peter (User)
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Registration of a non French registered car 2008/06/27 14:10
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From some of the mail that we have received from members recently, some have been a little confused over the obligation and time limit within which you have to register your car in France when you come to live here permanently, if it has been registered in another country.
Members have written saying that they have been told anecdotally that they have either one month or three months to do this otherwise they will be 'illegal' with their vehicle here.
After some research and consulting similar organisations to ours in France, the situation is as follows:
You can legally maintain the registration of your car when you bring it to France from say the UK, Holland (any EU member state) and you do not have to change it to French registration.
With regard to a Controle Technique (equivalent of a UK MOT) for your vehicle, in France the law is that if the vehicle is 4 years old plus then you must obtain a CT and this is renewable every two years. The law states that where required, a valid CT is obligatory however a similar test document from another EU state is valid in France. As such, a UK MOT is OK in France providing it is valid.
However, at the expiry of your MOT it would seem more sensible to then have the French CT on your car.
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peterm (Admin)
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Re:Registration of a non French registered car 2008/10/16 16:40
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As an update, I along with a few other members have been asked by our French car insurers to obtain a Carte Grise as they would prefer that the cars are now French registered despite the law now allowing foreign registered cars to be 'valid' in France.
As a note to others if it helps; I duly went along to the local prefecture with all of the necessary legal documentation to re-register the car from UK to France. One stubling block, the prefecture department would not accept the UK MOT document. Despite explaining and getting agreement that the document was valid under current legislation, I can inform members that whilst a UK MOT is valid in France, it is not valid according to the sous-prefecture in Chalon to obtain a Carte Grise. It may well be valid elsewhere, rather like the headlight issue for a CT. I explained the headlight isue to the man doing the CT for me and he saw no issue.
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Sally (User)
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Re:Registration of a non French registered car 2008/10/16 18:47
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I think a little elaboration is needed to Peter’s comments to avoid confusion. To drive a car in France it must be fully registered some country or other. This means that it must be traceable to the address of the owner and it must have the equivalent of an MOT, insurance and tax if necessary in its country of registration.
If the DVLC accept foreign addresses then a UK registered car with valid insurance, MOT and tax is legal in France.
To register a car in France you must have, amongst other things, a current CT, which is not the same as an MOT.
A number of people “export” their cars from the UK or take them “off-road” thus negating the requirement to pay UK road tax. The reason given for this action is that road tax is not payable on cars in France. These cars then have a CT instead of an MOT because they can no longer be driven legally in the UK and so it is not possible to get an MOT. These cars are then not fully registered in the UK nor are they fully registered in France and are therefore not legally on the road.
The police can get very nasty if they want to in these circumstances, mostly they ignore this infringement, but everyone should be aware of their obligations and take decisions and actions in the full knowledge of what they are doing.
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Re:Registration of a non French registered car 2008/10/31 10:56
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Insurance also needs to be taken into account. Most UK insurers will not cover a UK registered car overseas for an unlimited amount of time. Our French insurers will only insure a foreign registered car for one month, on the basis that it is the process of obtaining french registration.
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Nick (User)
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Re:Registration of a non French registered car 2008/11/13 23:09
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Does anyone happen to know whether there are any UK insurers which *will* insure a UK registered car in France for a full year or more?
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peterm (Admin)
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Re:Registration of a non French registered car 2008/11/13 23:37
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There are a number of UK Insurers who advertise in the standard Expat publications who say they will.
However, it would appear to be advisable to use a local insurer if your car is going to be based in France.
If you are going to spend a significant amount of time in France with your UK registered car but not be resident, then you should seek advice from your insurer.
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