Paris drivers must display a Crit’Air sticker
From July 1, all motorists entering Paris must have a Crit’Air sticker on their windscreen – or face a fine.
French residents and foreign drivers who do not display a Crit’Air certificate can be fined €68. The stickers are mandatory in Paris, Lyon and Grenoble.
The Crit’Air sticker identifies the level of emissions from the vehicle, so when cities are at risk of breaching their EU emissions limit, heavily polluting vehicles can be refused entry based on the sticker on their windscreen. The law applies to all road vehicles, including cars, heavy goods vehicles, buses, coaches and motorcycles.
The sticker must be fixed on the right lower part of the windscreen, so that it can be seen by traffic wardens.
To apply for a Crit’Air sticker for your vehicle, whether registered in France or abroad, you can do so in English on the government website: www.certificat-air.gouv.fr.
The cost is €3.20 for French-registered vehicles and €4.80 for vehicles registered in other EU countries and in Switzerland.
You will need to have your vehicle registration in PDF, JPEG or PNG format to upload as part of the application process. It can take as long as six weeks for stickers to be delivered, so drivers are advised to take this into account before travelling.
Motorists are also advised to beware of unofficial websites where stickers are on sale for up to six times the fee charged by the official website.
