We will be returning to France in December, driving a UK registered car , towing a 750kg UK trailer. A few questions: Once we have registered as residents, how long have we got before we need to register the car? Do we need to register the trailer and is there a time limit on this? Are there any rules regarding the use of trailers at dechetteries? The one we will be using is in Melrand, Morbihan. Thanks in advance.
You do not ‘register’ as resident and in theory you have a month to register your car after taking up residence. In practise that’s unlikely to happen as the process is now carried out online through the ANTS system and there are significant delays. You should, however, submit your application within a month of arrival. All trailers over 500kg need to be registered in their own right but you may find that a trailer up to 750kg can be included in your car’s insurance.
When I said register as resident, I meant registering fiscally and applying for a carte vitale thus declaring our French house as our main residence. We took possession of our house in July but are back in the UK sorting things out. When we return we will be bringing a trailer towed by our UK registered car. So will the three months be taken from when we return or from when we took possession of house. We have had some very conflicting information from people already resident in France - people who have lived there for 3 or 4 years but are still driving with UK plates and UK insurance, MOT etc and others who have told us we have to register the car after three months.
You are resident from the moment you arrive intending to stay. As a resident you have a month from the day that the car arrives in France to register it. Ignore the U.K. reg cars that you see, there are plenty of people who are happy to break the law.
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Thanks for that. I guessed there are a lot of people just winging it.
I am a garagiste here & as part of my job I help customers register their cars. The one month rule really refers to starting the procedure as registering an import through ANTS, the new online service, takes about a month from submitting your paperwork to getting accepted. Once you have logged your application your french insurance agent should extend your cover beyond the month.
You will not be able to use the online service yourself until you are in a french system - don’t bother with a La Poste id, it will not allow full access to ANTS until it can be cross referenced to a government database - so you will have to use either a service such as myself or a friend or neighbour who is already registered with the ANTS system. They will be able to do this for you.
If possible try & get a certificate of conformity for the vehicle you are bringing, It must be a copy from the manufacturer or his representative. It does not need to be in french. The requirement is that your registration document (V5c) should have all the technical details on it that the french need but more often than not vital info is either incorrectly entered or left off completely. Better to be fully prepared. Your UK MOT, if less than 6 months old, can also be used for registration but a french CT will be necessary once your car has french plates if it is 4 years old or more.
Your UK trailer also needs to be registered but it is not important to do this immediately if you are not using it on the road.
Hi @anon90504988 - are you saying that if you are provided with UK V5 plus recent UK MOT and a CoC you can do the registrations for a fee?
If so I am interested.
Thanks
My first post explained that the one month rule wouldn’t work in practise as there were delays in ANTS and recommended that the procedure should be started in that time.
Thank you very much for your useful response.
You did indeed. I was just explaining that some insurance agents will insure a UK car for a month only but will extend that if the Accuse d’enregistemente Demarche complementaire, which you get when originally uploading your request, is shown to them. It proves that you have started the process.
I will be bringing my 2013 AUDI TT TFSI 1798cc Petrol car over to France, when I move. I got my COC for 70euros but can’t find out the cost of registration. All the sites I’ve found are in French. I’m budgeting about 400euros does this sound enough to you? Or might it be more? Thanks Elle
Please pm me & I will send you my contact details.
Budget another 800 euros.
Coût du certificat d’immatriculation
Y1 - Taxe régionale : 369,00 €
Y1 bis - Taxe additionnelle voitures de forte puissance : 0,00 €
Y2 - Taxe formation professionnelle : 0,00 €
Y3 - Taxe additionnelle voitures de tourisme : 0,00 €
Y3 - Malus CO2 voitures de tourisme : 750,00 €
Y4 - Taxe de gestion : 4,00 €
Y5 - Redevance d’acheminement : 2,76 €
Y6 - Taxes à payer : 1 125,76 €
Hi Mark, it is not for a little while so I will send you a pm nearer the time.
Many thanks Mark for the info, most kind of you. At least I’ll be prepared now, more than I’d hoped but having looked at similar cars of age and mileage in France their cost is horrendous, so still worth me keeping my low milage one which I’ve had for 3 years and love. Buying the property on 15th Oct (excited) and hope to bring my car over in Jan or Feb. Best wishes Elle
It reduces a little year by year so you should save a bit!
No problemo.
Hi Mark @anon90504988
Do you think if I were organised it is possible to view a car being sold by an individual and drive it away the same day?
Obviously insurance would need to be sorted.
A new CT is to be carried out - are these more or less thorough than a UK MOT?
Thanks
We intend to bring our RHD car to France permenantly in March 2019.
It is insured until April 2019
It has UK car tax until May 2019
It has an MOT until November 2019
I have the Certificate of Conformity.
I intend to register the car in France when needed.
I will get insurance through @fabian in April.
When do I need to get it registered in France?
Do I need to buy more UK road tax (I assume not).
Thanks for your help.
You now have to register your car through the ANTS system which can take some time. People seem to have found it quicker to use a third party company to submit the paperwork for them. Places like Roady and Feu Vert often offer this service.
Theoretically you have to register your car within a month of bringing it to France but since ANTS the best you can be expected to do is to send off the paperwork in that time. You should be able to find a local insurance company who will give you temporary cover on the UK plates but they will probably want to see some proof that you have started the registration process.
The trailer’s registration depends on its weight. A small trailer with a gross weight under 500kg can be towed using the tow car’s registration and will be covered by the car’s insurance. Trailers over 750kg need their own Carte Grise and insurance. Trailers between 500kg and 750kg have separate rules to do with Carte Grise and insurance. I can’t remember which they need but they don’t need both.