Background: In France, the surveillance of bacterial antibiotic resistance relies on numerous partners and networks, primarily based in healthcare facility laboratories. To complement this system, the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS) established a network of private medical testing laboratories (LABM) in urban areas, known as the Labville network. Methods: Stratified by region, 69 LABMs were randomly selected. Anonymized patient data and microbiological test results, derived from the recognition of report printouts, are transmitted to the InVS via a secure Internet connection. Results: The specifications were defined based on the results of the feasibility study (2003). The first few months of the project were devoted to defining a comprehensive print recognition strategy by the IT service provider. The configuration was adapted to each LABM within two to three weeks based on a set of standard analyses. After validation by the InVS, the reading strategy was applied to routinely printed results and definitively validated after four months of daily data reception. Adapting the reading strategy to each LABM required several revisions of the overall strategy. This adaptation remains a lengthy process requiring microbiological expertise. Conclusion: The solution developed is innovative. It overcomes IT diversity and compatibility issues and reduces the biologist’s workload. The Labville network serves as a test case for the InVS’s future development of other electronic surveillance networks.