Taxi driver training in France: required, advised, and what it costs
In France the only compulsory step towards a taxi licence is the exam run by the chambers of trades, not a driving school.
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French law does not require you to take a course before the taxi exam. The government site service-public (page F21907) calls training “strongly recommended” but “not compulsory”, and the rules of the chambers of trades (CMA), which run the exam, accept independent candidates. A course usually lasts 50 to 300 hours and costs roughly €400 to €3,000; your CPF (the personal training account most workers in France build up) can pay for it, and job seekers can ask France Travail, the public employment service, for help. The prefecture, the State’s office in each département, publishes the list of approved schools. The exam fee is separate: €241 in 2026 for seven written papers, one of them on local geography and rules, plus a driving test with a taxi meter. Three courses remain mandatory: first aid (PSC1, under 2 years old) before the card, a 14-hour refresher every 5 years, and a 14-hour mobility course (35 in Paris) to work in another département.
Taxi training: what it costs to reach the card
Total cost up to the card
€1,921
| Regulated fees (CMA exam + card) | €301 |
| Your quotes (course, first aid, doctor) | €1,620 |
| If you fail the practical test | €2,039 |
| If you fail the written stage | €2,162 |
Exam €241 and card about €60 (CMA, service-public). Private prices are your own figures.
The legal position on initial training
Step four of service-public’s taxi page (F21907) deals with training before the exam, and it is short: a course is strongly recommended if you want a real chance of passing, and it is not compulsory. The CMA exam rules confirm it by accepting independent candidates. The CMA’s FAQ adds that the medical certificate and first-aid course only matter when you apply for the card: to register you need ID (or a residence permit allowing work, if you are from outside the EU), your car licence, a photo and proof of address.
So there is no official taxi syllabus for schools, no minimum number of hours and no approval that gates the exam. What the State does set is the exam content, by ministerial order, last updated by the order of 20 March 2024. Judge a school on how closely it follows that content, and on the time it gives to the local paper.
What good preparation covers
Six of the seven written papers are identical across France. The seventh, F(T), tests knowledge of the area and its local rules, and the regional chamber of trades writes it. That paper is what sets taxi preparation apart from VTC (private-hire) preparation, and it is where newcomers to a département lose the most marks. If French is not your first language, note that French is examined on its own, with the same elimination threshold as most papers.
| Paper | Set at | Weight | Where to focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| A T3P regulations, preventing discrimination and sexual and sexist violence | national level | 3 | Transport Code, discrimination, sexist violence |
| B Business management | national level | 2 | basic accounts, business forms, cost price |
| C Road safety | national level | 3 | Highway Code, fatigue, alcohol |
| D French | national level | 2 | reading comprehension, short written answers |
| E English | national level | 1 | helping foreign passengers, route vocabulary |
| F(T) Local area knowledge and local rules | regional CMA | 3 | stations, hospitals, landmarks, prefecture orders |
| G(T) National rules specific to taxis | national level | 3 | taxi licence (ADS), fares, working outside your zone |
You need a weighted average of 10/20 across 17 weighting points, with no eliminating mark. The driving test then counts on its own: at least 20 minutes at the wheel, looking after the passenger and billing on the meter, with 12/20 to pass. Marking scales and instant-fail cases are on the taxi exam page.
Hours, price and format: reading a quote
Service-public puts courses at 50 to 300 hours and roughly €400 to €3,000. Many schools teach part of it online, and you pay online or on site. Three questions tell offers apart far better than the headline price:
- how many hours go on the local F(T) paper, with maps and cases from the département where you will take the driving test;
- how many hours of driving in a car fitted out as a taxi, with meter, printer and card terminal;
- whether the car on test day and the exam fee are included.
The calculator above adds your quote, your first-aid and doctor costs, the CMA fee and the card, then shows what failing either stage would add. Regulated fees come from our parameters; private prices are yours, and we publish none.
| Item | 2026 amount | Set by |
|---|---|---|
| Training course (optional) | about €400 to €3,000 | the school |
| Full exam | €241 | the CMA |
| Exam after a VTC written pass (mobility) | €168 | the CMA |
| Driving test only, after failing it | €118 | the CMA |
| Professional card | about €60 | service-public |
| First aid (PSC1), approved doctor | on quote | the provider, the doctor |
The full exam cost €237 in 2025. Always check the current fee in the CMA exam guide when you register rather than in a school brochure.
Funding: CPF and France Travail
Service-public names the CPF for taxi training and sends job seekers to France Travail, which can contribute and runs a course search tool. CPF money pays for one specific listed session, so a school cannot promise funding that someone else decides. If you are changing careers while employed, plan the time off with your employer: a course of several weeks rarely fits around a full-time job.
The three courses nobody can skip
First aid, before the card
Among the conditions for becoming a taxi driver, service-public lists the PSC1 (prévention et secours civiques de niveau 1, the basic first-aid certificate) taken within the last 2 years. The prefecture checks it with your card application, along with the approved doctor’s opinion and a car licence held for 3 years, or 2 after supervised driving. An older certificate must be redone, so book it shortly before you apply.
Refresher training every five years
The order of 11 August 2017 requires a 14-hour classroom course in a taxi-only session before each renewal of the card, which lasts 5 years. It has three set modules, including taxi regulations, plus one of your choice. Service-public advises taking it 3 months before expiry. Dates and steps are on the continuing training and renewal page.
Mobility, to change département
A French taxi card only covers the département where you passed the exam. Adding another takes a 14-hour course, 35 hours for Paris, on the new area and its rules, then a new card. Service-public caps you at 4 départements. If you already know where you will work, sit the exam there: the driving test takes place where you ask to work.
Preparing on your own
Going solo saves the school fee, not the rest. For the driving test you need a car that meets the rules: four doors, dual controls and mirrors, a taxi meter, a roof light, a printer linked to the meter and a card terminal. Hiring it is not covered by the exam fee. For the written stage, the official syllabus and past papers are enough for a disciplined candidate.
The best way to prepare F(T) is on the ground: drive the main routes, locate stations and hospitals, read the prefecture’s orders. No national textbook covers it fully.
After the course
Once you pass, apply for the card at the prefecture with the CMA certificate, the medical opinion and your first-aid certificate. Then come your business status and the licence, free on a waiting list, bought or rented, explained in the guides to becoming a taxi driver and the taxi licence. For the full start-up budget, car included, use the start-up cost calculator. Still torn between the two trades? VTC training shares the same core papers.