Reading a French registration certificate, box by box
Enter the region, the horsepower in box P.6, the year in box B and the amount printed in Y1: the check compares that amount with the current rate.
The French registration certificate, known as the carte grise, carries every figure that was used to price it. Box P.6 is the fiscal horsepower (chevaux fiscaux), box B the date of first registration, box C.3 the keeper’s address, which decides the region, and lines Y1 to Y6 itemise what was paid: Y1 the regional tax, Y2 the transport vehicle tax, Y3 the malus, then €11 of fixed tax in Y4, €2.76 for posting the card in Y5, and the grand total in Y6. To check Y1, multiply the region’s rate on the certificate date by P.6, then halve it if box B is 10 years old or more. A 2023 car rated 5 CV and registered in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur therefore shows €300 in Y1 and €313.76 in Y6. The total rounds Y1 to Y4 to the euro before Y5 is added. The kilowatt figure in box P.2 plays no part in checking an existing certificate.
Check the amount printed in box Y1
Y1 expected today
€300.00
| Amount entered | €300.00 |
| Difference | €0.00 |
| Rate applied | €60.00 / CV |
The amount matches the rate in force.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The boxes that describe the vehicle
The certificate is laid out in fields labelled with a letter, sometimes followed by a number. Only some of them affect the price. The table lists those that feed a tax, what they hold and how the calculation uses them.
| Box | What it holds | Role in the price |
|---|---|---|
| A | Registration number | None: it stays with the vehicle |
| B | Date of first registration, abroad included | Half Y1 at 10 years; malus scale and depreciation |
| C.1 and C.3 | Keeper and address | The address picks the region and its rate |
| D.1, D.2, D.3 | Make, type and version, trade name | Identifies the model to cross-check P.6 |
| F.1 and F.2 | Technical maximum laden mass, then mass allowed in service | Y2 band for a van |
| G | Mass of the vehicle in service | Reference for the weight malus |
| J and J.1 | EU category (M1, N1, L3e…) and French body type (VP, CTTE, VASP, MTT…) | Half rate for motorbikes, Y2, malus scope |
| P.1 | Engine size in cm³ | Horsepower of two-wheelers |
| P.2 | Maximum net power in kW | Estimate of P.6 before a certificate exists |
| P.3 | Fuel (ES petrol, GO diesel, EL electric…) | Electric cars: a cut in one region only |
| P.6 | Administrative horsepower in CV | Basis of Y1 |
| V.7 | CO₂ emissions in g/km | Basis of the CO₂ malus |
Two dates appear and are easily mixed up. Box B is the very first registration, in France or elsewhere. Box I is the date of the registration this particular certificate relates to, usually the latest change of owner. Box B decides the 10-year rule; box I tells you which date’s rate was charged.
Horsepower: P.6 comes first
Box P.6 holds the administrative horsepower, the French “cheval fiscal” count, which has nothing to do with engine output in bhp. French tax law presumes it correct, so the tax is computed on this figure without any formula. The kilowatts in P.2 and the engine size in P.1 only matter for a vehicle that has no French certificate yet. For a car registered since 1 January 2021, the fiscal horsepower calculator applies the statutory kilowatt formula; for a motorbike, horsepower follows engine size.
Weights: F.1, F.2 and G
F.1 is the maximum laden mass the manufacturer guarantees technically, F.2 the mass allowed on the road. A van’s Y2 tax depends on that maximum laden mass, in bands set by article A421-26. Box G is the mass of the vehicle in service. For a new or imported car, the weight malus is charged on the mass in running order, from 1,500 kg for a first registration in 2026; the official weight malus page sets out the allowances.
Category, body type and fuel
Box J gives the EU category: M1 for a car, N1 for a light van, L1e to L7e for two- and three-wheelers and quadricycles. J.1 adds the French body type: VP for a passenger car, CTTE for a van, VASP for a motorhome, MTT for a motorbike. These codes decide the motorbike half rate, the zero rate for mopeds and the transport tax. Box P.3 gives the fuel; it only changes the regional tax in the one region that still cuts it for electric cars.
Lines Y1 to Y6: the printed bill
The foot of the certificate repeats what was paid when it was issued.
- Y1, regional tax: regional rate × P.6 × coefficient, including the Île-de-France Mobilités surcharge for a keeper living in the Paris region. The coefficient is one half at 10 years and for motorbikes, zero for mopeds.
- Y2, transport vehicle tax: paid on vans and lorries, from €34 to €285 depending on laden mass.
- Y3, malus: the CO₂ malus and the weight malus, paid once, at the first French registration of a passenger car.
- Y4, fixed tax: €11 on almost every certificate issued.
- Y5, delivery fee: €2.76 for posting the secure document.
- Y6, total: Y1 + Y2 + Y3 + Y4 rounded to the euro, plus Y5.
These are the amounts listed on the service-public page on certificate cost. They never include a professional’s fee: applying is free on the ANTS website, the State’s registration portal, and a garage or approved agent who handles it for you charges for that service separately.
Rebuilding the amount paid
Four boxes and one rate are enough to audit a certificate.
- Note P.6, the date in B and the date in I.
- Find the rate per horsepower of the region of the address in C.3 on the date in I. The regional rate table shows the known start dates.
- Multiply the rate by P.6, then by one half if B and I are 10 years apart or more, or for a motorbike.
- Add Y2 and Y3 if they appear, then the fixed tax; round to the euro and add the delivery fee.
Three worked cases
A petrol car rated 5 CV, first registered in 2023 and bought second-hand in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur: €60 × 5 = €300 in Y1, nothing in Y2 or Y3, €11 in Y4 and €2.76 in Y5, giving €313.76 in Y6.
A 7 CV saloon from 2014 taken over by a Paris-region resident on 20 October 2026: €68.95 per horsepower with the surcharge, × 7 × one half = €241.33 in Y1. With the fixed tax, rounding gives €252, then €254.76 once the delivery fee is added.
A new car rated 7 CV, 125 g/km and 1,550 kg, registered in Île-de-France: €482.65 in Y1, a CO₂ malus of €540 and a weight malus of €510 in Y3, €1,546.76 in all. The CO₂ malus scale and the weight malus pages break those lines down. For a 3.5-tonne van taken over in Brittany, Y2 adds €34 and the total reaches €407.76.
Common misreadings
- Reading P.2 as P.6. A 96 kW car does not have 96 fiscal horsepower: P.2 is in kilowatts, P.6 in administrative units.
- Mixing up B and I. The date in I is often recent; only the date in B says whether the car is 10 years old.
- Using today’s rate on an older certificate. 5 regions changed their rate in 2026 (Corsica, Hauts-de-France, Réunion, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur), and Île-de-France gained its surcharge on 1 March 2026. An earlier certificate shows the old amount.
- Suspecting an error in a zero Y1. A duplicate, an address change or adding a spouse carries no regional tax; see address change and duplicate.
- Expecting to pay Y3 again. The malus is paid once; on resale the new keeper follows the used-car transfer rules.
- Adding to the cent. Rounding Y1 to Y4 before Y5 creates gaps of a few cents that are not mistakes.
What the check at the top does
The check takes the region, the P.6 value, the year in box B and the amount you read in Y1. It recomputes the regional tax a change of keeper would cost today, using the rate read from the official horsepower price simulator, and shows the difference. A zero gap confirms the certificate; any other gap nearly always comes from a rate of another date, a reduction specific to the vehicle or a different region. The full calculation link opens every line, Y2 and Y3 included.