekers may also be concerned.

France Travail points to a few exclusions: people who have reached the age limit or who already have all the quarters needed for a full-rate pension, as well as certain specific routes that have their own rules, such as a skills assessment, recognition of prior experience (VAE), help with starting a business, or preparing for a driving licence.

A few typical profiles help you find your bearings:

• A recent graduate with no rights opened, registered with France Travail, who starts a retraining course funded by the region or by France Travail.
• A person who resigned a long time ago, with no unemployment rights opened, who is preparing a professional title.
• An RSA recipient accepted on a training action that is part of their personalised plan.

In every case, it is the situation on the date of entry that is examined, which is why it is worth talking to your adviser before committing.

Which courses qualify for pay

Not all courses are eligible. The course must first be part of the personalised plan for access to employment, that is, approved with your adviser. It must then be funded or co-funded by France Travail, for example as an agreed training action, an individual training aid, an individual or collective operational preparation for employment, or a training action before recruitment.

France Travail has also run trials for some courses funded by the personal training account or by personal funds. The rules of such trials are limited in time, so it is prudent to ask your adviser whether they still apply when you apply.

For a course funded by a region, the pay may come under another channel, that of the pay for vocational training trainees. Knowing which funder pays for the course therefore tells you which door to push for the income.

Amount and duration: what you can expect

The RFFT is calculated on the same basis as the pay for vocational training trainees, set by decree and revalued periodically. Under the rules applying in 2026, the published scales range from about 225 euros to a little under 800 euros a month for most situations, the exact value depending on age, previous employment and personal circumstances; higher amounts exist for disabled workers who have already worked.

Since these scales change, the only reliable reference is the notification letter you receive: it states the effective date and the monthly amount. Payment lasts as long as the course, up to a limit of three years for the same course.

On social protection, the trainee remains covered for sickness, maternity, invalidity and death, and for work accidents during the course. The periods count towards the basic pension on a flat-rate basis, but not towards the supplementary pension. The pay is not subject to CSG or CRDS; it may, however, be included in income tax.

The steps: few forms, many checks

There is no specific application form: the right is looked at when the training provider sends France Travail the certificate of entry into training. The jobseeker then receives one of two letters.

• A registration notice stating the effective date and the amount of the pay.
• A letter of ineligibility, with a reply slip: entry to the course is then final only after you confirm it, and the course will be followed without pay.

Before signing, it is therefore useful to ask your adviser for a simulation or, failing that, a written opinion on your pay. Also keep a copy of the agreement or certificate given by the centre, as it will be needed in case of a dispute about the entry date.

Attendance and updating: the trainee's obligations

Payment depends on actually starting the course and attending regularly. The training centre reports absences and dropouts to France Travail; an unjustified absence can lead to a reduction, a suspension or the end of payment.

The monthly update of your situation, on the France Travail website or in its app, remains compulsory. Many late payments come from a forgotten update rather than from a refused file.

In the event of sick leave, a change of direction, a temporary break or a return to work, tell both the centre and your adviser. The two have different roles: the centre certifies attendance, while France Travail decides and makes the payment.

A worked example for budgeting, for illustration

Imagine Camille, 31, registered with France Travail with no entitlement to benefit, who starts in September on a ten-month course as a maintenance technician funded by France Travail. The notification letter gives her a monthly amount which we assume here, for the example, to be 750 euros.

Over ten months, she can count on about 7,500 euros, provided she attends in full and updates her situation every month. With rent of 500 euros, transport of 60 euros and meals to pay for, she is left with a slim margin: she therefore plans to ask social services or family for support over the first three months, until the first payment arrives.

This example is deliberately simplified: only the official letter you receive applies to your case.

Common mistakes before and during the course

• Counting on the pay before having received the written notification.
• Confusing the funding of the course with the trainee's pay.
• Enrolling on a course that is not approved in the personalised plan, which can close off the right.
• Forgetting the monthly update or submitting it late.
• Not reporting a return to work, sick leave or a change of timetable.
• Not keeping attendance certificates and letters received.

An early conversation with your adviser, followed by a written message, settles most of these difficulties before they cost a month of income.

Alternatives and neighbouring schemes to compare

The RFFT is only one of the possible schemes. If you have unemployment benefit rights, the training allowance applies instead. When those rights run out before the end of the course, a bridge called end-of-training pay can take over. For a course approved by the State or the region, the pay for trainees paid by the services and payment agency (ASP) can play a similar role. Employees on a career transition project, for their part, have their salary maintained.

The right reflex is to ask your adviser which scheme applies to your file, then compare the expected amount with your monthly outgoings before you confirm the start date.