French government app ‘Simplimmat’ cuts paperwork on buying a used car

The government has launched a mobile app, Simplimmat, and is trialling it among private sellers of cars in Eure (Normandy), Eure-et-Loir (Centre-Val de Loire) and Yvelines (Ile de France). Buyers may come from anywhere in France.

It is intended to simplify sales between individuals and allows buyers and sellers to handle all the administrative procedures related to the sale of a used vehicle, such as requesting the new registration carte grise document, quickly, easily – and for free. The new carte grise is posted to the buyer’s home two to three days after the purchase.

Once the trial ends, the app will be rolled out across the country.

Sellers take a photograph of their registration card and an identity document and share the transfer file with the future owner.

Once this is completed, the seller can declare the sale and download the completed and signed certificate of transfer.

The buyer checks the details and validates them, declares the purchase and downloads the completed and signed transfer document. They must scan and provide proof of address.

Sellers and buyers can view the latest transactions and retrieve their documents at any time via the Agence nationale des titres sécurisés (ANTS) site and the official Simplimmat app.

The Histovec website can also be useful to allow potential buyers to learn the history of a used vehicle quickly and at no cost.

Despite the pandemic, people in France are buying more second-hand cars. Encouraged in particular by the maintenance of the conversion premium, the used car market grew 17.9% from January to March, with 1.57million sold.

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