How to become a VTC driver in France, step by step

Step 1: check that you qualify

Four personal conditions come first, and it pays to check them before spending anything. Your category B licence must be at least 3 years old, or 2 years if you learned through accompanied driving, and out of its probationary period; the exam rules turn down candidates whose probation is still running. Your criminal record extract must be free of the convictions listed in article R3120-8 of the Transport Code. A doctor approved by the prefecture (the local office of central government), not your usual GP, has to give a favourable opinion on form cerfa no. 14880. And you have to pass the exam.

No qualification is required: service-public states the exam is open whatever your level of education. A first-aid certificate, still compulsory for taxi drivers, is no longer needed for VTC work. The medical is not needed to book the exam either, only for the card, as the CMA’s own FAQ points out, so leave it until after the written papers: the opinion must be under 2 years old when you apply for the card.

Holders of a licence issued outside the EU have a specific rule: the exam accepts it if it has been held for at least 3 years, and only during the first 1 year after you take up normal residence in France. Beyond that, the rules list only EU and EEA licences, which in practice means exchanging yours for a French one where the exchange rules allow it.

One route vanished this summer. Until 11 August 2026, a year of professional passenger driving within the last ten years could replace the exam. Decree no. 2026-764 of 5 August 2026 ended that for any application filed from 12 August; see the page on the VTC card by equivalence for what happens to older files.

Step 2: prepare, with or without a course

Training is optional. Service-public describes it as strongly recommended and quotes 50 to 300 hours for €400 to €3,000, depending on the centre. You can pay with your personal training account (CPF, the training credit every worker in France builds up) or ask France Travail, the public employment service, about funding. Approved centres are listed by the CMA or the prefecture of your département.

The real value of a centre lies in the practical test. It lends you the dual-control car required on the day and drills the parts examiners watch: the quote, the GPS set-up, greeting the passenger. Someone already comfortable with bookkeeping and regulations can revise the written part alone, then rent an equipped car for the drive. The guide to VTC training explains what to look for in a quote.

Step 3: sit the CMA exam

The exam is booked online through the chambers of trades’ platform and costs €241 in 2026, up from €237 in 2025. That covers the written and practical parts, not the car hire. There are seven written papers: five shared with would-be taxi drivers, including one in French and one in English, plus two VTC papers on business development and national VTC rules. You need a weighted average of 10/20 with no paper below its elimination mark. The practical is a role-play journey of up to 45 minutes, at least 20 of them at the wheel, and the pass mark is 12/20.

Non-native speakers should take the French paper seriously: it is eliminatory below 6/20, while English only eliminates below 4/20. Once your file is validated, the CMA guarantees you can sit everything and receive your practical result within 4 months. Weightings, marking scheme and resit rules are on the VTC exam (T3P) page.

Step 4: apply for the professional card

As soon as your pass certificate arrives, you apply online through Démarches simplifiées, the government’s forms portal, attaching the approved doctor’s opinion. The Imprimerie nationale, which prints secure documents for the state, then asks for about €60. The card lasts 5 years, covers the whole of France and goes on the windscreen while you work. Documents, online checks and common mistakes: see the VTC driver card page.

Step 5: set up your business and pick a tax regime

A self-employed VTC driver counts as a craft business in France. You register it in the national business register (RNE) through the Guichet des formalités des entreprises, the single online desk for business formalities. It asks for ID, proof of the business address, a sworn statement that you have no conviction barring you from running a business and proof of parentage, such as a birth certificate. Missing papers can be sent within 15 days, extendable once.

The main choice is between a sole tradership and a company. The micro-entrepreneur scheme (often still called auto-entrepreneur) is the simplest: turnover must stay under €83,600 in 2026 for services, and contributions are a flat share of takings, 21.2 % for commercial or craft services according to the Urssaf, the body that collects social contributions, plus 0.3 % towards craftspeople’s vocational training. The Acre start-up relief cuts that rate at first. The catch: nothing is deductible. Fuel, loan repayments, insurance and app commissions come out of your pocket without lowering what you owe.

Under the “real” regime, as a sole trader or a company, costs are deductible and the VAT on your car can be reclaimed. VTC fares carry 10.0 % VAT, but below €37,500 of takings the small-business exemption lets you invoice without it. Our net income calculator compares micro-enterprise with a sole trader on the real regime; it does not model a single-shareholder SAS (SASU), for want of a verified scale. VAT rules for passenger transport are covered on the VTC and taxi VAT page.

