Secure high-tech solutions for citizens and private businesses

Passports, car registration cards …each and every one of us has, in his/her pocket, a document produced by the Imprimerie Nationale. However, people are not always aware that this company, which is part of our everyday life, is a leader in the field of online and offline security.

Is the Imprimerie Nationale a public or private company?

The Imprimerie Nationale's heart has been beating for citizens for the past five hundred years: the State entrusts us with strategic missions such as the biometric passport. That is our public area of expertise. The Imprimerie Nationale became a private limited company just over fifteen years ago and has since been able to operate in sectors open to competition for services intended for businesses and territorial authorities.

Far from the traditional image that the French have of you, could we say that you have become a high-tech company?

Yes. We have both a national heritage and a high-tech company and we are proud of it. I intend to maintain the company on the cutting edge of technology by making it an integrator of secure and reliable solutions for documents – for citizens and private businesses alike. To this end the Imprimerie Nationale must expand its product range and secure service range.

Dematerialization, globalization, modernization… can you offer secure solutions to both states and companies in order to help them face such stakes?

The protection of people and goods is at the heart of our business. Today, protection entails secure identity documents, data protection, strong authentication, electronic certification, proof management and secure archiving of sensitive data. These are all within our field of expertise. Companies and Sate entities also need guidance on the management and processing of their printed and digitized documents. That is our second area of expertise. We offer global, turnkey solutions, outsourced in a secure manner. To that end, we have a complete and efficient graphic platform based on our experience as a printing office. In terms of online security, we have developed a secure platform for the dematerialized management of invoices and pay slips. It enables to cut costs, facilitate exchanges within the company, simplify customer-supplier relations and offer integrated enterprise output management and archiving services to companies and state entities. The overall management of document life cycle as a trusted third-party is one of our strategic priorities. For example, our ChronoServices subsidiary was attributed a Public Service Delegation Agreement for the request, production, personalization, delivery to the holder, validity control in real time and the renewal of the tachograph card, which is compulsory for passenger and freight transport.

What level of security can you guarantee?

The Imprimerie Natonale is listed as an « Operator of Vital Importance ». It is the highest physical and IT security standard for a company and it represents the best possible guarantee for our clients and partners, for citizens and entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the Imprimerie Nationale has code of ethics and a corporate culture, is committed to confidentiality, its processes comply to the Règlement Général de Sûreté, is a member of the Fédération Nationale des Tiers de Confiance (trusted third party national federation), works in close collaboration with the Agence Nationale de Sécurité des Systèmes d'Information (National Agency for the security of information systems) and is frequently audited by the CNIL (National Commission for IT and Freedom).

New documents and cards, offering plentiful technologies and services Municipal Police Officer Card:

It is the first multiservice card of the French administration. It contains two chips: a contact-based chip for authentication and secure access to sensitive files and data, and a non contact-based chip for various services (access to buildings, daily services…)

Magistrate and Clerk Card: It contains electronic certificates thereby allowing Magistrates and Clerks to authenticate themselves and produce dematerialized and secure legal acts. But also: Car Registration Card, European Driver Qualification Card for passenger and freight transport, secure Hunting Licences (credit card size), Electronic European Residence Permit for foreigners.

La Voix du Nord has ranked the largest companies in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. The Imprimerie Nationale is in the top 500.

On Friday October 1st 2010, during the launch of the Department of Justice's IGC (key management infrastructure) in Flers-en-Escrebieux, the Imprimerie Nationale announced that « Magistrates and clerks would be given an individual smart card with a personal password. The Imprimerie Nationale will produce approximately 20 000 personalized cards on behalf of ANTS (Agence nationale des titres sécurisés) and the Department of Justice ». This infrastructure « produces electronic certificates which are then embedded into the smart card, thus allowing an undisputable connection between the user of the system and a person. », affirms the Imprimerie nationale. For the Minister of Justice, Michèle Alliot-Marie, the electronic signature of authentic acts marks « a further step in the dematerialization of procedures », because « from now on, dematrealized authentic acts will have the same scope as traditional acts ». She adds that dematerialized procedures « improve the quality of case related information (for magistrates)», « save time, both for professionals and for the accused », « save place by eliminating paper archiving». She points out that the securitization of dematerialized authentic acts "will progressively be implemented".

