Importing a car into France from the UK

My wife and I bought a RHD drive Peugeot in the UK last year but have been tardy about getting it transferred to the French system. The refusal by the insurance company to continue to insure the vehicle on UK plates and a more sensible price for changing the headlights for continental driving encouraged me to take action. My tardiness was also due to our plans to return to the UK; we did not really want to go through the process of permanent import. We were leaving it as long as possible but as there were no signs of us selling the house it seemed we no longer had a choice but to brave the bureaucracy.

I read that in the interests of standardisation, providing cars had a European type number, it would not be necessary to obtain a certificate of conformity (COC) from the manufacturer (at 100 euros or so). I trawled the internet to try to find something authoritative but without success. I wrote to Peugeot to ask them but they failed to respond. All I could find were stories where some Prefectures accepted the V5C and some did not.

When I went to get the Control Technique I was told that because I had the European Type Number (E* ……..) I would not need a COC. I was not entirely convinced that the Prefecture would agree but collected together all the papers I needed to complete the process.
Specifically these are...

· Demande de Certificat d'immatriculation d'un Véhicule (13750*03)
· V5C (UK registration document)
· Control Technique (required for cars older than 4 years
· Quittas fiscale (document issued by the local tax office to say that VAT was paid on the original sale of the vehicle)
· Bill of sale
· Proof of identity
· Evidence of a French address (Utility bill)
· Payment - this varies according to the vehicle.
I found that I could complete the application form online after having first registered with the "Service Public" - here http://mon-service-public.fr.

I completed the form entering the details required including those matching the corresponding data on the V5C. These are keyed with reference letters so this is straightforward. I singed the form copied everything and headed off to the Prefecture in Montauban. The previous satellite office nearer in Calstelsarresin closed earlier this year.

It's a rather confusing place. The usual queuing ticket is required and I eventually managed to resolve the process as to which desks to approach. There is triage process but I eventually arrived at the appropriate desk and handed over all the papers. It seemed I had not forgotten anything. The clerk took copies of the proof of identity, control technique, electricity bill clipped the rest together and asked me to take a seat while she prepared a dossier. After ten minutes the clerk reappeared and said that I needed a certificate of conformity since there was not a type number on the V5C. Failing miserably to arrive at any agreement I was left feeling despondent at the thought of another wasted journey and the 100 Euros or so that Peugeot were going to fleece from me for a piece of paper that to my mind should be provided as a matter of course with the vehicle. On what basis can Peugeot, Mercedes, Ford, BMW produce any cars that don't conform to European regulations? How could my car, built in France by a French company in 2007 not conform?

Having wound myself up sufficiently I looked again at the form 13750*03 that I had already completed. The numbers that entered on that had been accepted when I completed it on line so what could be wrong? I decided I was ready for debate.

All became clear. First of all the clerks were ignoring the form I had completed and were just looking at the V5C. What they were looking for was the "Type" number which is referenced as D.2 on both the V5C and on the French demand. I have reproduced the relevant bits of the documents here. Firstly from the V5C. It seemed rather strange to me that they were ignoring the form created by the French, for the French and in French and were doing their best to decypher the English registration document.



The clerk pleasantly explained that the type number was missing - she was looking for a number in line with D.2 and "Type" not beneath and to the side.
It was not until I explained that the numbers matched those specifically designated as "variant" and "version" that she agreed to reconsider.



The other confusion is that the number that I had always heard referred to as the European type approval number - in my case this appears as follows


Shown on French documentation as "numéro de reception par type" was the number that was important.

It seems though the important numbers are those under D.2 on the form.

I knew that all was well when, having keyed in these two numbers into the computer, the now charming lady asked "quelle couleur est elle? I replied feeling very satisfied "noir" to which she responded very positively "ah black".

I paid my money (more than I expected, a lot more) and received by temporary "certificat d'immatriculation". Hurrah!!

Hopefully this will help others to navigate the process of importing a car into France from the UK.

Michael Turner

1 October 2013

PS On the day that I fitted the new headlights we received and accepted an offer on our house. If only I had changed the lights earlier!