In short
Are there acoustic regulations for offices in France?
There are no acoustic regulations specific to office buildings, apart from particular cases such as noise from technical equipment; the Labour Code mainly targets rooms where noise exceeds 85 dB(A) (art. R4213-5). The references are voluntary standards: NF S31-080 (revised in October 2025) for offices and NF ISO 22955 for open-plan spaces. They become binding when written into the brief and the works contracts.
- The answer lies in design: separate activities, absorb, insulate rooms, provide refuges, agree on how spaces are used.
- A few decorative panels improve reverberation, rarely confidentiality.
- NF ISO 22955 (October 2021) replaced NF S31-199 for open-plan offices.
What is mandatory
There are no acoustic regulations specific to office buildings, apart from particular cases (noise from technical equipment in particular). The French Labour Code mainly addresses premises where equipment may expose workers to more than 85 dB(A): there, reverberation is reduced and the propagation of noise is limited (art. R4213-5). An ordinary office is not in this situation.
What is voluntary, but can be made contractual
The NF S31-080 standard sets acoustic performance levels for offices and associated spaces; it was revised in October 2025. For open-plan spaces, the NF ISO 22955 standard (October 2021), which replaced NF S31-199, sets acoustic quality criteria specific to open-plan offices. These standards are voluntary: they become binding when they are written into the brief and the works contracts. Inadequate acoustics can, moreover, make a building unfit for its intended purpose.
Design rather than correct
- Separate activities: quiet zones away from circulation routes, cafés and heavily used rooms.
- Absorb: acoustically treated ceilings, floors, furniture and walls, especially in large volumes.
- Insulate meeting rooms and enclosed offices: partitions, doors, plenums, ducts.
- Provide refuges: phone booths, focus rooms and quiet rooms in sufficient numbers.
- Agree on how spaces are used: calls, video conferences, rules for quiet zones.
Decorative panels improve the reverberation of a room, but rarely speech privacy or the disturbance caused by nearby conversations. Zoning and sound insulation matter more.