Penalty for not re-registering a foreign EU-registered car

Cars / Motoring / Insurance
1

I am aware of the fact that I have to register my car in France as a resident with >50% presence, even if it is a car registered in another EU country.

However, trying to re-register the car, I have run into many chicken and egg problems dealing with the legislations of the two countries. I am here just for a couple of years and will go back home after. The hassle and costs to do this are causing me a huge headache, and to think I would have to go through the same thing again when returning back is driving me crazy.

What are the possible penalties and risks if I decide to risk it and not register the car in France?

2

Must admit, I’m wondering which country you’ve come from, with your car… that it is causing so many problems… ???

No doubt others will chime in with all the reasonings for and against…

In the meantime, I think it’s worth mentioning that so many things slip by… under the radar… with no hassle and no worries… until something untoward occurs.

With a car… the totally unexpected… maybe a traffic accident (who knows …) and at that point it’s more than likely that one wishes whole-heartedly that one had not been quite so keen to take the easy route, instead of the correct one.

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3

Czech Republic.

Basically, to re-register my car, I would have to do the following:

  1. Drive it back to Czech Republic to get a fresh Technical Control. (The reason I need to do this is I need temporary plates before I can get my normal plates. In order to get the temporary plates, I need proof of a technical control less than 6 months old - which I don’t have. And the local Technical Control stations won’t do a Technical Control on a car registered abroad without a Carte Grise).

  2. Drive the car to France and obtain the temporary plates

  3. Bring proof of the temporary registration back to Czech Republic alongside with the car in order to cancel my Czech registration (so yes, drive the car back to Czech Republic again)

  4. Drive the car to France and obtain the French registration

  5. Probably do something similar in reverse when I leave

Basically, I need to travel 4000km in total just to re-register the car because my physical presence is required in those steps. All the gas, all the added costs on top. Looking at about 1000€ in just gas to travel, maybe 1000€ more in other added costs? Plus a whole ton of wasted time and headaches. And that is just to do the registration one-way.

4

Seems it was an expensive decision to bring the car here to France. Send it back there and get a car here…

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5

I re-registered my UK registered vehicle and I simply went to one of the many Controle Technique stations and they did the controle, gave me the new certificate which I then used to re-register, so don’t understand why that is a barrier for you. Have you actually visited a Controle Technique station to try to get the check done???

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Yes, I went to 3 different stations in my local area and sent emails to other stations further away. I was rejected and/or looked funny at at the stations I went physically to. Received no response to the emails.

7

Why don’t you have the vehicle Carte Grise (equivalent Czech document) ???

8

I have the equivalent Czech document. But they won’t accept it because it is not the French version and everything is in Czech. In an ideal world they should accept it - but looks like most of the people just can’t be arsed in the real world.

9

I’m not too surprised that you didn’t get a response to your emails. When you visited the station did you explain clearly that you needed to get the controle to be able to register you’re vehicle in France, as that’s what I did and found the folks very helpful.

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I’m pretty sure at least two out of three understood, but then, my French is not the best. However, "
J’ai besoin d’un contrôle technique pour immatriculer ma voiture en France." was a phrase I got off of google translate and was the first thing I said every time. So that should have been pretty damn clear.

11

I’m sure the resident expert will clarify, but my understanding was that the control needs to be less than 6 months old and needs to be either French or equivalent from other European countries. How do you know they wont accept your Czech control certificate - did you already try to submit a re-registration application?

12

The 6 months condition is a general condition for the temporary plates. They would accept a control from any EU country, no problem there. But mine is 1.5 years old (which is still valid for driving).

13

Oh dear… what a pity you didn’t investigate the Reregistering aspect, before bringing the car to France… then you could have come with a CT less than 6 months old.

Roughly where in France are you based ???

14

I was not aware that I had to re-register it at all. It is EU, after all :confused: I found out by accident. I am in Ain.

15

Oh dear… I hope you haven’t overlooked anything else.

16

My first thought was also to call in the resident expert :joy: @anon90504988? Any thoughts?

17

If you have moved your permanent residence to France rather than just staying here for an extended holiday, you need to register your car. If your permanent (principal) residence is still in the Czech Republic & that is where your centre of interest lies, you can keep your car registered there.

What’s with the temporary plates? If you were to move permanently you can use your car initially on its current registration documents but you must at least start the process within a month of permanent arrival,

This might help - Car registration in another EU country - Your Europe

18

This is one of my EU beefs. In the great EU project, why cannot vehicle registration/CT/insurance et al be ‘harmonised’, the process so beloved of Brussels/Strasbourg [supposedly] ?

