Thief-proofing your bike in France

France has a system of bicycle anti-theft coding. It is called Bicycode and is run by the Fédération Française des Usagers de la Bicyclette (FUB) in association with the Interior Ministry, insurance companies and other interested bodies.

A network of around 250 bicycle shops has been formed to do the work and they usually charge between €5 and €10.

Numbers are stamped on the bicycle frame and then covered with a blue and white Bicycode sticker, which serves as a rust proofer, as well as giving the website address, bicycode.org

You will be given a Passeport Velo by the shop, with your information and the bicycle details, including the code, in it.

For new bicycles, you will need to present an ID document and sales receipt to have the job done.

For second-hand bicycles being marked for the first time, you will need an ID and a receipt from the seller – an example of the sort of document is given on the site. It is recommended that you then register the details on the Bicycode website.

If the bicycle is stolen, you need to declare the theft to the police or gendarmerie, in person or online at pre-plainte-en-ligne.gouv.fr, including the Bicycode number in the details.

You must then also declare the bicycle stolen on the Bicycode website. If the police recover your bicycle, they will email you.

If you buy a bicycle which already has a Bicycode stamp on it, the owner should give you the passport at the time of sale, and the Bicycode password associated with it, and also take the bicycle off their own account.

It is then up to you to register the bicycle in your name on the website.

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