The VTC exam (T3P): papers, marking, booking and resits
Seven papers, at least 20 minutes behind the wheel, and two thresholds to clear: an average of 10 on paper and 12 on the road.
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The VTC exam, often called the T3P exam after the French term for chauffeured passenger transport (transport public particulier de personnes), is run by the chambers of trades (CMA). It costs €241 in 2026, against €237 in 2025, and has two stages. The written stage is seven papers of multiple-choice and short-answer questions, 230 minutes in all: transport regulations and preventing discrimination, business management, road safety, French, English, then business development and VTC-specific rules. You need a weighted average of at least 10/20 and must not fall below the elimination mark in any paper, which is 6/20, or 4/20 for English. The second stage is a role-play journey of up to 45 minutes, including at least 20 minutes of driving, marked out of 20 with a pass mark of 12. Fail the written stage and you start again; fail the drive and you get two more tries within a year of your written results. Each CMA publishes its own pass rates after every session.
Will you pass the written part? Weighted VTC average
Weighted written average
10.82 /20
| Outcome | pass |
| Papers below the elimination mark | none |
| Pass mark | 10 /20 |
Weights from the CMA rules: A 3, B 2, C 3, D 2, E 1, F(V) 3, G(V) 3.
Two stages, eleven sessions a year
Since a law of 29 December 2016 on chauffeured passenger transport, France’s chambers of trades (CMA) have tested would-be drivers. One exam, with variations, covers taxis, VTCs and motorbike taxis (VMDTR). It opens with written papers, called admissibilité, and closes with a practical test, called admission. CMA France sets a national calendar of 11 written sessions a year, and every region holds at least one per quarter. The reference text is the exam rules, December 2024 version, available in French only.
The seven written papers
Five papers are shared with taxi candidates and two are specific to VTC work. Multiple-choice questions (QCM) are marked automatically; short-answer questions (QRC) are marked by examiners appointed by the CMA. The order of 20 March 2024 added discrimination and sexual and sexist violence to paper A.
| Paper | Questions | Time | Eliminated below | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. T3P regulations, preventing discrimination and sexual and sexist violence | 10 MCQ, 5 short answers | 45 min | 6/20 | 3 |
| B. Business management | 16 MCQ, 2 short answers | 45 min | 6/20 | 2 |
| C. Road safety | 20 MCQ | 30 min | 6/20 | 3 |
| D. French | 7 MCQ, 3 short answers | 30 min | 6/20 | 2 |
| E. English | 20 MCQ | 30 min | 4/20 | 1 |
| F(V). Business development | 12 MCQ, 4 short answers | 30 min | 6/20 | 3 |
| G(V). National rules specific to VTC work | 6 MCQ, 2 short answers | 20 min | 6/20 | 3 |
For an English speaker the English paper is the easy one, but it also carries the lowest weight, 1. The French paper, D, eliminates anyone below 6/20 and is where non-native candidates most need to prepare. The two VTC papers, F(V) and G(V), each carry a weight of 3 for just 50 minutes between them, so careless mistakes there are expensive.
How the written result is worked out
Multiply each mark by its weight, add them up, divide by 17 and round to two decimals: the result must be at least 10/20. No single paper may fall below 6/20, or 4/20 in English. Here is why the floor matters: 10 in six papers and 4 in English avoids elimination, yet the average slides to 9.65 and the written stage is lost. The calculator under the summary does the arithmetic with your own marks.
Results appear on the booking platform. A pass brings a certificate or transcript; a fail brings a transcript and the need to rebook the entire exam.
The practical test, step by step
The CMA calls successful candidates within 2 months of the written results, normally in the département where they want to work, sometimes in another département of the same region. The test lasts up to 45 minutes. Both examiners play passengers, and you draw a scenario at random that may involve rain, a public holiday, luggage or stops along the way.
You greet your “passengers” and help them settle in. One reads out the scenario and the destination, at most twice and without spelling it. From then on you have 6 minutes to start the GPS and type or dictate the address (your phone in a holder is fine, a saved address is not), point out the start and finish on a map, and draw up a quote. The quote is marked on the price, not on the legal wording. Going over the 6 minutes means automatic failure.
