Resume rules in Burkina Faso
What employers in Burkina Faso expect on a Curriculum Vitae (CV), what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.
Call it a CV for Burkina Faso or a resume for Burkina Faso: it's the same document. Employers there usually want it written in French.
This is research, not legal advice. Employment and data protection law changes, state and provincial rules matter in federal countries, and practice varies by industry and seniority. Each entry shows when it was looked up and how confident we are. Where nothing reliable was published it says Not found rather than a guess.
Law and practice, side by side
The label on the right is what local hiring expects. The two lines under it are the law and the habit, which often disagree.
Photo: Expected
Expected, generally acceptable and sometimes expected in job market
What the law says: No law requiring or prohibiting CV photos
Date of birth: Common
Common, typically included in Burkina Faso CVs
What the law says: No explicit legal requirement on CV
Marital status: Not found
Not found
What the law says: No legal requirement on CV
Sex or gender: Uncommon
Uncommon, not typically included
What the law says: No legal requirement on CV
Nationality: Not found
Not typically included
What the law says: No legal requirement on CV
National ID number: Uncommon
Uncommon on CV itself
What the law says: No legal requirement on CV
The rest of the entry
- Local name of the document
- Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Language to submit in
- French
- Typical length
- Concise and well-organized (no specific page limit given)
- Signature and date
- Not specified as requirement
- Religion, ethnicity or caste
- Not specified in CV law
- Health, disability or pregnancy
- Not specified in CV law
- Other customary attachments
- CV required as part of work permit application
- Employer may not ask for
- No discrimination on basis of sexual orientation in employment law (though societal discrimination persists)
- Named statutes
- Labour Code (Code du Travail) of 2008; New Labour Code adopted May 2026 with stricter rules on fixed-term contracts and equal pay
- Data protection regime
- Law No. 001-2021/AN (30 March 2021) on Personal Data Protection, replacing Law No. 010-2004/AN (2004); enforced by CIL (Commission de l'Informatique et des Libertés)
- Anti-discrimination statutes
- Labour Code (2008, updated 2026); Law 001-2021/AN includes non-discrimination principles
- Local language source
- English only
Where this came from
Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. High confidence. Result of that check: Confirmed.
Notes: New labour code adopted May 2026 with stricter protections. Data protection law (001-2021/AN) is comprehensive and recent (2021). No specific CV format law found. Practical experience prioritized over academic qualifications in hiring.
Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this