MINOS APPLICATION

« The design and the integrated production of electronic passports, electronic identity cards (in the near future), electronic signatures must go hand in hand with a flawless security control. Given the positive results, we are ready to take the plunge, asserts Michèle Alliot-Marie. She adds that the dematerialization of court rulings « will start with the Minos application », a management tool for police courts, « in Bordeaux and Bourges ». The application « receives information from offence filing services and ministry officials and forwards fines to be paid to the Treasury. The importance of securing these transfers is manifest», explains the Minister. Once Minos "has fully met all security requirements", the use of electronic signature will be widened to other applications, such as « final notices sent to district courts by bailiffs ».

DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATED EXCHANGES WITH THE MUNICIPAL POLICE

According to the Minister of Justice, « over 140 superior courts (tribunaux de grande instance – general jurisdiction for civil matters over 10 000 euros) » already use the Cassiopee application (an applicative process supporting the operational information system for criminal and juvenile courts), which enables the management of the entire judicial process. She affirms that in « 2011, automated exchanges with the municipal police will mark a new step in the reinforcement of reactivity and the efficiency of the security process». Michèle Alliot-Marie wishes to extend dematerialization to « all practices which would benefit from new technologies and improve Public Justice services», notably criminal records. She points out that « since the summer, remote access to bulletin n°1 [which contains all convictions and judgments included in the criminal record] has been achieved». She gives the example of the interception of electronic communications: « sealed intercepted data will soon be dematerialized and archived digitally ». She also mentions the Genesis application (a national management tool for the individual and security monitoring of prisoners), which will « help improve the monitoring of prisoners ».

Contacts :

- Department of Justice, Guillaume Didier, spokesman, 01 44 77 22 02,

guillaume.didier@justice.gouv.fr

- BF3C - Imprimerie nationale, Florence Baretti, press agent, 06 14 66 72 28,

florence.baretti@bf3c.fr, www.imprimerienationale.fr

The Minister of Justice travelled to Flers-En-Escrebieux yesterday morning where, with just a few clicks and a smart card, she launched a procedure that will change the life of courtrooms across the country. Electronic keys will soon replace paper, thus saving time, means and money. They will be produced in the Douai region. « As Keeper of the Seals, I become the Keeper of my ministry's digital signature keys. » Admittedly, the title is not as prestigious, however Michèle Alliot-Marie's initiative will revolutionize the routine of magistrates, clerks and agents of the Ministry of Justice. Until now, court judgments were recorded on paper, numerous copies were then made and sent. But soon, paper documents will be nothing but a bad memory.

« Inviolable » card

Thanks to "inviolable" smart cards containing a digital signature authentication system, these acts will be carried out electronically. « Smart cards will reduce paper consumption, envelope stuffing, postage costs and save millions of euros per year, asserts Luc Ferrand, project manager at the Chancery. By reducing paper work, it will also free up some time. Clerks, for example, will be able to spend more time with judges. » Eric Vaillant, attorney general at the court of Douai, agrees: « From now on, I will be able to sit at my computer and sign documents that I will then exchange with my colleagues. These documents will have the same value as their paper equivalent. Everything will be so much easier. »

Monopole in Flers-En-Escrebieux

Police courts of Bordeaux and Bourges will test the waters in the next few weeks with speeding and parking tickets. If successful this « dematerialization » will be extended to all jurisdictions, probably before the end of 2011. The Imprimerie Nationale, located in Flers-En-Escrebieux near Douai, has the monopoly in the production of secure personal documents (biometric passport, visas…) on behalf of the State. For now, this new system represents the production of 20 000 cards. However, as MAM pointed out, more cards will be needed if other ministries and administrations decide to follow the initiative. « In the long run, this represents 600 000 to 1 million cards », estimates Didier Trutt, the CEO of the Imprimerie Nationale.



The smart cards that will revolutionalize magsitrates' routine will be manufactured in Flers. The Minister of Justice, Michèle Alliot-Marie, travelled to Flers-En-Escrebieux yesterday morning to visit the five-hundred-year-old company, for the launch of the production of smart cards incorporating cutting edge technologies. With techniques such as « asymmetric cryptography » used for digital signature keys, the Imprimerie Nationale is far from its initial profession as a printer. One wonders if it shouldn't change its name… "New technologies have changed our line of work and we are still learning", explains Didier Trutt, CEO of the Imprimerie Nationale. Thanks to its established expertise, the Imprimerie Nationale has managed to retain its monopoly in the production of secure identity documents on behalf of the State.»

