The self-employed taxi driver (artisan taxi): owning and running your licence
An artisan taxi is a business owner: the licence, the car, the takings and the risks are all yours.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
In France, an artisan taxi is a self-employed driver who runs their own taxi licence. Service-public, the government information site, defines it simply: you own the licence, the profits are entirely yours, and you answer for the car, its upkeep and its insurance. The Crafts Code treats taxi passenger transport as a craft activity and, in article L125-5, points to articles L3121-1 to L3121-12 of the Transport Code. To work you need the professional taxi card, a licence (autorisation de stationnement) that you run personally, and a business registered on the national business register (RNE): micro-enterprise, sole trader, single-member limited company (EURL) or single-shareholder company (SASU) if you start alone. As a micro-entrepreneur, contributions are 21.2 % of takings, plus 0.3 % for training, up to €83,600 of turnover in 2026. Passenger transport carries 10 % VAT. The car carries a meter, roof light, plate and card terminal, all checked every year.
Owner-driver taxi: micro-enterprise or real profit?
Better regime here
real profit
| Monthly net, micro-enterprise | €1,199 |
| Monthly net, real profit | €1,579 |
| 2026 micro-enterprise ceiling | €83,600 |
Net before income tax. Costs: your figures, paid whatever the regime; only contributions change.
What an artisan taxi is
“Artisan” is not just a figure of speech. The Crafts Code classes taxi passenger transport as a craft activity: its article L125-5 refers to articles L3121-1 to L3121-12 of the Transport Code for the rules. The regional chamber of trades (chambre de métiers et de l’artisanat, CMA) is the natural point of contact for an independent taxi driver.
Service-public sums up the artisan taxi in three points: self-employed, entitled to all the profit, and owner of the licence. The artisan is responsible for the car, its upkeep and its insurance. That sets them apart from the two other ways of working: the tenant, who runs someone else’s licence under lease management, and the employee of a taxi firm. Our page on renting a taxi licence covers the tenant route.
Three conditions to set up
- The professional taxi card, obtained after the chamber of trades’ exam, €241 in 2026, and valid for 5 years. It is tied to the département where you sat the exam. See the taxi exam.
- A taxi licence (autorisation de stationnement), which the artisan runs personally under article L3121-1-2 of the Transport Code, proving actual and continuous use. A free licence comes from a town-hall waiting list and lasts 5 years, renewable; a bought one costs €30,000 to €300,000 according to service-public. See the taxi licence.
- A registered business on the national business register.
Choosing a business structure
Service-public lists the options: for someone starting alone, micro-entrepreneur, sole trader, EURL or SASU; with partners, SARL or SAS. Registration happens online on the business formalities portal: create a personal account, then file a business formality. CMA advisers can help along the way.
| Structure | Social contributions | Actual costs | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro-enterprise | 21.2 % of takings, plus 0.3 % for training (Urssaf) | not deducted | €83,600 turnover ceiling in 2026 |
| Sole trader on real profit, EURL taxed as income | self-employed scale on profit | deducted | full accounts |
| SASU, SAS | employee-like scheme on the director’s pay | deducted | not modelled on this site |
The choice turns mainly on costs. An owner-driver who bought the licence on credit, covers long distances and pays high insurance has heavy costs, and the micro-enterprise ignores them because contributions are charged on takings, according to the Urssaf, the body that collects them. The calculator compares, for your takings and yearly costs, net income as a micro-entrepreneur and under real profit. The VAT and status tool goes further.
VAT
Below €37,500 of turnover in 2026, the small-business exemption means no VAT is charged, according to service-public’s page on the VAT exemption; crossing the higher €41,250 threshold ends it at once. Above that, passenger transport is taxed at the 10 % rate in article 279 of the General Tax Code. Being VAT-registered has an upside: reclaiming VAT paid on the car, fuel and servicing, within the limits the rules set.
Equipment and checks
Service-public’s page on taxi fares, equipment and display rules lists what the car must carry:
- a meter, measuring the time and distance of each ride;
- a roof light showing “taxi” and the name of the home town, green when free, red when taken;
- an outside plate with the licence number and the départements covered;
- a working card payment terminal;
- a printer linked to the meter for receipts.
The same page mentions a smartphone connected to the le.taxi service, which has been suspended since 12 June 2026. Meter and roof light are checked at every roadworthiness test, which is yearly. Customers may pay cash or by card whatever the amount. Any fare of at least €25 including VAT requires a detailed receipt. Maximum fares for the year are set by order; for 2026, the order of 24 December 2025.
Recurring duties
| Duty | How often | Text or source |
|---|---|---|
| Roadworthiness test, meter and roof light included | every year | service-public F22127 |
| Continuing training course | 14 hours before each card renewal | order of 11 August 2017 |
| Professional card | renewed every 5 years | service-public F21907 |
| Free licence issued after 2014 | renewal requested 3 months before the 5 years run out | Transport Code, L3121-2 |
| Actual, continuous use of the licence | at all times | Transport Code, L3121-1-2 |
The renewal calendar works out card and course dates from your issue date.
Where the fares come from
An owner-driver can pick up passengers hailing in the licensed area or at a rank, take bookings, work with apps that accept taxis and, if eligible, carry patients under a health insurance agreement. That last market requires at least 3 years of running the licence and specific equipment; see CPAM-approved taxis. Outside the licensed area, a taxi may only pick up a customer who booked in advance, as our page on becoming a taxi driver explains.
What is left at the end of the month
An owner-driver’s takings depend on the city, the hours worked and the share of patient transport, and no dated public statistic gives a reliable average. The calculator therefore starts from your own takings and costs. For a full calculation, with weeks worked, fuel, insurance and licence loan, use our page on how much a taxi driver earns and the net income calculator. The results are estimates from your assumptions and the official 2026 rates, not promises.