Then comes at least 20 minutes of driving, during which the examiners may ask about landmarks, stations or hospitals. Bus lanes are off limits unless a local exception is announced before you set off. At the destination you park, hand over an invoice and take payment.
| VTC criterion | Points |
|---|---|
| Planning and driving the route | 3 |
| Safe, smooth driving within the Highway Code | 10 |
| Passenger care, customer relations, tourist information | 5 |
| Invoicing | 2 |
Some situations end the test with no mark at all: overrunning the preparation time, being unable to reach the destination, an examiner touching the dual controls or the wheel, or failing the entry conditions on the day (non-compliant car, missing papers, signs of alcohol or drugs, open-backed shoes). In that last case the attempt is not counted against you, though you pay again to rebook.
Booking on exament3p.fr
You book through the CMAs’ official platform, exament3p.fr, either as an independent candidate or after a course. You will need:
- a valid ID document; non-EU nationals need a residence permit or receipt allowing them to work, issued by the French authorities;
- a driving licence that is out of its probationary period;
- a passport-standard photo and a signature in black or blue ink on white paper;
- proof of address under three months old or, if you live with someone, their letter, their ID and their own proof of address;
- for professional mobility, your written transcript, less than 3 years old.
No medical certificate is needed yet: the CMA’s FAQ keeps it for the professional card. A licence issued outside the EU and held for at least 3 years is accepted during your first 1 year of residence in France. You cannot book if your professional card was permanently withdrawn in the last 10 years, or if you were excluded for cheating in the last 5.
The CMA has 5 working days to check your file. Once it is validated, the CMA guarantees you can sit both stages and get your practical result within 4 months of filing; a rejected document restarts that clock. Your notice to attend the written papers arrives at least 7 days ahead. Candidates with a disability ask the CMA for adjustments at least 1 month before, with an opinion from a doctor appointed by the CDAPH, the local disability rights commission.
Fees for 2026 compared with 2025
| Option | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Full exam (written and practical) | €237 | €241 |
| Professional mobility | €165 | €168 |
| Practical session only | €116 | €118 |
None of these covers hiring a car for the practical test. You can cancel with a refund only before the CMA validates your file. After that, only force majeure gets you a free postponement, requested in writing with evidence no later than 7 days after the exam date.
Resits
What happens depends on which stage you fail. Missing the written average sends you back to the start at the full fee. Failing the drive leaves you 2 more attempts within 12 months of your written results, each at the practical-only price; after that deadline, or a third failure, it is back to the papers.
Switching from taxi or motorbike taxi
Anyone who passed the full written stage of the taxi or VMDTR exam less than 3 years ago can sit just F(V) and G(V), then the VTC drive, needing a weighted 10/20 across those two papers with no elimination mark. Drivers who got a VTC card through the old experience route cannot use this in reverse, since they never passed the common papers. The route into taxi work is described on the taxi exam page.
Examiners, results and appeals
The practical test has at least two examiners. The chair is a CMA staff member qualified to baccalauréat level. The other is a current or former VTC driver with the same level of qualification and 5 years’ experience within the last 10, nominated by the professional bodies on the local transport committee; VTC professionals examine only VTC candidates. Examiners are trained every year, including on bias and discrimination. If the two disagree, the chair’s mark prevails.
Pass rates are public but local. Within 1 month of each session, every CMA posts the numbers registered and present, average marks per paper and the pass rate for each département (rules, articles IV.3 and X), and CMA France compiles a quarterly national summary. We reproduce none of these: look up your own region, session by session.
To challenge a result, you can view your written script on site for 1 year and send a written complaint to the CMA president within 2 months of the decision. Cheating is costly: a phone, smartwatch or earpiece means the exam is cancelled and you cannot rebook for 5 years.
Once you pass, the next steps are the VTC driver card and the rest of the route to becoming a VTC driver. For revision and driving practice, see VTC training; to put a figure on the whole process, use the start-up cost calculator.