Step 6: join the VTC register

No ride is legal until the operator, which may simply be you, is on the register of VTC operators (REVTC). It costs €170, is done entirely online and needs your insurance certificate, proof of business registration, the vehicle registration document, your professional card and, for a car you neither own nor lease for over 6 months, a €1,500 financial guarantee per vehicle. The authority has up to 2 months after a complete file to register you. Documents, compulsory updates and the penalties tightened on 27 June 2026 are explained on the VTC register page.

Step 7: find a car that meets the standard

The order of 26 March 2015 sets the minimum: under 7 years old (vintage cars aside), 4 doors or more, at least 4.50 m long and 1.70 m wide, and a net output of 84 kW or more. Service-public adds 4 to 9 seats including the driver. Hybrids and fully electric cars are exempt from the age, size and power limits. No exterior roof light is allowed, so nobody mistakes you for a taxi.

Buying, long-term leasing and weekly rental lead to different guarantee requirements on the register and different running costs per kilometre. The vehicle cost calculator sets them side by side.

Step 8: insure the business

Professional liability cover (responsabilité civile professionnelle) is compulsory and its certificate is part of the register file. Service-public warns of a fine of up to €3,750 without it. Any insurer may offer it; make sure the policy covers carrying paying passengers, not just private or business use of the car.

Step 9: order and fit the sticker

The red VTC sticker is ordered from your register account for about €35. While you wait, a temporary version can be used for up to 30 days. The permanent sticker goes in two places: bottom left of the windscreen on the driver’s side, and bottom right of the rear window. It shows your register number and the car’s plate.

Step 10: learn the pick-up rules

This is where VTC work parts company with taxis, and where roadside checks focus. Article L3120-2 of the Transport Code sets the prior-booking rule: you carry only passengers who booked. During a check you show proof on paper or on screen; the order of 6 August 2025 lists what it must contain, from the operator’s details and the passenger’s name and phone number to the booking time, pick-up time and place, your register number and your Siren business number.

• Cruising for fares is banned, whether on the road (driving empty looking for passengers, being hailed) or through an app.
• With no booking lined up after a ride, you head back to your business premises, your home if you work for yourself, or an off-street car park.
• At a station or airport you may wait up to 1 hour for a passenger who has booked.
• Prices are free: either a fixed fare agreed at booking or a price worked out afterwards from time and distance.

Since 27 June 2026, carrying an unbooked passenger is punishable by 3 years’ imprisonment and a fine of €45,000 for an individual (€225,000 for a company). Courts can add a licence suspension of up to 5 years, immobilisation of the car for up to 1 year and its confiscation.

Step 11: find passengers and estimate what you keep

Most newcomers start on booking apps, which pass on rides in exchange for a commission on each one. Service-public notes that commissions and pricing differ between platforms, and we publish no rates. The alternative is building your own clientele, for example with hotels or travel agencies, and many drivers mix the two. Some platforms sell “turnkey” packages bundling exam booking and training: read what is included and what you are signing up to.

App-based drivers are protected by floors negotiated at ARPE: at least €9 per ride after commission (amendment of 19 December 2023), €30 per hour worked and €1 per kilometre on a ride (agreement of 19 December 2023). A separate agreement of 19 September 2023 requires platforms to give clearer notice before deactivating an account.

A floor is not an income. The calculator below starts from your weekly fares, the commission shown on your statement and your hours; what it returns is an estimate based on your own assumptions and official rates, never a promise.

The page on VTC driver pay breaks down the cost lines in more detail.

What you keep as a platform VTC driver

Fares billed per week (rider price)

€

Platform commission (your statement)

%

Hours logged in per week

h

Estimated net per month, before income tax

€1,128

Net per hour logged in	€5.89
Commission per month	€1,342
VAT to pay over per month	€488

Example vehicle costs (€1,360 a month), micro-enterprise, 46 weeks. Agreements guarantee at least €9 net per ride.

Full net income calculator →

Step 12: keep track of renewals

Three deadlines come round. Every 5 years the card is renewed after a 14-hour refresher course, best booked 3 months ahead, plus a new fee of about €60; the register entry is then renewed with the new card. Every year the car needs its roadworthiness test (contrôle technique), with no reminder sent. A petrol or diesel car must be replaced before it turns 7. Our renewal calendar works out the dates from your issue date.

The whole route at a glance

The first calculator on this page, near the top, totals these amounts with your own training and doctor prices. The start-up cost calculator adds the car and your first months of trading.