FFT padel licence: 2027 prices, types and how to get one

Contents — 12 parts

1. What is a padel licence for?
2. Types of licence in 2027
3. How much does a padel licence cost?
4. How do you get a licence?
5. Do you need a medical certificate for a padel licence?
6. What insurance does the licence include?
7. How long is the licence valid?
8. Can you get a licence just for one tournament?
9. The licence for children and teenagers
10. Once licensed: where do you start?
11. In short
12. Frequently asked questions

For the 2027 season, which runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027, the FFT (French Tennis Federation) licence costs €33 for an adult taking it out at a club (€23 for ages 7 to 18, €13 for age 6 and under), or €51 online without a club (€36 for a junior). There is no longer a separate “padel” licence: a single licence, the Club FFT licence, covers tennis, padel, beach tennis and pickleball. You do not need one to play a game with friends at a centre; to enter a sanctioned tournament and get a ranking, it is compulsory.

This guide goes through the four licences that actually exist this season, their price, what each one allows, how to get one on Ten’Up or at a club, the medical certificate rule, and the case of under-18s. All the amounts come from documents published by the FFT for the 2027 sporting year.

What is a padel licence for?

The licence is your membership of the FFT, the federation that has governed padel in France since 2014. In practice, it opens three things for you:

• Official competitions. To enter a pairs tournament, the federation’s 2027 guide requires players to “hold an FFT licence for the current year (Club or Web licence) by the entry deadline set by the organiser”. Without a valid licence on that date, there is no entry, from P25 to P3000.
• A ranking. Every result in a sanctioned tournament earns points, and those points make up your national rank. We explain the calculation in our article on the FFT padel ranking.
• Insurance and federation benefits. The Club FFT licence includes insurance linked to playing, and the federation states that “ALL available benefits will be available to ALL licence holders”, including priority access to Roland-Garros tickets with a 10% discount.

What it is not: an entry ticket to padel centres. Most private centres rent out their courts by the hour without asking for anything. That is why many regular players are not licensed: at the end of August 2026, the FFT counted 150,500 padel licences for an estimated 850,000 or so players (see padel in France in figures).

Types of licence in 2027

The big news this season is the single licence. Voted through on 10 January by the FFT’s general assembly and available at clubs since 12 May 2026, the Club FFT licence replaces the old discipline-specific licences. The federation puts it bluntly: there is “no longer any single-discipline annual licence”. Its price is that of the old 2025-2026 multi-racket licence, which the FFT describes as “unchanged”.

Alongside it are three shorter or more specific options.

The Club FFT licence

This is the standard licence. You get it by joining a club affiliated to the FFT, whether you play for fun or in competition, and it entitles you to a ranking in each discipline. The €33 (or €23, or €13) is the federation’s share: the club adds its own membership fee, which it sets freely and which often includes court access, sometimes lessons. There is therefore no single “club licence price” in France: compare the memberships of clubs around you, bearing in mind that the licence is only part of the cost.

The non-club licence (formerly the Web licence)

This is the answer to the question “padel licence without a club”. Taken out online, it costs €51 for an adult and €36 for a junior, excluding tournament entry fees, and it is valid until 31 August of the current season. It gives access to sanctioned tournaments in France at every level, which is enough for most players from private centres who want to try competing. It costs €18 more than an adult club licence, but with no club membership fee to pay.

Its limit: the pairs championships (departmental, regional and national) and the interclub competitions require you to be attached to a padel club in your Ten’Up account, an attachment the club has to approve. If those events interest you, going through a club is the normal route.

The Discovery licence

It costs €4, lasts three months at most and can only be taken once per season. It is aimed at unlicensed people who want to discover padel, tennis, pickleball or beach tennis, or come back after a break. The regional committees state that no medical certificate is required. On the other hand, it gives access to no competition at all: no sanctioned tournament and no team event, unless it is converted into a club licence. Adults can take it all year round; for under-15s, it is only available at the end of the season, from late March depending on the committee.

The School licence

Reserved for children aged 15 or under taking part in a school or after-school programme registered by a club, it also costs €4 for three months and does not allow competition. It can be converted into an annual licence during the year.

How much does a padel licence cost?

In short, for an adult, the licence itself costs €33 at a club or €51 without a club. The real budget depends on everything else: the club membership fee if you choose one, then the tournament entry fees, set by each organiser. The federation’s 2027 guide specifies that the club decides whether online payment on Ten’Up is compulsory; payment then goes through a HelloAsso account. To see where the licence fits among a season’s expenses (court hire, lessons, equipment), read our article how much does padel cost.

How do you get a licence?

At a club

1. Choose an FFT-affiliated club that has padel courts.
2. Join the club: it issues the Club FFT licence along with your membership.
3. If you are under 18, hand in the declaration linked to the health questionnaire (see below).
4. Your licence appears in your Ten’Up account. If you take out your licence at a club with padel courts and had no attachment the previous season, you are attached to it by default for padel.

A useful point if your club is a tennis club without courts: you can request a padel attachment to another club from Ten’Up, which that club must approve in its software. For the pairs championships and interclub competitions, this attachment must appear in Ten’Up by 11.59 pm on 31 December 2026 at the latest.

Online, without a club

1. Create your account on Ten’Up (website or app).
2. Take out the non-club licence and pay online (€51 adult, €36 junior).
3. You can then enter sanctioned tournaments, provided the licence is valid on the tournament’s entry deadline.

Do you need a medical certificate for a padel licence?

For an adult, no. Since the sport law of 2 March 2022 lets each federation set its own rule after consulting its medical committee, the FFT has approved, according to its club officials’ guide, “the removal of the medical certificate, as well as declarations, for the issue of a licence to an adult player”. This applies both to issuing and to renewing a licence, including if you play tournaments.

