The carte gris, or registration certificate, is a mandatory document for all vehicles. It must be provided systematically when a new or used vehicle is purchased or when it is resold by its owner.
The carte gris, or registration certificate, is a mandatory document for all vehicles. It must be provided systematically when a new or used vehicle is purchased or when it is resold by its owner. The document may be requested by the police or the gendarmes during checks on the road and it must be provided when taking out car insurance. Since 2017, the request for a carte gris is only done online.
The new generation prefecture plan or PPNG was adopted in 2017 and since then, vehicle owners can no longer take the steps to obtain the registration certificate from their town hall or prefecture. Since this change in the regulations for car registration documents, the procedure has been entirely dematerialized and can only be carried out online, on official government sites or on sites of approved professionals.
To carry out this process, you must have a computer connected to the internet and a scanner that can digitize the documents necessary to obtain the carte gris. Those who do not have these means can go to the prefecture or sub-prefecture and carry out the procedure using the computer equipment which is made available to the public in dedicated spaces.
The use of these means is free and agents can advise and assist people who are less familiar with online procedures.
How to do the process step by step?
To apply for a carte gris, you must go to official government sites or approved professional sites.
On the official website, you must go to the “Registration” section. It is then necessary to choose the type of approach to be carried out. You have the choice between “registering a vehicle for the first time in France” or “buying or receiving a used vehicle”.
Once you have chosen the type of approach, all you have to do is let yourself be guided by the site and follow the steps to fill in the information requested and provide the required digitized documents.
Note that it is also under the “Registration” section that you can take other steps such as requesting a duplicate registration certificate or informing the administration of any change such as a change of address. To do this, simply click on “Redo your carte gris” or “Modify the address on your registration certificate”.
To see all the operations you can perform, you can click on “See all online procedures”. Among these other operations, there is the one that allows you to report an error on your vehicle registration document.
Make your carte gris at an approved professional site
Official government websites are not always practical or easy to use. The difficulties are even greater when you are in a particular case, such as when you wish to register a vintage car or a caravan. You have the possibility of carrying out the procedures concerning your carte gris on sites approved by the State.
These sites offer simplified procedures and assistance to help you complete these procedures more easily. You can then delegate the carrying out of these procedures to an approved professional who will do it for you. The professional checks your file and ensures that it is complete before registering your application. However, the service is not free and these private players apply fees, in addition to the various taxes related to the application for the registration certificate.
The professionals who can offer this service are generally garages, dealers, vehicle rental companies, internet service providers or insurers. In order not to get the wrong service provider and avoid scams, you must check the professional’s authorization number.
How long does it take to receive your carte Gris?
After you have applied for your registration certificate and after you have paid the taxes and fees if you have gone through an approved professional, you must wait seven days before receiving your registration document. This is sent by post in a secure envelope.
There are cases where the seven-day period is extended, in particular when you provide information that is incomplete or that needs to be analyzed more exhaustively by the agent in charge of examining your file. The time taken to receive the carte gris is then longer and it can vary from one region to another depending on the number of files that each prefecture has to process.
Note that the mail containing the carte gris must be delivered to you personally by the postman. If you are absent during his visit, he leaves a delivery notice in your mailbox. From the date on this notice, you have 15 days to go to the post office to pick up the mail.
You have the option of mandating a third party to do this for you. If, at the end of this period of 15 days, you have not gone to the post office to collect the mail, the latter is returned to the sender. You will then have to contact the National Agency for Secured Titles to ask them to resend the mail.
While waiting for the receipt of your carte gris, you can follow the progress of the processing of your request on dedicated sections on the site through which you made your request.