Assistance with registering a British car in France

[Ingwe]

I've searched a number of forums, both British and French and can not find the answer to our specific circumstances.
We are resident in the U.K. but have a second house in France. We have a British registered car, taxed and insured with a British insurer who is aware the vehicle is kept in France.
As the car is 20 years old, we have to have a MOT carried out in the UK each April. This is a real nuisance. What we'd like to do is reregister the car here in France so that we can have French road tax, insurance and MOT. Our local garage said it was possible to do this if they changed the headlights to French ones, had a MOT in France and then applied for a carte gris.
However, when we look at the French government sites and forums like Living France, it would seem that this is possible only if you are resident in France. Which we are not.
I feel sure there must be members here who know the precise requirements and can confirm whether it is possible to have the car registered here even though we are not resident here.
Many thanks.

 

[Badknee]

Perhaps Baldeagle7470 might know?

 

[Yorick]

You can't do it here in Spain, so I assume the same there.

 

[Yorick]

Perhaps Baldeagle7470 might know?

How do you do that user name thingy?

 

[maison]

I am not sure if it was legal, (we believed it was at the time), but we registered our motorbike ? in France even though we were not residents.

We attended the “Hotel des Impots” where we presented our Certificate of Conformity and original purchase invoice to show that tax had been paid, (maybe impossible for your older vehicle). We also presented our Contract for ground rent of our property, as proof of French address, and it was not queried.

We were given the relevant documentation to attend the Prefecture with the V5 which was exchanged for the French Carte Grise. There were no problems and the cost was minimal. Motorcycles don’t require an MOT, (Controle Technique).

We ran the motorbike for five years with the French documentation and Insurance before selling it to a French couple.

We didn’t know any better and simply went through the process without any questions being asked regarding French Residency.

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[peterc10]

I am not sure if it was legal, (we believed it was at the time), but we registered our motorbike ? in France even though we were not residents.

We attended the “Hotel des Impots” where we presented our Certificate of Conformity and original purchase invoice to show that tax had been paid, (maybe impossible for your older vehicle). We also presented our Contract for ground rent of our property, as proof of French address, and it was not queried.

We were given the relevant documentation to attend the Prefecture with the V5 which was exchanged for the French Carte Grise. There were no problems and the cost was minimal. Motorcycles don’t require an MOT, (Controle Technique).

We ran the motorbike for five years with the French documentation and Insurance before selling it to a French couple.

We didn’t know any better and simply went through the process without any questions being asked regarding French Residency.

Was that because it was a LHD motorbike ............................

 

[maison]

Was that because it was a LHD motorbike ............................

Of course not.......






......it was ambidextrous.

 

[Ingwe]

We now find that all our utility bills are in my wife's name only (it's not the same as mine) as she, as the French speaker, did all the applications. Not sure whether this is going to be an issue but from maison reply, things are looking more optimistic.

 

[spitfire]

We now find that all our utility bills are in my wife's name only (it's not the same as mine) as she, as the French speaker, did all the applications. Not sure whether this is going to be an issue but from maison reply, things are looking more optimistic.

My understanding is also that you have to be a french resident but will ask around for you.

 

[spitfire]

Reading the french site it states you can only register to you principal address which would negate a UK address.

Before all registrations were done at the Prefecture but are now done on line at the ANTS site but there are agents in little offices who can do it for you at a fee ! I do not know what paperwork is required now but even if you can register with a maison secondaire the problem is the validity of the insurance as you have made a false declaration re your principal residence .

Sorry can't give you better news

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[Vipar]

Explain to them that you live 6 months in each country so you wish to have half the car registered in France and you will only use that half whilst you are in France and the other half when in England. Seems logical to me.

 

[spitfire]

Explain to them that you live 6 months in each country so you wish to have half the car registered in France and you will only use that half whilst you are in France and the other half when in England. Seems logical to me.

Might work you never know lol But after that B..... thing the six months could be a bit awkward

 

[TerryL]

How do you do that user name thingy?

Place an @ before the user name as you type - the site will suggest any user name that matches and just click on your choice. Once posted the @ is automatically dropped and the username is displayed in blue. It also becomes a link to the members personal details.

 

[Yorick]

Place an @ before the user name as you type - the site will suggest any user name that matches and just click on your choice. Once posted the @ is automatically dropped and the username is displayed in blue. It also becomes a link to the members personal details.

TerryL

 

[Yorick]

TerryL

Cool

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[Lot lover]

You do not have to be a French resident but you will have to provide proof of who you are and your residence here.

Passport
EDF bill
UK logbook
French MoT (CT)
Quittus Fiscale - local tax office confirms that there is no VAT due on car
Completed application form for your Carte Grise or whatever they call it now

The interweb is your friend so check on the website for your dept to see what I have missed.

If you continue to reside in U.K. you are not supposed to take your car back there.

This whole thing is really easy, it must be as I have achieved it 5 or 6 times.

