Registering a car in France

There are 2 ways to obtain a certificate of conformity, this assumes that you don't have it already as it is now standard practice to issue one with new purchases, so check your documentation pack first.

I will describe the 2 options and let you decide which is the easier.

Option 1 - Request the certificate from the car manufacturer via a dealer

This is the route I opted for, basically I had had some work done on my car at the Renault dealer in Cheltenham before I left the UK (not essential but it meant I was in their database). I phoned the garage and told them I needed a certificate of conformity for my Renault Megane.

At first they told me I had to go to Renault UK, which I did but was then referred back to the dealer.

Having established that it was in fact the dealer that has to make the request and that there is a special form they use for doing this exact task, I was put through to a very nice lady who although was very busy agreed to submit the form on my behalf. I asked her for her email address so that I could drop her a line and establish contact, this turned out to be a good move because we then had several exchanges where she needed more information.

The bottom line is that the dealer sends a request to Renault UK who then forward the request on to Renault France and Renault France send the certificate out to the address on the form, which in my case was my UK address but with mail forwarding in place.

I really don't know if this is the same process for every manufacturer but I would suggest that a main dealer in the UK preferably one you have dealt with is a good starting point from which you should be able to establish the proper procedure, just be prepared to be a little patient, they are getting nothing but good will out of this (unless they decide they need to charge you) and are usually not familiar with the procedure.

For me this worked, about 2 weeks later the much needed certificate of conformity arrived in my French post box.

I am not sure I would have been so lucky had I owned an older car where the CofC did not exist, or if the car was a Japanese import for example. You might find that if this is the case you may need to follow the 2nd option.

Option 2 - Request the certificate through the DRIRE

I did start this process and initially filled in a form called the 'attestation d'identification d'un vehicule importe conforme a un type national francais' I have provided a link below for the form which has an English translation on the 3rd page describing what you need to fill in.

Once you have completed the form you can either send or take the required information to an office of DRIRE that can process your request. In my case I initially went to Carcassonne only to find that I needed to actually go to Perpignon. I was told at the DRIRE office in Carcassonne to send the completed form along with:-

• Vehicle Registration Certificate (the original)


• Proof of Identity


• Proof of Address

The charge for the service was at the time 67.38 euros but this may have changed with time and you should not have to pay until you receive the attestation.

My recommendation would be to find out which DRIRE office can deal with the request (Perpignan if you are in Languedoc-Rousillion) and take the documents in person having made photocopies of everything as a back up. Seems a bit long winded but ultimately may prove to be the most effective way to do this.

DRIRE
Immeuble Kennedy
7, rue Mariotte
66000 PERPIGNAN
Tél : 04 68 08 15 00
Fax : 04 68 08 15 15

The office is not easy to find, being on the upper floor of the building Immeuble Kennedy which also houses totally different department on the ground floor. Dont be put off, go up the stairs and you'll find the DRIRE

Once you have the certificate of conformity the rest of the process is a breeze, subject of course to you having the other required documentation in place.

The new style registration certificate follows the same format as the Certificat d'Immatriculation (Carte Grise) in that the categories follow the same numbering system. This is particularly useful when you are filling in the form for requesting the Carte Grise because you can transpose the information from the V5C certificate to the form with a high level of confidence. See ***Tip*** below.

The certificate is left at the Prefecture when you get the Carte Grise but don't forget to tear off the 'Notification of Permanent Export' strip, fill it in and send to the DVLA.

They need this to know you are no longer liable to pay tax in the UK, if you don't send it you will end up getting a tax renewal request and non payment could mean a fine.

If your car is off the road you can advise the DVLA and fill in a SORN Statement to declare the car is not liable for tax. Ultimately however you will need to send the notification of permanent export so that you can use the car in France without being liable for UK tax.

Note if you are running the car on UK plates it is advisable to have a current UK tax disc.

In order to obtain a 'Proces Verbal de Controle Technique' for a right hand drive car you will need to change the headlights to the French standard.

In the UK when you dip your headlights they dip to the left which isn't very useful if you are driving on the right hand side of the road. So in order to drive in France and pass the controle technique you need French headlights otherwise known as 'bloc optiques'. This assumes of course that the car model you have doesn't let you adjust the headlights to conform which can be the case, so worth a check.

I have read of a few instances where people have claimed to have got their cars through a controle technique without changing their headlights at all, not quite sure how they managed that so if you want to risk it then I guess you can, I preferred to get mine changed so I could be sure.

To keep costs down it is a good idea to go to a scrapyard for replacement lights.

I paid 200 euros for mine and ironically I got them from a scrapyard directly opposite to the DRIRE office in Carcassonne. But had to speak French to sort the details out.



I then had to pay 170 euros to get them fitted, not an easy task without the right equipment, so for me worth every centime.