600 000 to 1 million cards

These polycarbonate smart cards, whose production was symbolically launched yesterday by the Keeper of the Seals, will allow magistrates, clerks and agents of the Ministry of Justice to forget about the tonne of official paperwork they have to handle. A digital signature authentication system will enable them to do this digitally. « Everyday, I sign a bunch of official documents, but soon I will be able to do so just by sitting in front of my computer. And this digital signature will have the same value, explains Eric Vaillant, attorney general at the court of Douai. It will save time, money and reduce the number of business trips. It will also reduce non-gratifying tasks and free up some time that can be spent, for clerks for example, with judges ». For the Imprimerie Nationale, it represents the production of 20 000 cards, starting next Spring. « But in the long term, we expect to produce 600 000 to 1 million cards for other Ministries », estimates Didier Trutt.

How about the electronic National Identity Card?

The Imprimerie Nationale started producing biometric passports in Flers last year and has since produced one million. What stage is the electronic ID card at? « The Imprimerie Nationale is ready. It is now up to the Sate to decide what it wants to do and when it wants to do it. A government bill should be debated in Parliament in the near future.

Michèle Alliot-Marie, Minister of the State, Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice and Freedom, attended the launch ceremony at Flers-en-Escrebieux.

She praised the Imprimerie Nationale's technological shift.

The Imprimerie Nationale Group is a secure and reliable service integrator, handling a wide range of services, from paper, to immaterial documents and the biometric passport.

Although its name evokes a heavy industry that prints our tax papers, the Imprimerie Nationale is already the leading and most secure operator for sensitive electronic documents… This private company, with state capital, has been handling the government's confidential data for centuries and has therefore had to integrate cutting edge technologies to its processes. This high-quality service is now available to all companies, regardless of size and activity.

We met Didier Trutt, the Imprimerie Nationle's CEO.

Didier Trutt, tell us a little bit about yourself…

I am an industrialist, with an engineering degree. I began my international career at Thomson and was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer in 2004. I supported the shift from analog to digital… Today, I have the rare privilege of managing a French company founded nearly 5 centuries ago by François Ier. I intend to make the Imprimerie Nationale's future live up to its past. To do so, I can rely on the quality and diversity of our know-how, on our exceptional technologies and skills: craftsmen, cryptologists, electronic engineers, computer scientists… The entire staff shares a strong confidentiality culture in a highly secure environment.

Do you believe that the Imprimerie Nationale has become a high-tech company?

Absolutely. The Imprimerie Nationale belongs to a highly technological and constantly changing industrial sector. It has had to adapt quickly in order to the meet market needs and evolve towards an integrated service offer. This evolution has implied a thorough change in people and solutions. I have driven the group towards what it is today: a reliable and secure solution integrator for documents for the State, Sate agencies, citizens and private businesses.

Tell us more about the company: what is the Imprimerie Nationale's core activity? What are its tasks?

As the name suggests, we are a national operator. The State has entrusted us with the securitization and the personalization of official identity documents: electronic passports, and since 2008, biometric passports, driving licences, visas, professional agent cards…and soon, I hope, the electronic national identity card. Our second core activity is the management of physical and digitized flows. In addition to our expertise as a printing company, the graphic platform enables us to offer global and integrated "turnkey" solutions, from the design and production to the storage and dispatching, of management documents, administrative and fiscal papers.

Today, what is your main strategic priority?

We are relying on the leadership of our graphic platform to develop our dematerialization field of expertise. It is the logical continuity of our past as a printing office.

What part does the Imprimerie Nationale play in dematerialization?

The Imprimerie Nationale intends to guide users, companies and authorities during the transition from paper to immaterial.

Can you give us an example?

Let's take the Car Registration Card: The Imprimerie Nationale manages its production, but also the enterprise output management that goes with it. The Imprimerie Nationale oversees the security of all digital exchanges with the prefecture or the employee who has filed the request. The Imprimerie Nationale then personalizes and rematerializes the document before sending it to the car owner by recorded mail. In the near future, a secure digital safe will enable every user to store his/her personal and confidential data. The user will then be able to access this data if his/her documents are stolen or lost. Everyone will benefit from a faster renewal process and simplified administrative procedures.

What are the advantages of dematerialization for companies?

The risks incurred by dematerialization can be turned into a great opportunity: time-saving, increased efficiency and productivity, cost sharing…

Does this evolution also apply to business exchanges within companies?

