The VTC card by equivalence: the route is closed, here is what remains

What the decree of 5 August 2026 did

Decree no. 2026-764 is dated 5 August 2026 and was published on 11 August 2026. It took effect the following day, 12 August 2026, at midnight. Article 1 repeals two provisions of the Transport Code (code des transports): R3122-11, which opened the VTC card to people with professional driving experience, and R3123-2, its twin for motorbike and trike drivers (VMDTR). It also strips the cross-references to them from articles R3120-6 and R3120-8-1.

The online form for the card “by equivalence” on Démarches simplifiées, the government’s forms portal, was shut at the same time, with a notice quoting the decree. Service-public updated its VTC page on 12 August 2026 and now calls the exam “the only way in”.

Taxi drivers are not covered. Both the title and the articles of the decree deal only with VTC and VMDTR drivers, the two trades that still let experience stand in for the exam, and service-public’s taxi page describes no such route.

The old rule, so you can spot outdated advice

Up to 11 August 2026, you could apply for the card without sitting the exam if you proved at least 1 year as a professional passenger driver during the 10 years before applying. That wording still appears in a footnote of the chambers of trades’ exam rules dated December 2024, and on many websites that have not caught up.

Treat it as history. A page offering equivalence as a live option, or linking to the equivalence form, describes the law before 12 August 2026. Three warning signs give it away: no mention of Decree 2026-764, a link to the “par équivalence” procedure, and a last-updated date earlier than August 2026. Ask anyone selling you an “equivalence file” which text they are relying on.

Files submitted before 12 August

Article 2 of the decree handles the changeover in a single sentence: applications filed before it came into force remain subject to the rules in force on the filing date. A complete file sent on 11 August 2026 is therefore assessed under the old rule, even if the prefecture opens it weeks later. Service-public puts it another way: applications made before that date are not caught by the exam requirement.

If you were mid-application, hold on to the Démarches simplifiées receipt and every message from the prefecture. Should you be turned down, that date is what lets you challenge the legal basis of the refusal.

Already holding a card obtained by equivalence

The decree says nothing about cards already issued: it closes an entry route and withdraws no one’s licence. Your card is renewed like any other VTC card, every 5 years, after the 14-hour course covered on the continuing training and renewal page.

There is one lasting catch, in article III.4 of the CMA rules. Holders of a VTC or VMDTR card obtained by equivalence cannot use professional mobility to move into another trade, since they never passed the common written papers. To drive a taxi later, they sit the full taxi exam.

The two routes still open

The full exam is the standard path. Its seven written papers and the practical test are broken down on the VTC exam page, and whether to pay for a prep course is discussed on the VTC training page.

Professional mobility is the only reduction that survives. It applies to anyone declared admissible after the full written stage of the taxi or VMDTR exam. For 3 years from the notification of those results, they may sit just the VTC-specific papers:

• F(V) Business development: 12 multiple-choice and 4 short-answer questions in 30 minutes, weight 3;
• G(V) National rules specific to VTC work: 6 multiple-choice and 2 short-answer questions in 20 minutes, weight 3;

You pass this stage with a weighted average of 10/20 or more across the two, with no paper below the elimination mark, and then take the practical. Your written results sheet, under 3 years old, is one of the documents needed to register. The calculator above tells you whether your window is still open and how much you save.

What years of driving still buy you

Towards the card itself, nothing: taxi work abroad, ambulance shifts, bus routes or salaried chauffeuring exempt you from no paper at all. Towards passing the exam, quite a lot. The practical marks route planning, driving, looking after the passenger and billing, all things a seasoned driver already does well. The written papers on business management, regulations and languages are another matter, and experience does not replace study there.

Once you hold the card, the VTC card page explains the application, and the start-up cost calculator adds up the whole budget.