Everything about the French emissions sticker

In many French cities or larger urban areas, a certificat qualité de l’air for motorized vehicles is mandatory. Without this emissions sticker, you are not allowed to enter low-emission zones and will be fined. You can read all about the French emissions sticker on this website. Check out this overview for a list of all low-emission zones, with a map and detailed information for each zone. For more about the emissions sticker in general, please read on below.

The six different colors of the French emissions sticker in a row.

Why is there a French emissions sticker?

The idea behind the emissions sticker is to provide French cities with an easy method to keep polluting cars and other vehicles out. By introducing a low-emission zone within which an emissions sticker is required, cities can prevent older vehicles that emit a lot of pollutants from entering. These vehicles do not qualify for an emissions sticker and are not allowed within the low-emission zone. This benefits air quality and the health of residents.

Serious air pollution in the French capital Paris on 8 December 2016.

France is not the only country that has imposed emissions stickers to promote air quality. Germany introduced a similar system back in 2008. Please read more on our website about the German emissions sticker.

Introduction of the emissions sticker

On July 1, 2016, Paris became the first French city to require the emissions sticker. The introduction was followed by a transition period. During this period a sticker was mandatory, but rather than a fine drivers would receive a reminder to buy the sticker. Fines followed in January 2017 for drivers of vehicles registered in France and in May 2017 for vehicles registered in other countries.

French municipalities are allowed to introduce low-emission zones. In French, the low-emission zones are called zones à faibles émissions (ZFE). These are zones, ranging from the center of a city to a larger urban area, that only vehicles with certain colors of the emissions sticker are allowed to enter. The sticker comes in six colors, with the color indicating how much particulate matter the vehicle emits.

Polluting, usually older vehicles are thus easily kept out. For example, a city with moderate air pollution can decide to ban only the most polluting vehicles. A city with regular severe smog can also keep out newer, but still relatively polluting vehicles. You can read what colors of sticker are allowed for each low-emission zone in our overview of French low-emission zones.

French cities want fewer polluting cars on the road, photo Bob Hall (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Additionally, French municipalities have a number of other options to reduce air pollution. For example, they may lower speed limits and set times when vehicles without emissions stickers are not allowed to enter the low-emission zone. They are also allowed to charge lower parking fees for vehicles with emissions stickers, even though this this last method has not yet been implemented anywhere in France.

Beginning of the low-emission zone in Paris, photo Chabe01 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

On major roads, the beginning of a low-emission zone will be clearly marked. You can see an example of the signs indicating the beginning of a low-emission zone in the photo above. The signs indicate which colors of the emissions sticker are allowed and on which days and times the rule is in effect for different types of vehicles. On our page with all French low-emission zones, you can find the rules for each city.

The French low-emission zones: ZFE, ZCR, ZCD or ZPA?

To make it typically French and therefore somewhat complicated, there were initially two types of low-emission zones in France: zones à faibles émissions mobilité (ZCR) and zones de protection de l’air (ZPA). The first type was a permanent zone within which a sticker was always required. The second type was a temporary low-emission zones. Within these zones, an emissions sticker was required only on days with severe air pollution. These were later joined by zones de circulation différenciée (ZCD) which were not much different from ZPAs, but were renamed because they were introduced by a city rather than a department.

In 2020, these three different types of low-emission zones were replaced by zones à faibles émissions (ZFE) with clearly marked boundaries. The distinction between temporary and permanent low-emission zones was dropped as well. This makes the low-emission zones a lot easier to understand. Municipalities can still decide which colors of the sticker are allowed within the low-emission zone. They can also decide on which days and times a sticker is needed. However, there are no longer zones within which a sticker can suddenly be required if there is a day with severe air pollution.

Different colors of the emissions sticker

The French emissions sticker comes in six different colors. Which color you get depends on the type of vehicle in addition to the European emission standard. The age of the vehicle sometimes also plays a role. You can read a detailed explanation on our page about the [colors of the French emissions sticker]. Below are the general rules so you can get an idea of which sticker your car will get.

• Green: fully electric vehicles
• Purple: vehicles with a Euro 5 or Euro 6 petrol engine (2011 or later)
• Yellow: vehicles with a Euro 4 petrol engine (2006-2010) or a Euro 5 or Euro 6 diesel engine (2011 or later)
• Orange: vehicles with a Euro 2 or Euro 3 petrol engine (1997-2005) or a Euro 4 diesel engine (2006 – 2010)
• Burgundy: vehicles with a Euro 3 diesel engine (2001-2005)
• Gray: vehicles with a Euro 2 diesel engine (July 1997-2000)

Euro 1 to Euro 6 are European emission standards. You can find these under item V on your vehicle registration certificate. The years shown in parentheses are indications. In some cases, it can be that a manufacturer brought a vehicle with a Euro 4 diesel engine on the market before 2006. There are also vehicles from after 2006 that are not equipped with a Euro 4 diesel engine. The latter is especially the case for camper vans. When the French government issues the emissions sticker, it is the emission standard and not the year of first registration that is decisive.

Even older vehicles do not qualify for any sticker and therefore are not allowed to enter low-emission zones. In the case of passenger cars, this concerns most vehicles manufactured before 1997.

When is an emissions sticker not required?

There are a number of vehicles for which an emissions sticker is not required. These include police cars, ambulances and fire trucks, as well as vehicles used in agriculture or construction. There is also the possibility of applying to the municipality for an exception for your license plate, but this is aimed only at residents. If you are visiting a French low-emission zone as a tourist or for work, you cannot take advantage of this scheme.

If you hold a blue EU parking card for people with disabilities, a separate rule applies. Although you must have an emissions sticker as long as your vehicle is eligible, you will not be fined. So if your vehicle has a gray emissions sticker that is banned within a low-emission zone, you can still enter as long as your parking card is clearly visible. The same applies to older vehicles that are not eligible for any emissions sticker. These vehicles can enter the the low-emission zones without a sticker, but with the parking card for people with disabilities.

One obvious caveat is that the person to whom the card belongs must be in the vehicle. It does not matter whether this person is the driver or a passenger.

Fines for not having an emissions sticker

Do you not have an emissions sticker and do you drive into a French low-emission zone anyway? Then you will be fined. The fine is € 68 for passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, motorcycles and mopeds. For trucks and buses the fine is € 135. You have to pay within 45 days. If you don not pay within this period, you will be charged an additional fee ranging from € 180 to € 375.

Where can you buy the French emissions sticker?

The French emissions sticker can only be applied for through a website set up by the French government: certificat-air.gouv.fr. The price of the sticker is € 3.11, which including international shipping costs comes to € 4.76. The website is available in French, English and German, and it usually takes two weeks to receive the sticker by postal mail. Completing the form takes some technical knowledge of your vehicle. Please have a look at our guide to applying for the French emissions sticker.

Within 48 hours of placing your order, you will also receive a PDF file by email with your license plate number, a QR code and a digital image of your sticker. You can print this out and put it on your dashboard. It serves as temporary proof for which emissions sticker your vehicle qualifies. You can use this document to drive within French low-emission zones until your sticker arrives in the mail.

Still have questions?

Have you read up until here, but still have questions about the French emissions sticker? Then check out this page with frequently asked questions.