Can speed cameras in France check if a car is insured?

Reader question: I have been looking into car insurance in France and so far have been quoted prices that feel to me high. It made me wonder how enforcement actually works in practice. If a car isn’t insured yet, can speed cameras detect that when it passes them? 

While speed cameras are equipped to check if a car has insurance or not, it is not a check they routinely make every time a car passes by.

So, if you just pass by a speed camera, then it will most likely not run such checks. 

However most are equipped to do so and will do it in case a car is caught driving more than 50km/h over the legal speed limit.

Speed cameras now have the ability to check the national insurance database called le Fichier des véhicules assurés (FVA), to see if the driver speeding excessively has valid insurance or not.

It is said that this database will be consulted in a period of three days and offenders speeding at more than 50km/h over the limit risk a €3,750 euro fine and three months in prison.

It should also be noted though that there are separate penalties for driving without insurance which also amount to a €3,750 fine plus potential suspension or cancellation of the driving licence, a ban on retaking the driving test and/or confiscation of the vehicle.

Because the offences are considered to be separate, someone that is caught without insurance and speeding above 50 km/h could face all of these sanctions at the same time.

According to official statistics, 216 people died in 2024 in accidents involving uninsured vehicles, amounting to 7% of road deaths.

So, while it will not necessarily be picked up on by speed cameras, it is important to respect the rules and not take any risks with this.

Note also that police officers can verify if a vehicle is insured by checking its numberplate against a database.