VTC training in France: worth it, what it costs, and going it alone
No rule forces you to take a course before the VTC exam, yet most candidates do.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
In France you do not have to take a training course before the VTC (private-hire driver) exam. The government site service-public calls it “strongly recommended”, and the rules of the chambers of trades (CMA), which run the exam, accept independent candidates as well as those coming out of a course. Courses last roughly 50 to 300 hours and cost about €400 to €3,000, depending on the school and the hours included. You can pay with your personal training account (CPF, the state-funded training budget most workers build up), and job seekers can ask France Travail, the public employment service, for funding help. Approved schools are listed by the CMA or the prefecture of your département. A good course follows the exam: seven written papers, including English and French, then a practical driving test. The exam fee is separate, €241 in 2026. Fail a written paper and you resit everything; fail the practical and you resit it alone for €118.
VTC training: the real price of an hour and of a fail
Price per training hour
€12.50
| Training + exam | €1,741 |
| If you fail the practical (new admission only) | €1,859 |
| If you fail the written part (full exam again) | €1,982 |
Optional on paper, common in practice
Service-public’s page on becoming a VTC driver (F31027) gives training its own step and is blunt about it: a course is “strongly recommended” if you want a real chance of passing, but it is not a legal requirement. The chamber of trades says the same in its FAQ, and article III.1 of the exam rules confirms that independent candidates are welcome. Nobody will ask for a training certificate at the exam or when you apply for the card.
That also means the course itself has no official syllabus. What the law does fix is the content of the exam, set by ministerial order and last changed by the order of 20 March 2024, which added the prevention of discrimination and sexual or sexist violence. Judge a school by how closely it sticks to that list.
Experience behind the wheel elsewhere, in France or abroad, no longer replaces the exam since 12 August 2026. The page on the VTC card by equivalence explains what changed.
Reading the official price and hours ranges
The two ranges on service-public, 50 to 300 hours and €400 to €3,000, cover very different products. At the low end you find a few days of revision for the written papers. At the top sits a long programme with driving lessons, a dual-control car on test day and sometimes the exam registration. Schools take payment online or on site.
| Item | 2026 amount | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Training course (optional) | about €400 to €3,000 | the school |
| Full exam | €241 | the CMA |
| Practical session only (after failing the practical) | €118 | the CMA |
| Hire of a dual-control car | not included in the exam fee | the hire firm or school |
The calculator above turns any quote into a price per hour and adds what a failed attempt would cost on top. That is the fairest way to compare two schools: a cheap package with few taught hours often works out dearer per hour than a longer one.
Funding: CPF and France Travail
Two routes are named by service-public. Most people who have worked in France have a CPF balance, spendable on this course. If you are registered as a job seeker, France Travail may contribute, and service-public links to its individual training grant. Either way the funder decides, not the school, so be wary of any “guaranteed” funding promise.
Service-public also notes that some ride-hailing platforms offer “turnkey” packages bundling training and exam registration. Read what is included, and what you commit to afterwards.
Finding an approved school
Service-public sends you to the CMA of your département for the list of approved schools, while the CMA FAQ sends you to the prefecture. Check both. We name no school and endorse none. Many teach part of the course online, which service-public mentions too.
Get the details in writing before you pay: classroom hours, driving hours, which car you will use on test day, who pays the exam fee, and what happens if you fail. Will the school take you back for another round, and at what price?
What a course should cover
The written stage has seven papers mixing multiple-choice questions (QCM) and short-answer questions (QRC). Scoring under 6/20 on any paper fails you outright, except English, where the cut-off is 4/20, and you need a weighted average of at least 10/20. Bear in mind the French paper if French is not your first language.
| Paper | Questions | Time | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| A T3P regulations, preventing discrimination and sexual and sexist violence | 10 QCM + 5 QRC | 45 min | 3 |
| B Business management | 16 QCM + 2 QRC | 45 min | 2 |
| C Road safety | 20 QCM | 30 min | 3 |
| D French | 7 QCM + 3 QRC | 30 min | 2 |
| E English | 20 QCM | 30 min | 1 |
| F(V) Business development | 12 QCM + 4 QRC | 30 min | 3 |
| G(V) National rules specific to VTC work | 6 QCM + 2 QRC | 20 min | 3 |
The practical lasts up to 45 minutes, with at least 20 minutes at the wheel after 6 minutes planning the route. Out of 20, route planning earns 3, driving 10, looking after the passenger 5 and billing 2; the pass mark is 12. A course with no mock test in front of a pretend examiner skips half of that. Each paper is broken down on the VTC exam page.
Preparing on your own
Self-study works for the written stage if you are disciplined with the syllabus and past papers. The weak spot for many is the language pair: English is scored separately and French carries a weight of two, so fluency at the wheel does not make up for a shaky written French.
The real hurdle is the car. Under the CMA rules you must turn up in an insured vehicle with a valid roadworthiness test, four doors, dual controls and dual mirrors. It need not meet VTC vehicle standards. A hired car needs a rental contract or paid invoice in your name plus the renter’s insurance certificate; a school supplying the car hands you a certificate saying so. The exam fee does not cover any of this.
On timing, the CMA checks your file within 5 working days and, once it is accepted, guarantees you can sit the papers and get your practical result within 4 months. There are 11 national written sessions a year, with at least one per quarter in every region.
The price of failing
How resits work matters more than the headline fee. Failing the written stage wipes the slate: you pay for the full exam again, €241. Failing the practical keeps your written pass, so you only book the practical session at €118, with 2 more attempts within 12 months of the written results. Miss that window and you start from scratch.
For the full bill from course to first fare, including card, register and sticker, use the start-up cost calculator. The order of every step is set out in the guide to becoming a VTC driver.