France
Importing a car into France
France no longer has a counter where you collect a carte grise: the application goes through ANTS or an approved intermediary. What decides everything else, though, is the step before it — the quitus fiscal, the tax office's confirmation that the VAT question is settled.
- Registration authority
- Agence nationale des titres sécurisés (ANTS)
- Technical inspection
- contrôle technique
- Last reviewed
Where the car comes from decides the effort
From an EU state
From an EU state there is no customs declaration. The quitus fiscal is still mandatory: the tax office checks whether the car counts as new for tax — in which case French VAT is due — and otherwise issues the certificate without payment. Without a quitus fiscal, ANTS will not accept the application.
From a third country
From Switzerland or Liechtenstein, the customs administration's 846A certificate takes the place of the quitus fiscal. Before that, duty on the customs value and import VAT on customs value plus duty fall due. Only with the 846A does the route continue as for an EU car.
The process, in order
The order is not arbitrary. Pull a step forward and you usually end up repeating it.
01Settle the certificate of conformity
In France the European COC is the difference between an online application and a réception à titre isolé at the DREAL. Without it, a form becomes a procedure with a report, an appointment and often modifications to the car.
02Apply for the quitus fiscal
The quitus fiscal is applied for at the tax office covering your address, with the purchase contract, the foreign registration certificate and the COC. For a used EU car it is a confirmation with nothing to pay; for a fiscally new one it is issued only once the VAT has been paid.
Handled by: The service des impôts des entreprises (SIE) for your address
03Contrôle technique
From a certain vehicle age the application requires a French contrôle technique dated within the period allowed. A test from another EU country is not always accepted; booking the appointment right after the transfer avoids the question entirely.
Handled by: An approved test centre (centre de contrôle technique agréé)
04Take out insurance
Third-party cover has to be in place as soon as the car moves in France — including the drive to the test centre. The attestation d'assurance is issued by the insurer against the vehicle identification number.
05File the application through ANTS
With the COC, the original foreign papers, the quitus fiscal, the test report, proof of address and form cerfa 13750, the application is filed online. Your address is checked too, because the regional tax depends on it.
Handled by: ANTS or an approved intermediary
06Plates and the provisional certificate
The number comes out of the SIV system and a supplier makes the plates. The certificat provisoire d'immatriculation is issued immediately and permits driving until the carte grise arrives by post.
What gets added
Without amounts, and deliberately so: official rates change, and a stale figure is worse than none. What is here is the basis of assessment — enough to calculate with, once the current rate is known.
- Regional tax
- Assessed on: By the car's puissance fiscale — its chevaux fiscaux — multiplied by a rate each region sets for itself. The same car therefore costs different amounts depending on where you live.
- CO₂ and weight malus
- Assessed on: On first registration in France, by CO₂ output; for heavy vehicles, additionally by the mass in running order. Used imported cars are charged at a rate reduced for age.
- Does not apply: Does not apply to cars previously registered in France.
- VAT
- Assessed on: Only for a car that counts as new for tax; then payable in France before the quitus fiscal is issued.
- Does not apply: Does not arise for a used car from an EU state.
- Customs duty and import VAT
- Assessed on: Only from a third country: duty on the customs value, import VAT on customs value plus duty; the customs administration then issues the 846A certificate.
- Does not apply: Does not arise within the EU.
- Processing and delivery
- Assessed on: Two fixed incidentals on the application: the taxe de gestion and the redevance d'acheminement for delivering the carte grise.
- Contrôle technique and plates
- Assessed on: The test centre's tariff, which is unregulated and differs by region, plus the plates themselves.
The papers
Miss one of these and the appointment is wasted.
- European certificate of conformity (COC).
- The original foreign registration certificate, parts I and II.
- Purchase contract or invoice showing the price.
- The quitus fiscal from the tax office — or, for third-country imports, the 846A certificate from customs.
- The contrôle technique report, where the car's age requires one.
- ID, proof of address (justificatif de domicile) and form cerfa 13750.
Where the sum tips
- The quitus fiscal as the bottleneck. Without it the application goes nowhere, and the tax office issues it only once VAT is settled. For a young German car that means: pay first, paper second, application third.
- The missing COC. A réception à titre isolé at the DREAL is a procedure in its own right, with a report and a wait; for overseas cars the price advantage regularly vanishes into it.
- The wrong rate in your head. What counts is the region of the address on the application, not the seller's and not where you used to live. Move during the procedure and your figure is wrong.
- The originals of the foreign papers. ANTS requires them; a copy will not do, and the seller who kept part II is hard to reach once the car has gone.
How long it takes
As an order of magnitude: the quitus fiscal in days to a few weeks, the ANTS application then in one to four weeks; the provisional certificate arrives at once and allows you to drive. With a réception à titre isolé, rather three to six months.
The technical inspection
contrôle technique
The recurring technical inspection. For registering an imported car above a certain age, the application requires a French report within the prescribed period; a foreign test is not a reliable substitute.
Common questions
What is the quitus fiscal and who issues it?
A certificate from the tax office stating that no French VAT is outstanding on the car. For a used EU car it is purely a confirmation; for a fiscally new one it is the receipt for the tax paid. ANTS will not accept the application without it.
Do I need a French address?
Yes. The carte grise is issued to a keeper resident in France, and the justificatif de domicile is a required document. It also determines which region applies its rate to the registration tax.
Is a German roadworthiness test recognised?
Not reliably. For registering an imported car above the relevant age, a French contrôle technique is the safe route, and it can be had within days. Booking it straight after the transfer costs less than arguing the case.
What does the carte grise cost?
It is made up of the regional tax on chevaux fiscaux, the CO₂ and weight malus where applicable, and two fixed incidentals. Each region sets its own rate; the current one is on the ANTS calculator and at the conseil régional. The order of magnitude is decided by puissance fiscale — a large engine costs more here than an expensive car does.
This overview is not a substitute for information from the competent authority. Rates, fees and deadlines change; the office that registers the car is always the binding source.