If you're looking for bureaucracy, you've come to the right place, and if you've arrived in France with your home-registered car and home driving licence there are many things you need to know and do before falling foul of the law. We steer you through the red tape.

Re-registering cars 

You are allowed to drive on "foreign" plates as a tourist for just three months.

After three months, if you plan to stay, your vehicle will need French number plates. Just in the same way as you'll need a residence permit - called a "carte de séjour".

For tax and customs purposes, foreigners are considered to be resident in France if they spend more than 185 days here per year.

As a resident of France you have a month from the moment of obtaining your residence permit in which to re-register your "foreign" car. (The same re-registration delay is applied to a French national importing a car from abroad).

Getting the permit first will help you through the rest, though it is possible to begin the procedure early while still under tourist status.

If you're from a European Union (EU) member state and your car is a standard model that conforms to French norms, (those currently on sale in France), re-registration is the least complicated!

But if you are bringing your car in from outside the EU, or your vehicle is out of the French ordinary, the process can prove time-consuming and expensive. In this case, you might well find that buying a new car in France is the more appealing option after all!

First steps to re-registration 

There are no customs formalities if you're bringing a vehicle to France from another EU member state. However, you are supposed to go to your local tax office for a "certificat de régularité fiscale", which shows that you've already paid Value Added Tax (VAT) on the car at home.

If the VAT has not been paid, you'll be eligible to pay VAT in France.

If your car was bought privately second-hand, there is no VAT to pay on it in France whether you come from within or outside the EU.

If you are from a non-EU country, you'll need to obtain certificate 846 A from the customs services - called "le service des douanes" - to show that you have complied with French customs requirements (ask them for specific information concerning the country from which the car was imported).

Any car more than four years old will have to pass a mechanical and safety check-up called a "contrôle technique" before it can be re-registered. The contrôle technique is mandatory on all vehicles in France over four years old, and you must submit your vehicle for the test every two years.

Registration is called "immatriculation", and you'll need to go to your local préfecture or sous-préfecture (chief, or sub-regional administration center) whichever's nearest your home to collect a "demande de certificat d'immatriculation" to fill in.

You will also need an official document showing the vehicle conforms with French standards and this is obtained from the Direction Régionale de l'Industrie et de la Recherche, the DRIRE. This organisation handles all the technical aspects of re-registration and a successful application will give you the necessary attestation d'identification du véhicule (vehicle identification certificate).

For cars corresponding to a model currently or previously on sale in France this is a relatively straightforward procedure whereby a DRIRE inspector checks that the vehicle conforms to the regulations in force either at the time it was brought into circulation or the time it was altered, depending on the case.

You'll be advised as to specific procedures to follow if your car - or three-wheeled kit car - does not come under the category of vehicles registered for sale in France. (See "re-registration hassles - a personal experience!" further down).

Final re-registration moves 

When you have all your re-registration documents collected together you take them to the "carte grise" (literally "grey card," but meaning vehicle registration documents) offices at the préfecture or sous-préfecture.

Your dossier should include the bill of sale for your vehicle, your original registration document, a fiscal stamp costing about EUR 22 (which you buy from a "tabac", or tobacconist, not a post office) and proof of your residence in France.

Remember to photocopy all the paperwork in case anything goes astray.

A tax is payable at the préfecture, which is calculated according to the engine power of the vehicle, and this sum varies slightly according to the the département in which you live. The engine power rating is not brake horse power but a French scale called "chevaux fiscaux" - under it, a powerful diesel-engined car will cost less than a petrol-engined car with a comparable c.c. figure.

Then you will be delivered a carte grise, (vehicle registration document), and you can finally get your shiny, new French plates made!

Tony Hinsley, a Briton who moved to live in a village near Lodève, in the Hérault département in south-west France, re-registered his four year-old Ford Escort 1.8 turbo diesel and paid out a total of about EUR 240.

Of this, EUR 67 went to the DRIRE for administrative charges, EUR 156 went in tax at the sous-préfecture and about EUR 18 went to the garage for the new number plates. Tony says the process took just seven weeks and was "relatively easy".

Incidentally, on a separate note, beware that if you want to change your motor insurance company, you'll need to give two or even three months notice to cancel your policy.

