Government investigative office

Study and Information Group on Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena

The CNES unit that receives, investigates, classifies and publishes civilian reports of unidentified aerospace phenomena in France.

Visit official reporting and case portal Review sources

Established: 1977
Status: Active
Country: France
Parent organisation: French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES)

Overview

The Study and Information Group on Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena (GEIPAN) is a specialist unit of the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES). It receives reports from the public in France, gathers supporting information, commissions field or technical enquiries where appropriate, classifies cases and publishes files with personal information protected.

GEIPAN’s institutional history extends through three names and remits: GEPAN from 1977, SEPRA from 1988 and GEIPAN from 2005. The present title adds an explicit public-information function to investigation and archiving, making the published case collection a central part of the unit’s work.

Its categories describe both the quality of the available information and the result of investigation. A report remaining unidentified records the limits of that process; it does not identify an extraterrestrial or otherwise extraordinary cause. Changes to categories and methods over time also mean that historical classifications require period-specific interpretation.

Purpose and remit

Collect civilian reports made in France.
Investigate reports using witnesses, public authorities and technical specialists.
Classify and publish cases and explain the office’s methods to the public.

Methods and outputs

Methods

Structured witness questionnaires
Document, image and environmental review
Field enquiries and consultation with specialist partners

Principal outputs

Public case database
Case classifications and investigation files
Methodological guidance and statistical summaries

Reporting route: Reports from the public in France
Data availability: Public case files with personal information protected

History

1977

GEPAN established
CNES created the Study Group on Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena to organise technical examination of reports within the French space agency.
1988

SEPRA succeeded GEPAN
The activity continued as the Service for Expertise on Rare Aerospace Phenomena under a revised structure and remit.
2005

GEIPAN created
CNES established the current group, combining study and investigation with a stronger commitment to public information and online case publication.
Present

National reporting and publication continue
GEIPAN continues to receive French civilian reports, work with institutional and specialist partners, and publish case files through its searchable portal.

Current work

Structured report intake

Witnesses submit a detailed questionnaire and supporting material. GEIPAN may seek clarification and information from public authorities or technical sources before deciding whether further enquiry is warranted.

Investigation and classification

The unit compares accounts with astronomical, meteorological, aeronautical and other contextual information. Field investigators and specialist partners may be used where the report and available evidence justify that work.

Case publication

GEIPAN publishes classifications and available documentation after protecting personal data. The resulting archive permits examination of explained, insufficiently documented and unresolved reports within one institutional system.

Key people

Xavier Passot

Former head, 2011–16

Led GEIPAN and contributed to public explanations of its case methodology.

Evidence assessment

GEIPAN provides one of the clearest public examples of a national reporting system that combines intake, enquiry, classification and publication. Its value lies partly in publishing explained and insufficiently documented cases alongside those that remain unidentified, allowing the unresolved category to be read within the wider outcome of the programme rather than in isolation.

The classifications remain bounded by the evidence available for each report. Witness recollection, delayed submission and missing image or environmental data can prevent identification even when the underlying cause is ordinary. Category definitions and procedures have also changed across the GEPAN, SEPRA and GEIPAN periods, so comparisons over the full archive require attention to the system in use at the time.

GEIPAN’s database supports case comparison and methodological study, but an unidentified classification is not a positive finding about origin. Its strongest contribution is the transparent record of what was reported, what information investigators considered and how far that material allowed them to proceed.

Scope and limits

What the record supports

Provides one of the longest-running official civilian UAP reporting and publication systems.
Combines public intake, specialist investigation, classification and archival publication within a national space agency.
Its case files make it possible to study both conventional explanations and unresolved reports without treating either category as representative of the entire collection.

Limits on interpretation

Witness reports can be incomplete and retrospective, limiting the strength of later analysis.
Case categories have changed over time and require attention to the method in use when a classification was assigned.

Evidence note: GEIPAN’s unexplained category means that available information did not support a satisfactory identification. It is not a positive classification of origin.

Sources

Sources are grouped by provenance so that official records, an organisation’s own account, research publications and independent analysis remain distinguishable.

Official records2 sources

Official
GEIPAN — missions, methods and results
Defines the unit’s mandate, investigative process and interpretation of classifications.
Official
GEIPAN — case search
Provides access to the published case collection.