France clean air Crit’Air, windscreen stickers

France has recently introduced  “France clean air Crit’Air stickers” that must be affixed to a vehicle windscreen. These stickers identify a vehicle’s emission levels. Known to some of us as “France clean air stickers” or “Crit Air”, these stickers are a legal requirement in some French cities. Some websites refer to them as “clean air vignettes” or “crit air vignettes”.

At present, the following cities are “in the scheme”.

• Paris
• Lyon
• Grenoble

It is worth noting that this list is not exhaustive. At least twenty other towns and cities have expressed interest in the scheme. There is a rumour that Dunkirk is jumping on the band wagon. Think about it!

A good map might be what you need!

The first thing to add, is that whilst the France clean air Crit’Air is required in those three cities at present, more could be added whilst you are away. Therefore, it is worth applying for a France clean air Crit’Air sticker, even if your trip to France does not include the three cities that are currently in the scheme. Furthermore, imagine a scenario where you are by passing Paris on the motorway, but an accident or road closure forces you to divert into Paris…..!

If you drive your vehicle into one of the “restricted areas”, without the necessary sticker, you are liable to an on the spot fine of between €68 and €135 euro.

Where do I buy a France clean air Crit’Air sticker?

You will need to supply an upload of page 2 of your V5 document

Applying for the France clean air Crit’Air is easy. Click on this link to the French Government website. There are two sets of pages available – French and English. During the process, you have to upload a copy of PAGE 2 of the v5/log book relating to the vehicle. Noteworthy of a mention, this image must be less than 400 KB in size. Our scanned copy was almost 2MB. You may use a program such as Pixresizer to reduce the size of the image. The on screen instructions are simple. Payment is made by a bank card.

Be careful – there are some unofficial sellers that are charging an arm and a leg for a sticker that costs just €4.80 including postage from the official source!

Note that the sticker may take upto six weeks to arrive.

First timers travelling to France may wish to read about this product from Amazon. The Ring RCT1 European Travel Kit contains many legally required items for travelling overseas.