The VTC driver card: getting it, keeping it, renewing it
The card is the last lock before the register: without it, no registration and no bookings.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
In France, the professional VTC card (the private-hire driver’s licence) is requested online, on the government’s Démarches simplifiées site, as soon as the chamber of trades (CMA) has sent you your exam pass certificate. Since 12 August 2026 the exam is the only way in: Decree no. 2026-764 of 5 August 2026 abolished access through work experience, except for applications filed before that date. The file holds an identity document, a driving licence past its probationary period, proof of address under three months old, a photo, a signature, a favourable opinion from a prefecture-approved doctor dated within 2 years, and the CMA certificate. After you apply, the Imprimerie nationale emails you to pay for the card, about €60. The card is valid for 5 years anywhere in France, must be displayed on the windscreen and is renewed after a 14-hour course.
What the VTC card will cost over your career
Card, renewals and courses
€370
| Renewals ahead | 1 |
| 14-hour courses | 1 |
| Card (approx., each issue) | €60 |
Who can apply
There are four conditions, all checked by the prefecture when you apply. You need a category B licence held for 3 years, or 2 years after accompanied driving, with the probationary period over. A foreign licence must first be exchanged for a French one where the exchange rules require it. Your criminal record extract (bulletin no. 2) must show none of the convictions listed in article R3120-8 of the Transport Code: a driving offence that cost half the licence points, driving without a licence or while banned, or a criminal sentence, or a prison sentence of at least six months, for theft, fraud, violence, sexual assault, arms trafficking, extortion or drugs.
You also need a favourable medical opinion from a doctor approved by the prefecture, on form cerfa no. 14880, not from your own GP, and the pass certificate issued by the chamber of trades (CMA) after the exam. That last point changed in 2026: the work-experience route no longer exists for new applications, as explained on the page about the VTC card by equivalence.
The application, step by step
Everything happens online, on the “VTC driver card by exam” form on Démarches simplifiées, which is in French only. Nothing is handed in at a counter. The CMA’s October 2025 notice lists these documents:
- a valid identity document (ID card, passport or residence permit);
- a valid driving licence;
- proof of address, or a letter from the person hosting you, under three months old;
- an ID photo and a signature;
- medical certificate cerfa no. 14880, issued within 2 years by an approved doctor;
- the professional aptitude certificate from the CMA.
The file is handled by the prefecture where you live, or by the Préfecture de police if you live in Paris. Once it is accepted, the Imprimerie nationale emails you to pay for production, about €60. None of the official texts we read sets a processing time, so rely on your prefecture’s actual workload rather than on a training centre’s promise.
Nothing forces you to apply straight after the exam, but waiting gains you nothing: until the card arrives you cannot join the VTC register, order the sticker or accept a single booking.
What the card requires at the wheel
The card goes on the windscreen, readable from outside, whenever you are working; you may remove it when you are not. It is valid nationwide, which is the main practical difference from a taxi card, tied to the département of the exam.
Every holder is automatically listed on the card-checking service known as Cerbère, so a rider, a platform or an inspector can confirm in seconds that a card is valid. Driving with an invalid card exposes you to a €1,500 fine according to service-public, and the authorities can also issue a warning, suspend or withdraw the card of a driver who breaks the profession’s rules.
There is no duplicate after loss or theft: you file a full new application and pay the same fee. Keep digital copies of every document from your first file.
Card, register and sticker are three different things
Newcomers mix them up because they come within the same few weeks. The card belongs to the person and proves the driver may work. The register entry belongs to the business running the vehicle, even when that business is you as a micro-entrepreneur; it costs €170 and is renewed every 5 years. The red sticker belongs to the vehicle: about €35, ordered from your register account, stuck at the front and back.
| Item | Belongs to | Stated cost | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver card | the person | about €60 | 5 years |
| Register entry | the business | €170 | 5 years |
| VTC sticker | the vehicle | about €35 | while the vehicle is in service |
Renewing every five years
The card expires after 5 years. To renew it, you first take a 14-hour continuing training course over two days at an approved centre; service-public advises doing so 3 months before expiry. With the course certificate, you apply online and pay about €60 again. The calculator above adds up those renewals over a career, and the renewal calendar gives the exact dates from your issue date.
A new card means a new register entry: service-public asks you to re-register as soon as the new card arrives. The course itself, its content and its price are covered on the continuing training and renewal page.
Three mistakes that hold up a file
The first is an old medical certificate: it must be under 2 years old on the day you apply, which catches people who saw the doctor before booking the exam and had to go back. The second is proof of address older than three months, a common trap for newcomers to France who still use a lease signed on arrival. The third is a blurred photo or scan: the form accepts the file, the case officer does not. Before sending, read each document the way a busy prefecture clerk would.
Once the card is in hand, the order of the next steps is set out in the full guide to becoming a VTC driver, and the start-up cost calculator shows what the whole process will have cost before your first fare.