Yes. We are currently developing a secure platform for the dematerialized management of invoices and pay slips in order to cut costs, facilitate exchanges within companies, simplify customer-supplier relations, and offer integrated services of enterprise output management and archiving to State agencies and private businesses.

Are you also competent when it comes to managing the dispatching of personalized bulk mail?

We can fall back on years of experience as a State operator for the securitization, personalization, production and dispatching of bulk mail. Tens of millions letters are handled every year by the Imprimerie Nationale: driving licence, cheque-letters… and the list of confidential data handled goes. The group is a secure and reliable operator for Enterprise Output Management and Personalized Mail. The data is digitally imported via our secure network, personalized, printed, put in envelops and pre-sorted for dispatching. Enterprise Output Management not only ensures graphic quality, it also ensures cost and time savings thanks to the use of industrial processes for bulk mails. Personalized mail enables the centralization of digital mails from different sources and the mutualisation of their personalized dispatching, thus cutting production costs in four!

Why is security so important in data processing?

Today, the protection of people and goods entails data protection. One must be able to authenticate a document or an electronic data at all times. One must be able to ensure the sustainability and security of flows and dematerialized archives. Many companies are weary when it comes to outsourcing the archiving of sensitive data, such as human resources files containing confidential data regarding their employees. With the Imprimerie Nationale, they can be reassured. As an authority in proof management, our group ensures the authentication of digital signatures, its timestamp and the safeguarding of the original over time.

What level of confidentiality can you offer a company?

The following guarantee our level of confidentiality and set both citizens and chairmen at rest: the Imprimerie Nationale has a code of ethics, it is committed to confidentiality, complies to the Règlement Général de Sûreté, is a member of the Fédération Nationale des Tiers de Confiance (trusted third party national federation) and Fedisa, works in close collaboration with the Agence Nationale de Sécurité des Systèmes d'Information (National Agency for the security of information systems) and is frequently audited by the CNIL (National Commission for IT and Freedom).

Do the same ethics and security rules apply to private businesses and public agencies?

Yes, the same ethics and security rules apply to the management of confidential data for the private sector. But of course, the processes for public and private sectors are separate.

What is the added value in terms of security?

Our core activities, including dematerialization, have been centralized in our production plant near Douai. Early 2010, at the regional prefect's proposal, together with the Secretary General for National Defence reporting to the Prime Minister, a bye-law was approved by the Minister for the Economy and Finances, listing the site of Douai as an Operator of Vital Importance (OIV). It is the highest level of security for a company.

Can you give us an example illustrating your legitimacy as a trusted third party?

Since 2005, the Department for Transport has entrusted us (public service delegation agreement) with the production of tachograph cards. Tachograph cards are mandatory for coaches and lorries. From now on drivers can make a dematerialized online request via our ChronoServices subsidiary, the card is then made and issued. Chronoservices manages the card's 5 year life cycle: replacement if the card is either lost or stolen, renewal, assistance for users and secure archiving of all digitized files.

This expertise as a trusted third party broadens your horizons for the private sector…

Ad infinitum… As you can see, the Imprimerie Nationale offers a wide range of solid and legitimate solutions. The group uses cutting edge technologies. The Imprimerie Nationale is an integrator of secure and reliable solutions for citizen and private sector documents.

« Since my appointment as CEO in September 2009, I have repositioned the company around three core security and trust activities », declared Didier Trutt, CEO of the Imprimerie Nationale Group.

In his interview with AISG, Dider Trutt goes over these three core activities: authentication of people and goods, graphic services for the management of administrative and fiscal documents, and securitization of the dematerialization process. Thomson's former Deputy Chief Executive Officer elaborates on the relations between the Imprimerie Nationale and groups like Gemalto, Sagem or Oberthur. According to Didier Trutt, « they are partners rather than competitors», if you consider that the Imprimerie is an « integrator » of cutting edge technologies, such as those used for the biometric passport. When asked about the possible development of an electronic identity card, the CEO declares that the company is technically ready for it. On the whole, he believes that the company is ready to « expand its range of services », and in particular to secure the issue chain for identity documents.

The Imprimerie Nationale, became a private company with state capital 1993, and has since greatly evolved. The first smart cards were made in 2000. In 2002, the Imprimerie was entrusted by the state (public service delegation agreement) to produce and issue tachograph cards (a card for lorry drivers). And in 2005 the group reorganized it activities, focusing on secure documents, mainly for governments. In 2006, the Council of State stopped the Home Office from entrusting Oberthur with the partial production of the biometric passport and confirmed the monopoly granted to the Imprimerie Nationale by law 31st December 1993 (1). All fiduciary workshops were relocated to Douai. The site was modernized and secured.