To prevent local indignation that their precious way with these things were being nixed for some EU Brussels technocratic formula, rather as euro coins have local stampings but are legal tender all over, if a car is legal in it’s original/home EU country, why can it not be so all over the EU?

And when it’s time for a CT, it gets tested, whatever plates it’s wearing, the test being to a common standard, like pork ribs or chicken breasts - and the cars themselves?

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19

Yes unfortunately I’m staying here for a couple of years. The temporary plates are required because in order to submit the application, I need the proof of cancellation of the previous registration. But in the Czech Republic, to cancel it, I need a proof of having registered it in another EU country. Therefore:

  1. I get the temp registration
  2. This allows me to cancel the Czech registration
  3. Which in turn allows me to apply for a French registration

As you can see, this is a huge headache, hence I’m just asking what the penalties or risks are for not registering it at this point…

20

OK. For the good of all, I 'fess up.

Over the past 23 years I have been trundling about through FR and ES in my ‘camper van’ [rather too often it being in removals van mode] Yes, even the kitchen sink
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A RHD GB plated Vauxhall Movano.

A good deal of the time I continued to be legitimately a UK reg person with a legitimately UK reg van

But from time to time I did stay the 90+ days in ES that would oblige me to apply for residency, with all that implies re vehicles. The ‘snowbirds’ in their plastic cottages on wheels used to spend way over 90 days on the costas and Algarve. Brexit has done for them.

But like hundreds of other Brits in ES I never bothered with residency. UK was still in the EU, the Spanish were very lax on this subject and the daft thing that would have arisen would have been that I’d have to re-reg as a UK citizen when I got back after every 90+ day jaunt.

The rules don’t accommodate nomads.

Then I moved to ES full time. I tried to reg to ES plates. I contacted a couple of guys doing the @anon90504988 thing. For RHD commercial vehicle it was VERY DIFFICULT. Waiting lists for 'CT’s ’ were 2-3 months for locals! - and then it became impossible for Vehicle Category N1.

But I was happy to return to UK to get an MoT when necc . Heading back to UK for another MoT …

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It lived out of sight in an enclosed garage in the centre of old VLC - f.o.c. !

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Hostal Rincon sadly closed in the time of the pox and was sold. I expect a snazzy block of flats will appear.

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Here is el patron, Jorge, minding the shop after his usual bibulous lunch. He was so out of it after one lunch that two women who came to wish him Feliz Navidad could get no reaction despite leaning over the desk and shouting in his ear!
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When my flat was being refurbed I went on trips to the bricos for stuff. The route passed by the main barracks of the Guardia Civil !

But I was, as far as all the paperwork went, still a UK citizen with a UK-legal vehicle. Then I got residency and it wasn’t.

But with a current MoT and UK tax and insurance, and me with a UK p/port, we would have passed a check by the G.C. or FR gendarmes.

I came and went on this basis for 5 years.

Then, after getting myself and my car settled in FR, my flat in VLC sold and I set out from UK to do another removals run in the van.

The MoT had run out and so had the tax. I did have insurance.

I had an MoT test booked for the day of my sailing to FR. For reasons to do with my eyesight and driving in the dark, I cancelled the MoT although I had time to do it and get to Newhaven for the midnight sailing. But I was scared of driving in the dark and thought I would wing it. I’d had no bother before - a UK camper van trundling thru’ FR/ES …

All went well on the trip down. On the way back I pulled in to one of those truckers’ cafes way out on the mesa, in the middle of Spain. A Guardia Civil vehicle parked up and the guys went in for a coffee. I was in the van about to leave and did so.

A few minutes later the G.C. guys waved me over into another truck stop.

All was well with my papers except - no MoT, no tax. They showed me the check they had dialled up from DVLA’s ‘check a vehicle’ pages. I explained to them that I had reported the vehicle ‘permanently exported’ to DVLA and had started the process to register it in FR but as far as they were concerned it was a GB reg vehicle without the documents making it legal in the country of registration.

I had a choice. Go no futher in the van [and presumably arrange for me and it to be transported] or pay €350 … €100 for no MoT and €250 no tax.

At €350 it was a deal. I got printed receipts and the cop told me that these would serve if I was pulled over again in ES. [Can’t be done twice for the same offence.] And that I should get a C.T. and C.G. chop-chop when I got to FR.

I don’t think I would have passed if taken to a weighbridge. The tops of the rear tyres were invisible behind the tops of the wheel arches but G.C. didn’t bother with that issue.

The trip thru FR to Normandy went off with no further incidents. I parked up on the farm, booked an MoT for the day of arrival in UK and headed north.

I think that, in the case of more than simply not having legit docs - in an accident, say - the Spanish would impound the vehicle, as I imagine the FR would. The fines would be of a different order to €350 …

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