After that getting the 'controle technique' was fairly straightforward, I booked an appointment at a local test center (there are lots around and you don't always need an appointment). He asked to see my Carte Grise but was happy with the UK Registration Certificate and about half an hour later I had my certificate and a bill for 70 euros.

Don't forget if you car is less than 4 years old you don't need to do this step at all.

If you are interested, French headlights dip straight up and down so if you are driving in the UK you don't need to modify the lights at all not even with those little stickers, what a good idea!!!

This really is a paperwork exercise providing it is a used vehicle which you are bringing to France for personal use, have owned it for at least 6 months, driven more than 6000km and can prove it was bought privately as a second hand vehicle or that you paid the VAT when you bought it new.

Under these circumstances the 'quitas fiscal' is free.

The other point to remember is that you have to use a centre des impots in the department that you are living in i.e. if your address is in Aude then you have to go to an Aude 'centre des impots'.

I personally went to the office that sits under La Cite in Carcassonne right next to the river and took the following documents: -

• Vehicle invoice for proof of purchase


• UK Registration Certificate


• Proof of address

To be on the safe side I would also carry my passport as proof of identity just in case I got asked for it.

Anyway you just go into the office ask for the centre des impots and they point you to a waiting area and when it is your turn you present the necessary documents and they fill in the 'quitas fiscal' give you all your paperwork back having taken photocopies and you are done.

If you want to be super efficient you can take a set of photocopies with you which will save time and the risk of something going missing.

You now have all the documents you need to apply for your Carte Grise.

I have provided a link below to the form you need to complete in order to obtain your Carte Grise. Fill this in as completely as possible and then arm yourself with the following documents that you have so diligently obtained: -

• Certificate of Conformity


• UK Registration Certificate


• Controle Technique


• Quitas Fiscal


• Proof of address in France


• Proof of identity

If you live in Aude you can go to the Prefecture in Carcassonne, the address is: -

52, Rue Jean Bringer
11000 Carcassonne, France
Tel +33 4 68 10 27 00

You might want to consider how you actually find all these places, I found my SAT NAV was absolutely invaluable when you have to find government departments in different locations in and around the cities.

You will find some SAT NAV's available at very competitive prices from Halfords click on the banner and check it out, may as well start your new French life by taking the stress out of finding your way around.



You can get the carte grise the same day within about 1/2 an hour. Go to reception and get a ticket so you can join the queue. When you get called up you just present all your documents (again a good idea to have photocopies of everything and keep them separate to the originals).

The lady there will create a file of your documents and should return all the originals except the quitas fiscal and the UK registration certificate back to you.

The file is then passed to the issuing department, so new ticket and new queue, this time when you are called you will be asked to pay for the carte grise.

The cost for the carte grise includes the cost of the car tax and is dependent on the puissance (engine power) of your car in CV's (2CV, 3CV etc.)

Mine was a 5CV and cost 170 euros.

That's it you are now the proud owner of a French registered car, so get the hell out of there.

Axa or AGF will insure you on English plates provided you can convince them you are registering your car in France and I am sure there will be other French insurers that will do the same. You will need proof of your address in France and ideally proof of your no claims from your English insurer, although they will accept this retrospectively in most cases.

I was misinformed a little when I was arranging my French insurance as I was told that more than 2 accidents in the last 3 years would mean I may not be able to get insurance (I actually had 3 accidents, but I don't want to talk about that), this proved to be bad advice, as I later found no problem provided you talk to the right companies. What was true for me however was that they did not honour my no claims protection insurance I had in the UK, basically they said an accident is an accident and rated me accordingly, ouch!!!!

The other thing to watch out for is how long it takes to arrange the insurance, some companies took weeks (yes weeks) to get back to me and I ended up taking an expensive option because I didn't inquire soon enough.

It is a good idea to switch to a French insurer while you are on English plates so that when you do fit French plates you are already legal. You will of course have to send your French insurer a copy of your newly acquired carte grise so that the certificate can be updated but at least you won't be in the dodgy position of running on French plates with an English insurer.

It's worth noting as well that when you come to renew your insurance the following year, say you got a really bad deal and wanted to move to another company, then you need to know that, unlike the UK, you have to inform your current insurance company in writing using a registered letter that you want to cancel your cover within 20 days of receiving the renewal notice. If you fail to do that then you will be tied in for another 12 months - so beware.

To find English speaking insurance companies in France you can try Anglo Info who have a pretty good list of available insurers. You can sometimes get reductions on your insurance by taking out house or health insurance at the same time, so worth asking.

You can order your French number plates on line just click on the banner for an easy life



Don't forget screws for number plates are illegal in France and you have to use pop rivets. Also before getting your number plates ordered just double check the paperwork for the registration. I recently discovered that there was a one digit error between the document and the chassis number actually on the car. When I went to get it corrected the only way I could do it was to register the car again. The cost of the amendment was only a couple of Euros but then of course I had to go and buy new number plates which was significantly more expensive.