AISG : What are the Imprimerie Nationale's activities and how have they evolved?

Didier Trutt : Today, the Imprimerie Nationale represents 15 million secure documents per year, 650 000 smart cards for the tachograph card which is compulsory for coaches and lorries, 20 000 passports per day at peak times, 20 000 car registration cards per hour, but also countless agent cards, cheques, driving licences, or digitized flows for dematerialized invoices and pay slips. The Imprimerie Nationale Group is a technology integrator, a service operator and a secure solution provider. Since my appointment as CEO in September 2009, I have repositioned the company around three core security and trust activities. We are experts in the authentication of people and goods and have been commissioned by the State to produce official identity documents (monopoly) (1). Falling back on five centuries of experience as a printing office, we have developed a graphic platform for the turnkey management of administrative and fiscal documents. To help our institutional and private partners, public authorities and privates businesses, with dematerialization we offer secure hosting, traceability and proof management solutions.

AISG : Who are your clients?

Didier Trutt : State departments (Ecology, Health and Sports, Defence, Budget, Home Office…), governmental and paragovernmental organizations (ANTS, La Poste, Onisep, SNCF), banks (Société générale, Crédit agricole…) and private businesses (groupe Chèque déjeuner, France Telecom, Schneider Electric…). The Imprimerie Nationale is often thought of as a somewhat old-fashioned printing office overflowing with punches and books! Punches and books are a noble part of our activities at the Atelier du Livre d'Art et de l'Estampe, but it is not the only one. Far from it! Our production plant near Douai is the jewel of French cutting edge technology know-how. For example, we have recently developed electronic cards for municipal police officers, which secure access to infrastructure and to information systems (digital signature, access recording). These cards should be issued in the next few weeks. They can be adapted to other sensitive professions.

AISG : You refer to the Imprimerie Nationale as a technology integrator. Can you explain what that entails?

Didier Trutt : Take the biometric passport for example: we superimpose multiple security layers. We incorporate a microchip and an antenna, holograms, cryptographic technologies, biometry…We combine the best and most up to date technologies, and they happen to be French. We make sure to always be at the leading edge of technology. Regardless of what new technologies arrive, we shall be capable of incorporating them in our products.

AISG : In 2006, the Council of State stopped the Home Office from entrusting Oberthur with the partial production of the biometric passport thus confirming your monopoly (1). Consequently, have your suppliers become your competitors?

Didier Trutt : They are our partners, not our competitors. Since the confirmation in 2006 of the Imprimerie Nationale's monopoly for the design and production of governmental documents (electronic passport, and in the near future the electronic ID card), we have confirmed our ability to accomplish our governmental mission by identifying and incorporating all cutting edge technologies. The French passport, for example, incorporates three different electronic components supplied to us by the three French leading players in the field. Gemalto, Oberthur or Sagem are not our competitors. They have become key suppliers and can build on their experience with the Imprimerie Nationale, in France, for their activities abroad. We are also working together on EU standardisation, and, increasingly on export. The Imprimerie Nationale is an « agnostic » integrator, but also a service operator and is therefore complementary to these big electronic manufacturers, each with their own competing technologies.

AISG : What stage is the electronic ID card at and what part will you play (AISG n°807 et n°649)?

Didier Trutt : Technically and industrially, we are ready. We have tested prototypes and the feasibility of our various options. We are now ready to integrate all the different levels of security, which will make forgery impossible. It is no longer up to us. We work for the State and for citizens. France has been considering the electronic ID card since 2005. If we don't make up our minds soon, France may fall behind in the sector. We cannot promote French technologies abroad without our own national project. The medium represents one difficulty: a polycarbonate card instead of a paper card. ANTS, the Imprimerie Nationale and several other industrials have worked together to devise a polycarbonate card with the same fiduciary quality as basic identity paper. The ID card also needed to be « intelligent »: to enable services such as online authentication, and the dematerialization of certain administrative procedures. The selected design includes two microchips on one highly secure medium that we guarantee all these functionality.

AISG : The security of your site and processes is clearly a priority for the Imprimerie Nationale. Yet fraud persists (AISG n°181). How can we fight against it?

