Driving to France from the UK? You need your photocard driving licence, the car's V5C log book, valid insurance, a UK identifier, headlights adjusted for driving on the right, a warning triangle and a high-visibility vest. Heading into Paris, Lyon, Grenoble or another city with a low-emission zone? Then you also need a Crit'Air sticker. Below you will find all the requirements for driving in France in 2026 in one checklist, what is only recommended, and what changed this year.
Driving in France checklist 2026
| What | Required? | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Photocard driving licence | Yes | No International Driving Permit needed with a UK photocard licence |
| V5C log book (VE103 for a hired or leased car) | Yes | Take the original document |
| Valid motor insurance | Yes | No green card needed since 2 August 2021 |
| Passport | Yes | Issued less than 10 years ago and valid for 3 months after you leave |
| UK sticker | Depends on your number plate | Not needed if your plate shows the UK identifier with the Union flag |
| Headlight adjustment | Yes | Beam deflectors or the car's own setting |
| Warning triangle | Yes | One in the car |
| High-visibility vest | Yes | Within reach of the driver, not in the boot |
| Crit'Air sticker | In low-emission zones | Fine of €68 for a car without a valid sticker |
| Winter tyres or snow chains | 1 November to 31 March in signed mountain areas | 3PMSF tyres, or chains or snow socks in the car |
| Breathalyser | No | No longer compulsory since 2020 |
| First-aid kit, spare bulbs, fire extinguisher | No | Recommended, not a legal requirement |
Documents to carry
Driving licence
A UK photocard driving licence is enough to drive in France. GOV.UK confirms that you do not need an International Driving Permit (IDP) to visit and drive in the EU. The exception: with an old paper licence, or a licence issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man, you might need one. Check whether you need an IDP; it costs £5.50 at PayPoint shops.
Log book and insurance
Take the vehicle log book (V5C). Driving a hired or leased car? Then you need a VE103 certificate, which shows you are allowed to use the vehicle abroad; your lease or hire company can provide it. You no longer need a green card for a UK-insured car, but you do need valid insurance, so check with your insurer that your policy covers driving in France for the whole trip.
Passport and the new EU border checks
Your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before the day you enter France and be valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave. You can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) started on 12 October 2025 and has been fully in operation since 10 April 2026. The first time you cross, your fingerprints and a photo are registered. For drivers this happens at the French border check before you board, at the Port of Dover or at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone, so allow extra time on your first crossing. Children under 12 are photographed but not fingerprinted.
ETIAS, the EU's new travel authorisation for visitors such as UK citizens, is not yet in operation and no start date has been announced. Once it starts, you will need to apply online before you travel; it will cost €20 and be valid for three years or until your passport expires. Check the official EU website before you book.
UK sticker or UK number plate
Whether you need a UK sticker depends on your number plate. According to GOV.UK:
- No sticker needed if your number plate shows the UK identifier with the Union flag.
- UK sticker required if your plate shows only numbers and letters, a GB identifier with the Union flag, a European Union flag, or the national flag of England, Scotland or Wales.
Old white GB stickers are no longer valid, so cover or remove them. Put the UK sticker on the rear of the car, not on the number plate.
Adjust your headlights
The dipped beam of a right-hand-drive car points towards the left-hand side of the road, straight into the eyes of oncoming drivers in France. Adjust your headlights before you go: fit beam deflector stickers, or use the car's built-in setting if it has one. Many newer cars with LED or matrix headlights can be switched in the settings menu; your handbook or dealer can tell you how.
Equipment you must carry in the car
Warning triangle and high-visibility vest
Every car in France must carry a warning triangle and a high-visibility vest. Keep the vest within reach of the driver, so you can put it on before you step out after a breakdown or accident. Driving without them can cost you €135. The law asks for one vest, for the driver, but a vest for every passenger makes sense: after a breakdown on a motorway, the official advice is for everyone to get out on the side away from the traffic and wait behind the safety barrier.
Do you still need a breathalyser in France?
No. French law has not required you to carry a breathalyser since 2020, and there was already no fine for not having one. Many driving in France kits still include one, but it is optional. The drink-driving limit itself still applies, as explained under the road rules below.
