Driving for Heetch in France: statuses, paperwork and cash fares
Heetch accepts three kinds of driver and rides paid in cash, which changes how the commission is collected.
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Heetch sets two sign-up conditions in its help centre, read on 4 October 2026: hold a French VTC card and choose a suitable status. Three statuses are accepted: self-employed VTC driver (auto-entrepreneur), manager of a company registered with the trade register, or employee attached to a manager. Documents depend on status: identity, driving licence, licence points record, VTC card and photo for everyone; a Kbis company extract, professional liability cover and proof of VTC register entry for the self-employed or a manager, plus the registration document, a photo of the car, the insurance memo and a paid-passenger insurance certificate; simply an employer code for an employee. Heetch says approval takes 48 hours at most. The car follows the order of 26 March 2015, with hybrids and EVs exempt. Riders may pay cash; the commission is then taken back from the driver’s balance, and a debt above €70 left unpaid for 2 weeks may suspend the account. This is an independent site, not affiliated with Heetch.
Cash rides: your balance for the week
Balance due to you for the week
€432
| Cash collected in the car | €432 |
| Commission owed on that cash | €86 |
| Card rides, after commission | €518 |
Mechanism as described in Heetch’s help centre; commission: your assumption.
Independent site. taxinoir.fr is not affiliated with Heetch and receives nothing from it; Heetch is a trademark of its owner. This page draws on the help centre Heetch publishes, read on 4 October 2026, and on official texts. Treat it as guidance and check with Heetch.
Two conditions, three statuses
The sign-up page of the help centre sets two conditions: hold a VTC card and choose a suitable status. The card is the legal requirement the platform merely checks; you get it through the chambers of trades’ exam and an application to the prefecture, covered on our VTC card page. The status is one of three options described in the article on statuses:
| Heetch status | What Heetch says | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Self-employed VTC | sole trader, main activity passenger transport, craft VTC business | you are the operator: register, insurance and car in your name |
| VTC manager | company (SASU, SARL, EURL…) on the trade register; possible without driving, for a fleet | the company is the operator and may employ drivers |
| VTC employee | attached to a manager | employment contract, car and insurance provided by the employer |
The choice is more than paperwork. Self-employed, you pay contributions on turnover and carry all car costs alone. Employed, you earn a wage and the employer bears the costs. The net income calculator models the first case; the VAT and status tool compares micro-enterprise and real profit.
Documents, status by status
Everyone
Valid identity card, driving licence, licence points record, valid VTC card and a profile photo. The points record is specific to Heetch’s list: neither Uber nor Bolt mention it on the pages we read. A foreign licence must have been exchanged for a French one first where the exchange rules require it.
Self-employed or manager
- for the business: Kbis or extract, valid professional liability cover, proof of entry on the VTC register;
- for the car: registration document, photo with the plate visible, insurance memo, paid-passenger insurance certificate.
Employee
An employer code supplied by the company employing you, and no vehicle documents.
Sign-up happens online by uploading those documents; Heetch says approval takes 48 hours at most. That only covers the platform step, while the exam, the card and the register are measured in weeks.
The car
Heetch’s vehicle page repeats the order of 26 March 2015: over 84 kW, 4 to 9 seats, over 4.5 m long and 1.7 m wide, at least 4 doors, under 7 years old, a yearly roadworthiness test, and exemption for hybrids and EVs. It suggests three routes for drivers without a compliant car: buy one, use leasing or credit-lease, or become an employee of a fleet manager. Our pages on choosing a VTC car and renting a VTC car put numbers on those options.
Cash, balance and debt: how it works
Heetch takes payment by card or in cash, which changes how money flows. Its help centre explains that your balance is what Heetch owes you.
- A card ride raises the balance by the fare net of commission: Heetch collects, then pays you.
- A cash ride lowers the balance by the commission: you collected the whole fare, so Heetch takes its share from your account.
With many cash rides the balance can go negative, which Heetch calls a debt. You settle it by card from the Earnings tab. Heetch states that a debt above €70 left unpaid after 2 weeks can lead to a temporary suspension, lifted once paid.
The calculator replays this. Enter rides per week, average fare, the share paid in cash and your commission assumption: it shows the cash collected, the commission owed on it, the payouts from card rides and the week’s balance. Heetch publishes no commission rate on the pages we read; the suggested value is an assumption to replace with the rate on your statements.
One money-management point follows: the week’s cash is not all yours. Set aside the commission owed, then social contributions and any VAT, which apply to all takings, cash included.
The legal safeguards still apply
Heetch is a VTC platform within articles R1326-1 to R1326-10 of the Transport Code: before each ride it shows the distance and the minimum guaranteed price after commission, and it publishes yearly activity indicators. The ARPE agreements summarised by service-public guarantee at least €9 net per ride, €30 per hour worked and €1 per kilometre on a ride.
To compare with other apps, see driving for Uber and driving for Bolt. Overall income for a platform driver is broken down on how much a VTC driver earns.