For under-18s, it is a questionnaire. You must present a declaration signed by the parents stating that every section of the health questionnaire specific to minors has been answered “no”. If a single answer is “yes”, a medical certificate of fitness less than six months old is required. The questionnaire can be filled in directly on Ten’Up, where you can also upload a certificate for your club.

Two special cases appear in the 2027 sporting regulations: a young player competing three age categories up must present the referee with a certificate of fitness for competitive padel less than six months old, issued by a sports doctor; and a player who withdraws through injury must provide a medical certificate to the referee within the week following the tournament. The removal of the certificate for the licence does not replace medical advice if in doubt: a check-up with your doctor is still a good idea if you are coming back to sport after a long break.

What insurance does the licence include?

The Club FFT licence includes insurance covering play, in France and abroad, according to the Grand Est regional league. The federation’s guide also points out that clubs and federations must inform their members of the benefit of taking out an insurance policy. Details of the cover and limits are in the season’s insurance notice, available from your club or on the FFT website: we do not reproduce it here, as it may change from one season to the next.

How long is the licence valid?

One sporting season, from 1 September to 31 August, whatever date you take it out. The 2027 licence is therefore valid from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027; taken out in April, it is only good for five months. The licence year is named after the year in which the season ends. Only the Discovery and School licences follow a different logic: three months at most, without going beyond the end of the season.

Can you get a licence just for one tournament?

There is no day licence. For a one-off tournament, the simplest solution is the €51 non-club licence, taken out online a few days before entries close. The €4 Discovery licence will not do: it excludes all competition. Check the tournament’s category too: P25s are the most accessible, and our guide to the first P25 tournament explains how to enter, who with, and what to expect.

FFT tournaments are played with the golden point or advantage, not with the Star Point of the professional tour: if you come from recreational padel, a look at the rules of padel avoids surprises on the day.

The licence for children and teenagers

The junior club rate is €23 for ages 7 to 18 and €13 for age 6 and under; online, the junior licence costs €36. On the competition side, the regulations set age categories (U10, U12, U14, U16, U18) calculated over the sporting year, and bar children aged 8 and under from competing. To equip a young player without handing them an adult racket that is too heavy, see our guide to the children’s padel racket.

Once licensed: where do you start?

The licence does not make the player. Before the first tournament, two or three months of regular play and a few group lessons do more for your results than any piece of equipment; our guide to learning padel sets out the steps in order. On the equipment side, a forgiving racket handles the off-centre hits of those first matches under pressure better: the SCUD Wood W1, teardrop-shaped and 350 g, is the most forgiving in our range, and the SCUD White S3 suits players who already want more touch. And if the competitive bug really bites, the French Championships show where the pyramid leads.

In short

• Since 1 September 2026, a single licence, the Club FFT licence, covers padel, tennis, beach tennis and pickleball.
• It costs €33 for an adult at a club (€23 for ages 7 to 18, €13 for age 6 and under), on top of the membership fee set by the club.
• Without a club, the non-club licence is bought online: €51 for an adult, €36 for a junior, with access to sanctioned tournaments.
• The Discovery licence (€4, three months) lets you try the sport, but not play in tournaments.
• No medical certificate for an adult; a health questionnaire for under-18s. Validity: from 1 September to 31 August.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a padel licence cost in 2027?

€33 for an adult taking it out at a club, plus the club membership fee, and €51 for an adult taking it out online without a club. Juniors pay €23 at a club (ages 7 to 18) or €36 online, and children aged 6 and under €13.

Can you have a padel licence without a club?

Yes. The non-club licence, formerly the Web licence, is taken out online on Ten’Up for €51 (€36 for a junior) and gives access to sanctioned tournaments. It is not enough for the pairs championships and interclub competitions, which require attachment to a padel club, approved by that club.

Do you need a licence to play padel?

No, not to play for fun: padel centres rent out their courts without asking for a licence. It becomes compulsory to take part in an FFT-sanctioned competition and appear in the ranking.

Do you need a medical certificate to get a padel licence?

Not for an adult: the FFT has scrapped the certificate and declarations for issuing and renewing a licence for anyone aged 18 or over. An under-18 must provide a declaration from their parents linked to the health questionnaire, and a certificate less than six months old if any answer is “yes”.

Until when is my licence valid?

Until the following 31 August, whatever the date you took it out. The 2027 licence runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027. It has to be renewed every season.

Does the multi-racket licence still exist?

Not under that name. The Club FFT licence for the 2027 season has replaced it, keeping its principle (every discipline with a single licence) and its €33 adult price. Padel-only licences have disappeared.

For everything else, from your first game to your first tournament, our complete guide to learning padel takes you through it step by step.

Sources

1. Le guide de la compétition padel, année sportive 2027 — Chapitre I, Règles générales — Fédération française de tennis (FFT)
2. Tout savoir sur la licence Club FFT — Fédération française de tennis (FFT)
3. Inscription d'un membre (certificat médical et questionnaire de santé) — Fédération française de tennis (FFT), guide du dirigeant
4. Les licences — Comité Drôme-Ardèche de tennis (FFT)
5. Les licences FFT — Ligue Grand Est de tennis (FFT)
6. Une nouvelle licence pour la saison 2026/2027 — Comité du Finistère de tennis (FFT)
7. FFT : tout ce qui change dans le règlement padel pour la saison 2027 — Padel Magazine, 16 July 2026
8. Padel en France : 850 000 pratiquants, 4 520 pistes… la croissance change d'échelle — Padel Magazine, 9 September 2026