The CMG for childminders, or complément de libre choix du mode de garde (the French childcare allowance) for parents who employ their carer directly, helps families who employ a registered childminder (assistante maternelle agréée). Since September 2025, the amount has been calculated hour by hour. It depends on household income, the number of children, the hourly cost of care and the number of hours. The Caf (Caisse d'allocations familiales, the French family benefits office) or the MSA (the farming sector's social security fund) opens the entitlement, then Pajemploi (the national service for parents who employ childcare staff) calculates and pays the allowance each month.
This article sets out the current rules based on the official Service-Public.fr fact sheet, checked on 26 June 2026, and the presentation of the reform published by the Caf in 2025.
Who can claim the CMG for a childminder?
Three main conditions apply, according to Service-Public.fr.
- The child's age. Your child must be under 6. For single parents, the CMG can be paid until the child turns 12, since September 2025.
- Work. The parent, or both members of a couple, must be in work. Daily benefit payments (indemnités journalières), paid unemployment benefit and paid training all count as work.
- Employing a registered childminder, declared to Pajemploi every month.
The work requirement does not apply to students, people doing civic service (service civique) or those receiving the adult disability allowance. It is also waived, under certain conditions, for some recipients of the RSA (minimum income benefit) or the ASS (a long-term unemployment allowance). Self-employed workers must be up to date with their pension contributions.
What the September 2025 reform changed
The new calculation method has applied automatically since the September 2025 declaration. Families who were already receiving the CMG did not need to make a new claim. According to the Caf, the reform brought several changes.
- A linear, hour-by-hour calculation. Every hour of care now counts.
- No more age bands. The distinction between children under 3 and those aged 3 to 6 has gone.
- The end of the 15% minimum contribution. This rule, which left families paying at least 15% of the cost, has been abolished, as has the flat-rate monthly cap.
- The end of the 16-hour threshold of care per month, scrapped on 1 September 2025.
- Extension to age 12 for single-parent families.
Since 1 December 2025, where a child lives alternately with each parent, each parent can receive their own CMG for the hours of care they pay for. This is not a split of one amount, but two separate entitlements.
How is the CMG for a childminder calculated?
The presentation published by the Caf describes a three-step formula. It follows the same logic as the nursery fee scale: the family pays an hourly contribution linked to its income, and the allowance covers the rest.
- Family's hourly contribution = monthly income × hourly effort rate.
- Monthly out-of-pocket cost = hourly contribution × number of hours of care in the month.
- CMG = net cost of care, excluding contributions, minus this out-of-pocket cost.
The hourly cost taken into account includes net pay, maintenance allowances and meal costs. It counts up to an hourly cap. Above the cap, the part of the rate that exceeds it is paid entirely by the family.
Reference values published for 2025
- Reference hourly rate for a childminder: €4.85. It is uprated in line with the Smic (the French minimum wage).
- Hourly cap for a childminder: €8.
- Effort rate for a family with one dependent child: 0.0619%. It falls as the number of children rises.
- Monthly income taken into account: a minimum of €815 and a maximum of €8,500, whatever the make-up of the household.
When the actual rate exceeds the reference rate, the formula is adjusted and the extra cost is shared between the family branch of French social security and the parents. These are the 2025 values: the official simulator gives the up-to-date amount for your situation.
A worked example
The Caf gives the example of a family with one child, looked after by a childminder, and a monthly income of €2,000. Its contribution is €1.24 per hour of care. Its out-of-pocket cost comes to €62 for 50 hours in the month, €124 for 100 hours and €248 for 200 hours.
Let's apply the formula to 180 hours of care billed at €688 in the month, or €3.82 an hour, the figure quoted by the Caf. The family's contribution comes to around €223. The CMG therefore covers around €465, excluding social security contributions. This calculation illustrates the formula; it is not an official simulation.
Social security contributions covered at 100%
When you employ a registered childminder, social security contributions are covered at 100%. For a nanny at home, the coverage is 50%, up to a cap. The 2025 reform did not change this. As the employer, the parent therefore only pays the salary and allowances, minus the CMG.
The transitional top-up for families who lose out
Some families received more under the old calculation. A transitional top-up, paid automatically by Pajemploi, makes up part of the difference. It equals the difference between the average CMG received from March to May 2025 and the CMG recalculated over the same period. The amount is fixed once and for all.
It is subject to a requirement of sufficient use of childcare and to an income cap. For a couple with one child, the Caf gives a cap of €53,119. The top-up stops in September of the year the child turns 3, or at age 6 if the child was born before 2022. The CMG and the top-up together cannot exceed 90% of the net cost of care.
How to apply: Caf, MSA and Pajemploi
- Initial claim to the Caf, or to the MSA for the agricultural scheme. A family not yet receiving benefits first creates a Caf account.
- Registering with Pajemploi as an employer, then declaring pay every month.
- Calculation and payment of the CMG by Pajemploi, which then shows what you still have to pay.
- Pajemploi+, optional and with the employee's agreement: the salary net of the CMG is debited two days after the declaration, then paid to the employee three days later.
The CMG can be combined with the PreParE (the shared parental childcare benefit) if you work part-time. With the additional birth leave (congé supplémentaire de naissance), the two cannot generally be combined for the same child. An exception applies to children born between 1 January and 30 June 2026.
The CMG among the other Paje benefits
The CMG is part of the Paje (prestation d'accueil du jeune enfant, the French early childhood benefit), alongside the birth grant and the basic allowance. These benefits combine to reduce the real cost of the first year, set out in our article on the cost of a baby in the first year.
Ideally, prepare your claim during your leave, before going back to work: the dates are explained in our article on how long maternity leave lasts.
Choosing between a nursery, a childminder and a nanny at home is not just about cost. Our guide to childcare options in France compares all three. Before the first day, our checklist of what to pack for the childminder helps you get everything ready.
Rules specific to separated and single-parent families are covered in our articles on shared custody and on being a solo parent.
Key takeaways
Since September 2025, the CMG for childminders has been calculated hour by hour, based on income, the number of children, the hourly cost and the amount of care. The 15% minimum contribution has gone. Contributions are still covered at 100%. Single parents are entitled to it until the child turns 12, and so is each parent in a shared-residence arrangement since December 2025.
Sources
- Service-Public.fr, “Complément de libre choix du mode de garde (CMG): emploi direct”, fact sheet F39152, checked on 26 June 2026.
- Caisse nationale des allocations familiales, “Réforme du CMG emploi direct 2025”, presentation for Caf offices and early childhood support centres (relais petite enfance), 2025 (July update).
- Caf de La Réunion, “Réforme du CMG: une aide plus adaptée aux familles dès septembre 2025”, 20 June 2025.
- Service-Public.fr, “Complément de libre choix du mode de garde (CMG): structure”, fact sheet F345, checked on 1 April 2026.
