Driving to France? Check if you need a sticker to avoid a £60 fine

[Bruce Fielding]

If you're driving through a number of areas in France (including Paris, Lyon, Lille, Strasbourg, Toulouse or Grenoble – see the full list), new rules mean you're likely to need an emissions sticker to avoid risking a hefty on-the-spot fine of €68 (£60).

These cities have introduced the Crit'Air scheme to tackle pollution, which means if you're driving through certain environmental zones during restricted times (which can be subject to change depending on that day's pollution) you'll have to have a sticker on your window. See full details of how restrictions vary by city on the EU's Urban Access website.

The stickers cost €4.21 (about £3.70), including postage to the UK, and are colour-coded depending on emissions. Some vehicles are excluded from the scheme and so can't be driven where there are restrictions, including cars registered before 1997, motorbikes and scooters registered before June 2000 and trucks and buses registered before 2001.

Here's how to apply for the sticker (known as a vignette):

Check your emissions on your V5.

Go to the French Environment Ministry website to see which sticker/vignette you can apply for. Only use this official site, don't get caught out by a shyster site which is likely to charge more.

Fill in the online order form – you'll need your licence plate number, date of first registration, fuel and vehicle type, serial number (VIN), a digital copy of vehicle registration documents, name and address and payment details.

This is the only way to apply for a sticker – you can't apply once you're in France, and don't be tricked by any non-official sites selling them at a vastly inflated price. A sticker can take up to 30 days to arrive so get it well before your holiday.

[autobackup]

Bit of a problem for an Atom/Nomad which, as they have an IVA, there are no emissions recorded on the V5!

[Bruce Fielding]

Hmmm... Solutions?

Maybe the donor Honda? But the pipes are different...

[thomas_fr]

TBH, i really doubt that you will be in trouble if on UK plates / without the crit'air vignette

[GraemeW]

ive looked at the French website and it appears its based on EURO engine emissions standard. Does anyone know if the Atom 3.5 and Nomad is EURO 4 or EURO 5 compliant?

We are passing through a controlled area on the forthcoming euro trip, so assumed we need this, but i have no idea which vignette to buy for my car

[Sir Nick]

I don't have a window to stick anything on

[Curves Junkie]

I don't have a window to stick anything on

You have a very little one - but maybe there is the sticker for the swiss autobahn .

[GraemeW]

Spoken to Henry. The cars don’t comply with EURO standard, so it’s not possible to apply for Crit Air sticker. It should be in the same category as a vintage car ie non compliant, but that’s only acceptable if the cars registered before a certain date. How do we explain that in our best French? Older cars without a sticker also have to comply when emissions zones are closed to them on certain days. I assume that would apply to Ariel vehicles?

So no way of solving this one it seems

[Curves Junkie]

My AA3 is EURO standard. If on V5 is not recorded you must fill the form as the website tells you in good English.

[GraemeW]

But what EURO standard? Henry says K20 is EURO standard as a crated engine, but after remapping and supercharger etc it no longer complied with EURO standard. K24 as an Engine for American market never had a EURO standard in the first place?

[GraemeW]

Do we assume or measure emissions on our cars to see if they comply with older EURO standards?

[Curves Junkie]

Oh, now its getting critical for me - after the discussion at the AA4 thread.
After that misunderstanding - I'm fearing I'll never get Henry's support again in the future.

I don't doubt Henry's words, but my registration papers says my AA is EURO standard and I have an AA3/300.

What kind of zone you pass at the tour? ZCR or ZPA??
Also its not allowed in Swiss to put the swiss autobahn sticker on the bonnet or other fiber class items.

[autobackup]

For anybody interested I had to have my Atom's CO2 emissions tested before I could legally register it in Cyprus.

FWIW The result was 183 gms/km

In the Cyrous Registration Document below you will notice that it is listed as a 'Chrysler' this is because on the Cyprus DMV manufacturers database Ariel is not a selectable option - so the clerk simply decided that it was a Chrysler!!

To be honest they could have called it whatever they liked provided that they registered it !!

[GraemeW]

Well I have failed to find out what emissions my car has. Even Ariel can’t tell me.

I’m not sure what zone we passing through but suspect it’s ZPA as ZCRs probably apply to cities where the system is in place, which we are not visiting.

[GraemeW]

For anybody interested I had to have my Atom's CO2 emissions tested before I could legally register it in Cyprus.

FWIW The result was 183 gms/km

In the Cyrous Registration Document below you will notice that it is listed as a 'Chrysler' this is because on the Cyprus DMV manufacturers database Ariel is not a selectable option - so the clerk simply decided that it was a Chrysler!!

To be honest they could have called it whatever they liked provided that they registered it !!

Paul, do you know what EURO standard that maps to? Crit Air stickers are sold by the various EURO standards and not gm/km?