Vehicles in France — The Attaché Desk

For information only. This guide is an editorial orientation resource. It does not constitute legal, tax, or administrative advice, and does not recommend or encourage any specific course of action. Regulations, procedures and entitlements change; always verify current requirements with your mission, the relevant French authorities, and qualified advisers before taking any decision.

Overview

A vehicle on diplomatic plates in France is exempt from VAT and customs duties, but the exemption comes with conditions on who can drive it, when it can be sold, and what happens at the end of a posting. This guide covers eligibility, the registration process, who is permitted to drive the vehicle, and the points that most often catch people out.

Do you actually need a car?

Paris is one of the best-served capitals in Europe for public transport. The Métro, RER, Transilien and an extensive bus network cover virtually every arrondissement and connect to the Île-de-France suburbs. For most postings within Paris itself, including the diplomatic concentrations of the 7th, 8th and 16th arrondissements, a car is a choice, not a necessity.

The picture changes if your children are enrolled at a school in the western suburbs (Saint-Cloud, Croissy-sur-Seine, Maisons-Laffitte), if your posting involves regular travel across the Île-de-France, or if a vehicle is part of your mission’s practical requirements.

Parking in Paris is expensive and restricted. CD plates do not confer automatic parking privileges. Assess actual need before starting the registration process below.

The legal framework

Diplomatic vehicle registration in France is governed by the Arrêté du 9 février 2009 relatif aux modalités d’immatriculation des véhicules, which sets out the categories of diplomatic plates and the procedure for their attribution. The underlying entitlements derive from the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963).

The two bodies that jointly manage the process are the Sous-direction des Privilèges et Immunités Diplomatiques et Consulaires (MEAE) and the Direction Générale des Douanes et Droits Indirects, Franchises Diplomatiques (DGDDI).

Plate categories

French diplomatic plates have a green background with the following series:

CMD (Chef de Mission Diplomatique): orange lettering
CD (Corps Diplomatique, diplomatic agents): orange lettering
C (Consulaire, consular officers): white lettering
K (Personnel administratif, technique et de service): white lettering

A three-digit prefix identifies the sending country or organisation (1-200 for states; international organisations have separate codes, for example E for the OECD, N for NATO, S for the Council of Europe, U for UNESCO). The series attributable to you depends on your accreditation category as recorded by the MEAE; it is not self-selected.

Eligibility and vehicle limits

Entitlement to a diplomatic plate depends on holding a valid titre de séjour spécial issued by the MEAE.

Holders of CMD/D or CD/D titles: one vehicle in the corresponding series. A second vehicle in the CD series may be authorised if the holder is married and the spouse does not hold French nationality.
Holders of AT/D or K-type titles: one vehicle in the K series, including for married couples.

A new immatriculation in the same series cannot ordinarily be requested within two years of the previous authorisation date. The two-year period runs from the date the DGDDI issued the franchise authorisation, not from the date of registration.

Who can drive a CD-plate vehicle

This is a point worth understanding before relying on a vehicle’s diplomatic status, because the legal position is narrower than many people assume.

The vehicle’s owner can drive it without question. Family members who themselves hold a titre de séjour spécial, and therefore diplomatic or equivalent status, are also entitled to drive it.

Family members without a TSS sit in a different position. There is no explicit regulatory text that bars them outright, but the prevailing legal reading of the Arrêté du 9 février 2009 advises against it, for a specific reason: a spouse who holds French nationality is excluded from diplomatic privileges and immunities under Article 37 of the Vienna Convention, and at an automated traffic control (radar), a presumption of diplomatic immunity attaches to any CD-plate vehicle regardless of who is driving it. A French-national spouse driving the vehicle therefore creates a mismatch between the apparent status of the vehicle and the actual status of the driver. The same caution applies to a spouse or family member who holds no TSS at all, even if not French.

The safer practice, and the one generally recommended to missions, is to limit use of a CD-plate vehicle to the titulaire and to family members who hold their own TSS.

The registration procedure

All requests pass through your mission. The mission submits documentation to the MEAE (Sous-direction des Privilèges et Immunités), which coordinates with the DGDDI. The DGDDI issues the franchise authorisation; the Agence Nationale des Titres Sécurisés (ANTS) then issues the certificat d’immatriculation.

Documents typically required (confirm with your mission):

Formulaire 2 (Demande d’immatriculation en série CMD, CD ou K): six originals with mission stamp
Certificat d’exonération de la TVA et des droits d’accises (Formulaire 1): six originals
Titre de séjour spécial (carte diplomatique)
Certificate of conformity for the vehicle
Original purchase invoice (with translation if not in French)
Attestation d’assurance in force

Processing time: allow four to five weeks from complete submission to receipt of the certificat d’immatriculation. A Certificat Provisoire d’Immatriculation (CPI) permits circulation in metropolitan France for three months while the permanent card is issued.

Customs and tax relief

Vehicles registered under diplomatic plates are exempt from VAT and customs duties at the point of purchase or import, on the basis of the franchise accorded by the DGDDI. The vehicle is imported under a regime of franchise temporaire; the Formulaire 2 is the importation document for customs purposes.

This exemption carries obligations: the vehicle may not be lent, rented or sold without first regularising the customs and fiscal situation.

Insurance

All vehicles circulating in France, including those on diplomatic plates, must carry at minimum third-party liability insurance (responsabilité civile) under French law. Diplomatic immunity does not exempt a vehicle from the insurance requirement. Several insurers in France offer policies structured for diplomatically-registered vehicles; your mission’s administrative office will know which options are commonly used.

Selling the vehicle or ending the posting

On any transfer of ownership, or at the end of a posting, the holder must present the vehicle to the competent customs office (the bureau de douane to which the mission is attached) to regularise the duties and VAT that were deferred at the time of the franchise. Customs issue a Certificat 846A, which is the document required for the vehicle to be re-registered in a normal series, whether by you or by a buyer.

If the deferred taxes due exceed EUR 1,500, payment must be made in cash, by banker’s draft, or by a bank-certified cheque; ordinary personal cheques are not accepted above that threshold.

Diplomatic plates must be physically returned to the customs authority once the vehicle is regularised. The mission coordinates this step.

Common points of confusion

A few points consistently catch people out and are worth confirming directly with your mission before they become a problem:

The plates do not transfer with you to another posting. They are tied to a specific accreditation and a specific vehicle in France.
A second vehicle requires a non-French spouse, not simply being married. A married CD/D holder with a French-national spouse is not entitled to a second CD-series vehicle.
Selling without the 846A certificate is not possible. The buyer cannot register the vehicle in a normal series without it, and only the bureau de douane that authorised the original franchise can issue it.
The two-year rule applies to the franchise authorisation date, not the purchase date. If you are planning to replace a vehicle, check this date before assuming a new authorisation is available.

Official sources

Last reviewed 25 June 2026. Security-specific guidance for vehicle use in France, including the current Vigipirate level, is covered in the companion guide Security in Paris (FR·SEC·01).