Didier Trutt : Our industrial process is secure. Potential flaws usually occur before our intervention. However, we increasingly work with the ANTS (for passports) in order to reinforce the securitization of the document request and personalization chain. The Imprimerie Nationale manages the entire process of several other documents instead of public authorities: from request to delivery. Such is the case of the tachograph car and, more recently, of the Driver Qualification Card. We are ready to expand our services. We could, for example, store citizen documents in a digital safe. Each citizen could then access his document if it is lost or stolen.

AISG : What are your relations with ANTS?

Didier Trutt : In France, the issuing process of fiduciary documents is secured by both the Imprimerie and ANTS. ANTS focuses on the standardisation and the definition of interoperable solutions. In the future, we intend to become partners.

AISG : What will be the Imprimerie Nationale's main issues in years to come?

Didier Trutt : The evolution of the digital world and the increasing security constraints associated with it compel us to continuously take our skills to the next level. We pay particular attention to sustainable archiving of personal or sensitive data, the development of digital safes, the guarantee of the probative value of digitized documents.

The spotted black and brown salamander is a well-loved pet and an endangered species. The Imprimerie Nationale (IN) is not (no longer) an endangered species. What is the link between the two? As a tribute to François 1er, the amphibian has become the Imprimerie Nationale's trademark. François 1er, the IN's founder, had chosen this legendary reptile, renown for its affinity with fire, as his royal emblem. The IN came close to extinction several times. In 2002, its contract with France Telecom for the production of the French phone directory was not renewed. The Imprimerie Nationale consequently lost 40% of its annual turnover. Two redundancy plans and 65 million euros (government money) later, the IN can start afresh. Since its high-tech revolution, « the Imprimerie Nationale has become more than a printing office, it is a solution and technology integrator», affirms Didier Trutt, the man who replaced Loïc Lenoir de la Cochettière, the CEO who, amidst social tensions, had been illegally confined a whole afternoon by his employees at Flers en Escrebieux.

Municipal police officer cards.

The company has evolved from paper to immaterial. The biometric passport, its flagship product (10 000 to 20 000 per day), incorporates a panoply of security technologies: holograms, sparkle effects, dichroic inks, micro-letters… « 100% of these technologies are French », adds Didier Trutt. The Banque de France cannot do any better with regard to bank notes. Today 100% of passports are produced in record time: under three days. In the fiduciary sector, the fight against falsification and forgery is not limited to passports. Intelligent technologies are incorporated into agent cards and municipal police officer cards. The IN will start producing municipal police officer cards this coming June. The former Imperial Printing office has become a precursor of dematerialisation, e-government administration, but also a secure host for the safeguarding and exchange of electronic documents. The IN has mastered the art of document management (mail, archiving, enterprise output management…). « We are selling more and more processing solutions, says Didier Trutt. Very few printing offices in France can offer such a large range of crafts».

The IN can rely on strong subsidiaries, such as ChronoServices, 100% IN-owned and located on the same site. In 2005, the Department of Transport entrusted Chronoservices (public service delegation agreement) with the production and management of an electronic device which records on a smart card and which is fitted to lorries. It represents a huge technical leap. The old chronotachograph is long gone!

The Imprimerie Nationale produces secure documents on behalf of the State. As announced on Wednesday, the Imprimerie Nationale is currently working on ways to cut the biometric passport's lead time to two days. "The Home Office intends to simplify administrative procedures and improve relations with users ", "working alongside the Home Office and the ANTS (Agence nationale des titres sécurisés), the Imprimerie Nationale has set itself a goal: the production should not exceed two days after data reception".

Since 2006 and in compliance with its contractual obligations, the Imprimerie Nationale personalizes electronic passports in a maximum of six days.

In 2009, 90% of passports were personalized in less than three days. Since January 2010, 100% of passports are produced in less than three days.

Passports are produced in two stages, production and personalization.

Production entails the incorporation of a panoply of security features such as watermarks, relief, holograms, iridescent and guilloche backgrounds, micro-letters, security inks and sparkle effects, thus making them counterfeit-proof and reducing the risk of identity fraud.

Personalization entails the graphic incorporation of the holder's photograph, an electronic authentication certificate and personal data, which are then encrypted and secured in the passport's microchip. Depending on the demand, the Imprimerie Nationale produces between 10.000 and 20.000 passports per day.

Since 2006, nearly 11 million electronic passports, including nearly two million biometric passports, have been made at the Imprimerie Nationale's highly secure site in Douai.

The Imprimerie Nationale produces 15 million secure documents each year.