Importing a Car to France
Find out how to import a car to France and get it registered on the roads. The information here only applies if you are bringing a car to France for your own, personal use...
The immatriculation is a vehicle's registration. The details of a vehicle's registration are carried in the Certificate d'Immatriculation (previously called Carte Grise; grey card).
Before being able to register a foreign vehicle in France and receive the Certificate d'Immatriculation registration document, the vehicle must conform to the French road standards. The simplicity of the process can vary depending on the make, age and country of origin of the vehicle. Below are the basics of the process that can be expected.
The process is different (and can be simpler) for classic and collectable vehicles; it can be far more complicated for modified vehicles. Please enquire at the Préfecture.
Using a Foreign Car in France
It is not obligatory to register a foreign vehicle in France unless the owner is resident in France. A resident is someone who is domiciled in France for more than six months (183 days) per year, or who is employed in France.
EU legislation
Under EU law, a private vehicle may be temporarily imported and used on French roads for up to six months in any 12 months. The vehicle must be re-registered in France if it is owned and used by a resident of France.
It is against the law for the resident of an EU country, while living in that country, to drive any vehicle registered in another EU country. So a person who is a resident of France may only drive a French-registered car while they are in France (with the exception of cross-border workers).
An EU-registered vehicle must satisfy the legal roadworthiness requirements of its country of registration to be legal to drive elsewhere in the EU.