Taxi or VTC in France: the real differences and how to choose
The two jobs share an exam and part of the rules, then part ways on what matters most: where passengers come from and what they pay.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
In France, taxi and VTC (private hire) drivers sit the same exam with the chamber of trades (CMA), €241 in 2026: five shared written papers, two papers specific to each trade, then a practical test. After that everything diverges. Taxis hold the monopoly on street work: only a taxi may pick up someone who hails it or waits at a rank, and only within the area of its licence (autorisation de stationnement, ADS), with fares capped by the authorities. A taxi card is valid only in the département where the exam was taken, unless you take a mobility course. A VTC works only on prior booking (article L3120-2 of the Transport Code), sets its own prices, may work anywhere in France and must enter its business on the VTC register, €170. For a taxi, the big entry cost is the licence: free after a waiting list, rented, or bought for €30,000 to €300,000 according to service-public. A VTC more often depends on a platform and its commission.
Taxi or VTC: what getting in costs
VTC costs more by
€205
| Getting into taxi work | €1,501 |
| Getting into VTC work | €1,706 |
| Of which regulated fees, taxi / VTC | €301 / €506 |
Excludes the approved doctor, PSC1 first aid and the vehicle, which depend on your quotes.
What the two trades share
Taxis and VTCs belong to the same family, private passenger transport: paid journeys in vehicles with fewer than ten seats (article L3120-1 of the Transport Code). Both need a professional card obtained after the exam run by the chambers of trades (CMA), a compatible criminal record and a favourable medical opinion. Both renew the card every 5 years after a 14-hour course, as the continuing training page explains.
The exam shares 5 written papers, then 2 papers specific to each trade and a practical test. Details are in the taxi exam and VTC exam guides. All papers are in French apart from the English one.
The differences at a glance
| Taxi | VTC | |
|---|---|---|
| Written papers | 5 shared + 2 taxi, including local area knowledge | 5 shared + 2 VTC, including business development |
| Card valid in | the exam’s département, unless mobility course | all of France |
| Finding passengers | street hails and ranks within the licence area, bookings anywhere | prior booking only |
| Fares | capped by official order, meter | free, agreed before the ride |
| Operating document | taxi licence (ADS) | VTC register entry, €170 |
| Vehicle | taxi equipment: meter, roof light, printer | 2015 order criteria for petrol or diesel: under 7 years, 84 kW |
| Patient transport | possible as an approved taxi | no |
Passengers: hails or bookings
This is the core difference. Article L3120-2 forbids any driver without a taxi licence from picking up a passenger on the street without a prior booking, and from stopping or parking to look for passengers. A taxi holds that licence (articles L3121-1 onwards): within its area it takes passengers who hail it and waits at ranks. Outside its area, it can only work on booking.
In practice, a big-city taxi lives largely off the street, stations, airports and radio dispatch services. A VTC lives off platforms and its own clients: companies, hotels, regular private customers. The first can work without a phone; the second never works without a booking.
Fares: regulated or free
Taxi fares are regulated: service-public describes maximum fares set by official order, charged through the meter, with a fare notice in the car and a receipt for any fare from €25. A VTC agrees its price with the passenger, often through a platform that calculates it and takes a commission. For platform drivers, the agreements reached under the platforms’ social relations authority (ARPE) guarantee at least €9 net per ride.
What getting in costs
Leaving aside training, the doctor and the vehicle, regulated fees are close: €301 for a taxi (exam and card) against €506 for a VTC (exam, card, register and sticker), according to the site’s engine. The gap lies elsewhere.
- For a taxi, the licence. A free licence comes through the town’s waiting list, lasts 5 years, can be renewed and cannot be sold. An older transferable licence sells at a free price, which service-public puts between €30,000 and €300,000. You can also rent one, around €3,500 a month in Paris according to the same source. The taxi licence page covers all three routes.
- For a VTC, the car and the guarantee. The car must meet the order’s criteria, and an operator who neither owns nor leases it for more than 6 months must show a financial guarantee of €1,500 per vehicle (page F31027).
The calculator at the top of the page sets the two trades side by side with your training quote and, for a taxi, the price of a bought licence. The start-up cost calculator adds the doctor, first-aid training and set-up spending.
Earnings: no reliable public average
No public statistic we have read compares the average net income of taxi and VTC drivers in a usable way. Income depends on hours, area, average fare, commission for a VTC, licence rent or loan for a taxi, and business structure. The net income calculator works out both trades with the same assumptions and the official 2026 rates: an estimate to redo with your own figures.
How to choose
- You want to start fast with little capital: VTC work with a rented car and a platform is the quickest route; commission and competition are the price.
- You want steady custom and street work: taxi, if you can finance or rent a licence, or wait for a free one.
- You like helping patients: an approved taxi, or the neighbouring job of VSL driver, employed in patient transport.
- You cannot decide: professional mobility lets you switch by sitting only 2 written papers and the practical test, for €168, within 3 years of passing the written stage.
The full paths are in the becoming a taxi driver and becoming a VTC driver guides.