 

[Allanm]

It is possible, one of our neighbours has a holiday home in our village and has two French registered vehicles, so, if he can do it, then it must be possible.
If I were you, I would contact a company to do it for you. They will know all the ins and outs and may be able to recommend an insurance company for you.
When we bought and insured our car and van here, the insurers wanted our French address, there was no mention of a principle address, although this is our principle address.
The insurers we use are Allianz. They have an English website and English speaking staff if your French is not up to it.
You could always give them a call and let them know what you are considering doing. They will know what is possible and what isn’t.
Of course, things may change when the UK leaves the EU.

 

[Lot lover]

OP if you must pay someone for advice on this simple task you can always send me some notes though not GBP or Monopoly money.

 

[spitfire]

Peut-on choisir l'adresse qui figurera sur la carte grise ?
Vérifié le 27 juin 2019 - Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Premier ministre)

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Non, vous ne pouvez pas choisir l'adresse qui figurera sur la carte grise.
En effet, le document doit obligatoirement indiquer l'adresse du domicile principal du titulaire. Ainsi, vous ne pouvez donc pas immatriculer votre véhicule dans le département où vous possédez une résidence secondaire.
Vous devrez régler la taxe correspondant au département de votre domicile principal.
La carte grise sera envoyée à cette adresse.

 

[TheBig1]

the obvious answer is sell the uk car and buy a french registered LHD one for use over there

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[Pilote87]

Ingwe If you have a French bank account, you may find that you can obtain a very competitive quote through them. I have just moved most of my insurance over to Credit Agricole

J

 

[spitfire]

Ingwe If you have a French bank account, you may find that you can obtain a very competitive quote through them. I have just moved most of my insurance over to Credit Agricole

J

John technically as above you can only register to your primary residence which would invalidate your insurance if you didn’t do that . Maybe you can register to a U.K. address.

 

[Ingwe]

Reading the french site it states you can only register to you principal address which would negate a UK address.

Before all registrations were done at the Prefecture but are now done on line at the ANTS site but there are agents in little offices who can do it for you at a fee ! I do not know what paperwork is required now but even if you can register with a maison secondaire the problem is the validity of the insurance as you have made a false declaration re your principal residence .

Sorry can't give you better news

There is no way that I would even contemplate making a false declaration about anything. I currently have insurance from a British insurer who provides cover for U.K. registered vehicles that are kept and driven in France for more than 6 months. Our principal residence will remain in the U.K. But we wish the car to be registered in France, insured in France with the number plates registered to the French property.

 

[Pilote87]

John technically as above you can only register to your primary residence which would invalidate your insurance if you didn’t do that . Maybe you can register to a U.K. address.

Pam, I appreciate that point. I was just trying to help on the insurance side IF a work-around could be found for the registration.

Some years ago, I re-registered a Burstner over here, but I had a French primary residence at the time. Now that the whole process has to be done on line, it seems to be much more difficult, particularly for the non-native French speakers. I also re-registered (or should that be registered) a British trailer built by a defunct constructor (Nottingham Trailer Centre) and had to jump through ALL the hoops for that one.

John

 

[Ingwe]

the obvious answer is sell the uk car and buy a french registered LHD one for use over there

That would be the easiest but the car we have is really nice and would cost a fortune to replace despite the low book value and also, the price of second hand cars in France is very high (or at least that's what we've found).

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[HandyAndy]

Sounds a whole lot simpler to just get a LHD french registered car for France and leave it there.

 

[pappajohn]

I thought the biggest stumbling block was the drivers door is on the wrong side.
Seems to be a major problem with UK motorhomes.

 

[spitfire]

Pam, I appreciate that point. I was just trying to help on the insurance side IF a work-around could be found for the registration.

Some years ago, I re-registered a Burstner over here, but I had a French primary residence at the time. Now that the whole process has to be done on line, it seems to be much more difficult, particularly for the non-native French speakers. I also re-registered (or should that be registered) a British trailer built by a defunct constructor (Nottingham Trailer Centre) and had to jump through ALL the hoops for that one.

John

Us too registering our motorhome , car and Isetta . Isetta was the easiest after registering as a vehicle of collection .

Just trying to give the official advice because as we know from Brits driving around in U.K. registered cars for years come a cropper if they have an accident as assurance finds any way out! So wouldn’t like to give dodgy advice just in case .

 

[spitfire]

There is no way that I would even contemplate making a false declaration about anything. I currently have insurance from a British insurer who provides cover for U.K. registered vehicles that are kept and driven in France for more than 6 months. Our principal residence will remain in the U.K. But we wish the car to be registered in France, insured in France with the number plates registered to the French property.

Only way is to find out if they would accept the address as U.K. . maybe find one if the little offices which have started to register for a fee and at least ask the question if they will accept you U.K. address . I am sure they won’t charge to answer a question lol Goid luck

 

[Ingwe]

OP if you must pay someone for advice on this simple task you can always send me some notes though not GBP or Monopoly money.

Some old French francs?

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