Re-registering collector's vehicles 

Collector's vehicles over 25 years old are in a special category and can be re-registered without being taken to the DRIRE. In this case, you need first to put the vehicle through a "contrôle technique" then go to the Fédération Française des Véhicules d'Epoque (French federation of classic cars) where you can obtain a document that enables you to register the vehicle at the préfecture as a "véhicule de collection", or collector's car.

Unless you are specially authorised to do otherwise, you're only allowed to drive a "véhicule de collection" in the "département" in which it is registered and inadjoining "départements".

The départements are a rough equivalent of a county or inner-state, and mainland France and Corsica are divided up into 95 of these regional administrations.

For collectors' cars, the eight départements making up the Greater Paris region, known as the Ile-de-France, are considered as one.

Re-registration hassles - a personal experience

For Sally Vincent, a retired British software engineer who settled in southern France with her camper van, the re-registration became what she now calmly describes as "quite a performance".

Given that her British-registered van is a modification of the vehicle which originally came out of the factory, Sally had to write to its Citroën manufacturers in Paris to get confirmation that it existed! Then, when Citroën wrote back, they made a mistake in the engine number, which caused further delay.

Luckily someone at Citroën then speeded things up, but it still took Sally about five months to get her French plates. It cost her about EUR 750 to change the steering to left-hand drive, plus a charge for altering the lights, but she thinks the expense was worth it as she no longer has to pay road tax and pays half as much in car insurance.

"And it's much better being in a left-hand drive vehicle," she says. "It doesn't take long to adapt."

Buying a car in France, second hand and new 

In France, second-hand cars must undergo a controle technique within the six months preceding any sale. A "certificat de situation" is also required, which shows that no unpaid parking or other fines apply and that there is no outstanding debt on the vehicle. It is important to ask for this for your own protection.

If you're buying a new car, the dealer usually arranges to obtain the carte grise for you and this may also happen if you buy a second-hand car through a garage.

Otherwise, you need to apply to your local préfecture, where you will be asked for proof of identity. The price of the carte grise is also based on the horsepower of the vehicle and is halved if the vehicle is more than 10 years old.

Tax disks were recently abolished for private cars but are still required for company vehicles.

EU driving licences 

Thanks to the latest EU directive on driving licences, if you come from an EU member state you no longer need to exchange your licence for a French one within a year of obtaining your carte de séjour (residence permit). You can continue to drive on it until it expires.

You can also record an EU licence at the local préfecture for no charge and will receive an attestation that will make the issuing of a replacement licence in the case of loss or theft much easier.

However, anyone committing an offence in France that leads to a loss of points or withdrawal of their licence will have to exchange their licence for a French one. You are liable to on-the-spot checks at any time, so you should always carry your licence and vehicle registration document when driving.

Exchanging your licence for a French one costs around EUR 22.

Non-EU driving licences 

If you're from outside of the EU, you're allowed to drive on your licence for a year from receiving your carte de séjour, then after that you must get a French licence.

If French licences are recognised in your country of origin, you can simply exchange your licence for a French one without taking a French driving test. But if your country of origin doesn't allow a simple licence exchange for French citizens, you'll have to take a French driving test.

If you're a US citizen, the situation varies depending which state you come from. If your state of origin allows the exchange of a French licence for a US one, you can simply exchange your US licence for a French one. If it doesn't, you'll need to take a French driving test.

An international driving licence is only valid in France for a year and is essentially intended for people who are not resident, such as world travellers.

Queries about driving licences should be addressed to your local préfecture or sous préfecture (ask for the "service des permis de conduire").

Contacts 

DRIRE:
(The site has full listings of the documents required for re-registration.)
Indigo Tel: 080 236 00 00 (0.98 F per minute)
web site: www.drire.gouv.fr

French Transport Ministry:
(Ministère de l'Equipement, des Transports et du Logement), Arche de la Défence, 92055 La Defense, CEDEX
Tel. 01 40 81 21 22
web site: www.equipement.gouv.fr

Customs:
Indigo Tel: 0825 30 82 63 or, if calling from a mobile phone: 0825 36 82 63
web site : www.finances.gouv.fr/douane