End of the AEM: the DSN / AER CS reform for intermittents du spectacle

The AEM (Attestation Employeur Mensuelle, monthly employer attestation), the document your employers send you after each shoot and that France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) uses for your rights, is on its way out. In its place, France Travail will itself produce an attestation from the DSN (nominative social declaration) your employer already sends. Here is what changes, when, and what it means for tracking your 507 hours.

What changes: the AEM replaced by the AER CS

Today, your employer produces two things every month: a DSN (nominative social declaration) for social security contributions, and an AEM for your France Travail rights. The reform removes this duplication. The employer will no longer send an AEM: they will declare everything in the DSN, and France Travail will generate your attestation from that data.

This new document is called the AER CS (rematerialised employer attestation), sometimes written “AE CS”. You receive it per employer and per month, like the AEM today. For a long contract running over several months, a single AER CS is issued at the end.

Why the change

The idea is to simplify: a single declaration, the DSN, serves both to collect contributions and to calculate your rights. Less data entry for the employer, and in theory fewer AEMs forgotten or late on the intermittent side. It is the same underlying move the DSN has already imposed across the rest of the workforce, applied this time to the entertainment scheme.

The timeline (indicative dates, to be confirmed)

The rollout happens in waves, employer by employer, not overnight:

Since mid-2025: pilot phase. Some structures have already switched to the DSN, others have not.
2026: transition period. Depending on your employer, you still receive classic AEMs, or already attestations produced from the DSN. During this phase, some documents generated by France Travail carry the mention “specimen”.
Around early 2027: generalisation planned across all employers in the cultural sector.

These are the announced dates and they may move. Always check the latest information on the France Travail website or with your employer.

In practice, what changes for you

How your rights are calculated does not change: you still need your hours and cachets over the reference period. What changes is where the information comes from and what you need to watch.

The document is no longer issued by the employer but by France Travail, from the DSN.
As before, you must check that each period appears correctly: name of the structure, number of hours or cachets, gross pay, period worked. These details also appear on your payslips.
If a worked period does not appear, the reflex changes. It is no longer a missing AEM to claim: it is a DSN that was not filed or is wrong. You contact the employer concerned directly so they correct their declaration.

What stays the same

Your payslips: same format, same rhythm.
Your entertainment leave slips (congés spectacles).
Your monthly status update with France Travail: your periods remain pre-filled.
The 507-hour counter and the review: it is still the total of hours and cachets over 12 months that opens your rights.

The impact on your 507-hour counter

On the substance, nothing moves: you still need your 507 hours over the reference period. But because the source becomes the employer’s DSN, a declaration error feeds straight into your rights. Checking your declared hours, month by month, becomes even more important during the transition, especially if you juggle employers who have already switched to the DSN and others still on the AEM.

The pitfalls of the transition period

Two systems in parallel: over a single year, you may have AEMs and DSN-based attestations. Keep everything.
“Specimen” documents: during the pilot, some France Travail attestations are not final. Do not throw them away, but do not base a firm calculation on them.
Late hours: an employer who files their DSN late can delay your hours appearing. Always cross-check against your signed timesheets and your payslips.

Intermittor and the reform

Intermittor currently imports your AEM PDF to update your 507-hour counter automatically. The app will be updated to handle the AER CS as soon as the new format is in circulation: import of the France Travail attestation PDF, reading of hours and cachets, continuous tracking of your 507 hours, exactly as it does today with the AEM.

The aim is simple: that you change nothing in the way you track your rights during the switchover. You import whichever document you receive, whether it is called AEM or AER CS, and the counter stays up to date. → See Intermittor

Frequently asked questions

Is the AEM really going to disappear?

Yes. The reform replaces the monthly employer attestation (AEM) with an attestation generated by France Travail from the DSN: the AER CS. The rollout is gradual, employer by employer: it began in 2025 and is set to be generalised by 2026-2027. As long as your employer has not switched to the DSN, you keep receiving your usual AEMs.

What is the AER CS?

The AER CS, short for attestation employeur rematérialisée cinéma spectacle (the rematerialised employer attestation, cinema and live performance), sometimes written “AE CS”, is the document that replaces the AEM. It is produced by France Travail from the DSN sent by the employer, and no longer by the employer themselves. You receive it per employer and per month, like the AEM.

When does the reform come into force?

The rollout happens in waves. A pilot phase began in 2025; 2026 is a transition period during which AEMs and DSN-based attestations coexist depending on the employer; and the generalisation across the whole sector is planned for around early 2027. These dates are indicative and may change: refer to France Travail for the latest information.

What should I check on my attestation?

The same details as before: the name of the structure employing you, the number of hours or cachets, the gross pay and the period worked. Cross-check against your payslips and your signed timesheets. Because the information now comes from the employer’s DSN, a declaration error directly affects your rights.

What should I do if a worked period does not appear?

If a period does not appear, it is usually because the DSN was not filed or contains an error. Contact the employer concerned directly so they correct or send their declaration. Keep your payslips and timesheets as evidence until it is put right.

Does the reform change how the 507 hours are calculated?

No. You still need 507 hours (or the equivalent in cachets) over your 12-month reference period to open or renew your rights. What changes is the source of the document that proves your hours — the DSN instead of the AEM — and therefore how important it is to check your employers’ declarations.

Will Intermittor handle the AER CS?

Yes. Intermittor currently imports the AEM PDF to update your 507-hour counter. The app will be updated to read the AER CS as soon as the format is in circulation, so your tracking carries on without changing any of your habits, whether the document is called AEM or AER CS.

Key takeaways

The AEM gives way to the AER CS, generated by France Travail from the employer’s DSN.
Gradual rollout, employer by employer: pilot since 2025, transition in 2026, generalisation targeted for 2027.
The 507-hour calculation does not change. The source of the information does.
Check every declared period (hours, cachets, gross pay, employer) and chase the employer if a DSN is missing.
Intermittor will be updated to handle the AER CS as soon as it arrives, without changing anything in your tracking.

Sources

Article written by Come Nolo, gaffer / chief lighting technician on film, music video and commercial shoots. Information to be checked with France Travail; subject to change.

Related guides

Track your hours and your AEMs (then your AER CS) automatically with Intermittor: 507-hour counter, timesheets, attestation import and France Travail tracking.

To go further, the Intermittor guide to l’intermittence covers this subject with up-to-date rules and worked figures: The AEM overhaul and the switchover to the DSN. Full contents: the guide to l’intermittence.