Explained: how to register a classic car in France

Most French people love their old cars, even if successive governments have tried to persuade them that petrol and diesel engines are not right for them or the planet.

On sunny weekends, you will often find a collection of shiny classic cars lined up outside supermarkets or in town centres, and their proud owners keen to discuss details and difficulties they have had restoring or maintaining them.

Most of these vehicles will have the special designation voiture de collection, confirmed on the car’s certificat d’immatriculation (more commonly known as a carte grise) registration document under the Z heading.

Origins of documentation

The origins of the carte grise véhicule de collection date to the period after World War Two, when many official papers had been lost or destroyed in the chaos of the conflict.

In the early 1960s the government decided to do something about the large number of old cars for which no documents existed, and so created this special category.

Obtaining a carte grise véhicule de collection for your classic car is relatively straightforward. 

It must be more than 30 years old, be of a model that is no longer produced and must not have been modified in terms of technical performance or have had changes made to its motor or chassis.

You will need to get an attestation to this effect from either the manufacturer or from the Fédération française des véhicules d’époque (FFVE), a large association with many local branches uniting car clubs. 

The application itself can be done online or by paying a professional to do it for you.

You can find more information about the process and requirements here.

If you are buying a car older than 30 years, the steps are similar, except that before buying the vehicle you must get FFVE approval. This can either be used to apply for a carte grise véhicule de collection or simply held on file if you opt for an ordinary carte grise.

Importing a classic car

Cars imported into France from non-EU countries can also obtain a carte grise véhicule de collection, as long as they have customs form number 846A giving import details and taxes paid. 

These are usually lower for cars more than 30 years old, with a VAT rate of 5.5% on the purchase price paid by the owner, and without the 10% to 20% import tariffs which usually apply to imported vehicles.

Over the years the benefits of having a véhicule de collection have changed. Until 2009, their movement was restricted to the department where they were registered, and neighbouring departments. 

To travel outside the restricted area, owners had to get a signed letter from the prefecture detailing the trip they wanted to make.

With that restriction lifted, the advantages of the special status became apparent. These include having less strict and less frequent contrôle technique (CT) roadworthiness tests.

For classic vehicles under 3.5 tonnes, the CT only has to be taken once every five years instead of every two. 

And certain pieces of safety equipment, such as seatbelts or rear-view mirrors, that are usually required today but were not present at the time the vehicle was originally sold, are not required to pass.

Other considerations

Classic cars are also exempt from recent rules on low-emission ZFE zones. This is because they only represent around 0.5% of the vehicles circulating in French cities, and are normally only used occasionally, meaning that they do not make a significant contribution to overall road emissions.

A véhicule de collection can also use special numberplates with a black background.

Insurance is sometimes cheaper (special deals are available) and a carte grise véhicule de collection gives some protection against insurance company inspectors recommending the vehicle be scrapped after an accident.

Against the advantages are drawbacks, with one of the biggest being a ban on souping up, or otherwise significantly changing, the vehicle from how it was when it first rolled out of the factory.

Some modifications, such as changing an electrical system from six volts to 12 volts are allowed; others, even if made on safety grounds such as replacing old drum brakes with disc brakes, are not.

There is also a ban on using a véhicule de collection for professional reasons – if you have a white Rolls Royce from the 1950s and want to hire it out as a wedding car, for example, you will need an ordinary carte grise to do so. 

Similarly, if a film company wants to use your car for a period drama, it will require an ordinary registration.

And if you have a salaried job, an accident in your véhicule de collection on the daily commute would not be classified as an accident du travail as it would with an ordinary car.

The government announced last autumn that it will be cracking down on the number of people with véhicule de collection status, after realising that some of them were behind the increasing cases of numberplate fraud in the country.

In a new development, the FFVE now issues a special vignette collection windscreen sticker for classic cars displaying the vehicle’s age and numberplate details. It costs €15.

The sticker has been approved by the interior and transports ministries but does not have any legal value. 

However, it allows law officers and members of the public to see the vehicle’s status immediately and, more generally, promotes patrimoine roulant.