Driving in France kit: what is actually compulsory
Ready-made driving in France kits often contain more than the law asks for. This is how the usual contents compare:
| Item in a typical kit | Compulsory in France? |
|---|---|
| Warning triangle | Yes |
| High-visibility vest | Yes, at least one for the driver |
| Headlight beam deflectors | Yes, unless your car can adjust its headlights itself |
| UK sticker | Only if your number plate has no UK identifier with the Union flag |
| Breathalyser | No, not since 2020 |
| First-aid kit | No, but recommended |
| Spare bulbs | No, but recommended |
| Fire extinguisher | No |
So check what is already in your car before you buy a complete kit. If you already have a triangle and a vest, you may only need beam deflectors and, depending on your number plate, a UK sticker.
Crit'Air sticker: when UK drivers need one
Many French cities have a low-emission zone (zone à faibles émissions, or ZFE). Access depends on your Crit'Air sticker, which shows your car's emissions category. A car without a sticker counts as the most polluting category and is kept out when restrictions apply. The rules apply to UK-registered cars exactly as they do to French cars, and driving in a zone without a valid sticker costs €68 for a car or motorcycle. More about fines: will I get fined without an emissions sticker?
Where you need a Crit'Air sticker
Low-emission zones cover cities including Paris, Lyon, Grenoble and Strasbourg, each with its own hours and banned categories. Three situations catch UK drivers out:
- Driving south past Lyon. The old A6/A7 motorway through the city, now the M6 and M7 with the Fourvière tunnel, has been part of Lyon's low-emission zone since 1 January 2024, and so have the northern ring road and Boulevard Laurent Bonnevay. The A46 bypass east of the city stays outside the zone.
- An overnight stop or a day in the city. The motorway around a city is often outside the zone, but a hotel, car park or restaurant in the city centre is inside it. Around Paris, for example, the A86 ring road itself is outside the zone, while the area inside it, including the Boulevard Périphérique, is part of it.
- Pollution alerts. During a pollution episode the local prefecture can temporarily keep older Crit'Air categories off the road, sometimes also outside the permanent zones, for example in Alpine valleys.
Are the low-emission zones being abolished?
No, not for now. The French Parliament voted in April 2026 to scrap the zones as part of a wider simplification law, but on 21 May 2026 the Constitutional Council struck that measure out because it did not belong in that law. The zones therefore remain in force. We explain what happened in French low-emission zones are not being abolished.
How to get a Crit'Air sticker
The sticker is issued only through the French government's official website, certificat-air.gouv.fr, and is sent by post. You cannot buy it at a petrol station, at the ferry port or at the Eurotunnel terminal. One sticker per car is enough, and it stays valid for as long as your registration number does not change.
You can apply on the official site yourself. Would you rather do it in English? VignetDirect handles the French application for you: we check your registration details before we submit them, and you usually receive the digital proof by email within 48 hours. That email comes from the official French system and contains a provisional certificate, which the official site says is accepted if you are stopped by the police, so you can travel with it while the sticker is on its way. The sticker itself comes by post from France; the official site quotes about 10 working days, so order at least two to three weeks before you travel. Once it arrives, see where to put the sticker on your car.
Speed limits and road rules
| Road | Normal | Rain |
|---|---|---|
| Motorway (autoroute) | 130 km/h | 110 km/h |
| Dual carriageway with a central reservation | 110 km/h | 100 km/h |
| Road with at least two lanes in the same direction | 90 km/h | 80 km/h |
| Other roads outside built-up areas | 80 km/h (90 km/h where signed) | 80 km/h |
| Built-up areas | 50 km/h | 50 km/h |
When visibility drops below 50 metres, for example in fog, the limit is 50 km/h on every road. France's lower speed limits for new drivers are linked to the French probationary licence, so they do not apply to drivers with a UK licence. Limits are shown in kilometres per hour: 130 km/h is about 80 mph, 110 km/h about 68 mph and 50 km/h about 31 mph. Source: service-public.gouv.fr.
- Drink-driving: the limit is 0.5 grams of alcohol per litre of blood (0.25 mg per litre of breath), lower than in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For bus and coach drivers and for drivers on a French probationary licence it is 0.2 g/l. The safest limit is not to drink at all.
