In 1971 the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) established itself as a candidate for 252Cf commercial encapsulation services. A production facility, designed and built at the Fontenay-aux-Roses Centre for Nuclear Studies, allows handling of up to 10 mg of 252Cf. This unit started operation in Sep. 1973. The main features of the californium facility are: (a) remote manipulation by means of two electrical robots, (b) TIG welding of capsules and assemblies using two machines, with variable positioning of the electrode along the three axis that allows the soldering of pieces as large as 50 mm in diameter and 2 m in length, (c) capsule decontamination by an electrolytic pickling technique, and (d) neutron source emission counting by means of a uranium fission chamber giving relative measurements versus a 252Cf standard with an accuracy of 3%. All sealed sources developed at the CEA are made of 252Cf2O3-Pd cermets encapsulated in stainless steel, Zircaloy, or nickel and are qualified as special form nuclear material. Present applications of 252Cf sealed sources in France are directed toward physical research and nuclear reactor design, nuclear reactor startup and nuclear materials assay, neutron activation analysis development for in situ determinations in the earth science and mineral exploration, and for process control in metallurgy. Furthermore, the CEA is involved in a government-sponsored program on a 252Cf source projector for neutron therapy. For the afterloading interstitial technique, the CEA has designed miniaturized sources made of a 252Cf2O3-Pd cermet containing 0.32 μg of 252Cf sealed in a platinum capsule 0.70 mm in diameter and 4 mm long.