- Phones and headphones: you may not hold a phone while driving, and you may not wear headphones, earbuds or a headset either. The fine is €135.
- Speed camera detectors are illegal. The fine can reach €1,500 and the device can be confiscated.
- Priority to the right: at junctions without signs or markings, traffic coming from your right has priority, even when it comes from a small side road.
- Children: children under 10 must travel in the back in a suitable child seat. There are a few exceptions, for example when the car has no rear seats or when the rear seats are already taken by other children under 10.
Tolls and free-flow motorways
Most French motorways are toll roads (péage). At the toll booths you can pay with a contactless Visa or Mastercard. A toll badge such as Bip&Go or Ulys lets you use the dedicated télépéage lanes, which saves queuing in summer.
Take care on motorways without toll booths. The A79 in central France, the A13 and A14 between Normandy and Paris, and part of the A4 near Metz use free-flow tolling: cameras read your number plate as you drive under a gantry. You then have 72 hours to pay on the motorway operator's website or app, using your number plate. Pay late and you face a €90 penalty, reduced to €10 if you pay within 15 days, rising to €375 after two months. Arriving by ferry at Caen or Le Havre? Your route to Paris on the A13 is one of these motorways.
Driving in France in winter
From 1 November to 31 March, winter equipment is compulsory in designated mountain areas, such as the Alps and the Pyrenees. Signs at the start of each area show where the rule applies. Your car must either have four winter tyres with the 3PMSF symbol (three mountain peaks with a snowflake), or carry snow chains or snow socks for at least two drive wheels. Since 1 November 2024, tyres marked only M+S no longer count as winter tyres, so with those tyres you must carry chains or snow socks. Stopping in Grenoble on the way to a ski resort? Check the city's low-emission zone rules as well.
Breakdowns and emergencies
If you break down on a French motorway, you cannot simply call your own breakdown company onto the motorway. Use one of the orange emergency phones placed every 2 km, or call 112. An approved local recovery firm will come out at a fixed price set by the government: in 2026 that is €151 for a car up to 1.8 tonnes (€186.72 up to 3.5 tonnes) on weekdays between 8:00 and 18:00, and 50% more at night, at weekends and on public holidays. Put on your vest, get everyone out on the side away from the traffic and wait behind the safety barrier. Once you are safe, contact your own breakdown provider to arrange the rest of your journey.
Emergency numbers in France: 112 for all emergencies, 17 for the police, 15 for medical emergencies and 18 for the fire service.
What changed for UK drivers in 2026
- EES border checks have been fully in operation since 10 April 2026, so expect fingerprint and photo registration on your first crossing.
- Low-emission zones stay: the abolition voted in April was struck out by the Constitutional Council on 21 May 2026.
- ETIAS is still not in operation, and no start date has been announced.
Parking, toll prices and other changes are covered in traffic rules in France in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What do I legally need to drive in France from the UK?
Your photocard driving licence, V5C log book (or VE103), valid insurance and passport, a UK identifier on your number plate or a UK sticker, adjusted headlights, a warning triangle and a high-visibility vest within reach. In low-emission zones you also need a Crit'Air sticker, and from 1 November to 31 March you need winter equipment in signed mountain areas.
Can I drive in France without a Crit'Air sticker?
Yes, outside low-emission zones, for example in the countryside and on most motorways. In cities with a zone, such as Paris and Lyon, you need one; without it you risk a €68 fine.
Do I need an International Driving Permit for France?
Not with a UK photocard licence. You might need one with an old paper licence or with a licence issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man.
Do I still need a breathalyser kit to drive in France?
No. Carrying a breathalyser has not been compulsory in France since 2020, so you cannot be fined for not having one. You are free to bring one if you like.
Can I buy a Crit'Air sticker when I arrive in France?
No. No shop, petrol station or port sells it. The sticker is ordered online and sent by post, so order it well before you travel.
Do I need snow chains in France?
Only in signed mountain areas from 1 November to 31 March, and only if your car does not have 3PMSF winter tyres. In that case you must carry chains or snow socks for at least two drive wheels.
Last checked on 16 September 2026 against GOV.UK, service-public.gouv.fr, Légifrance, certificat-air.gouv.fr and the EU's travel-europe.europa.eu.
