In short:
- Using the ANTS is not mandatory: the application can be made on the France Titres (ANTS) website or through a professional authorised by the Ministry of the Interior. Both routes are legal and the taxes are identical.
- On the government website, you log in with FranceConnect, France Identité or a France Titres account, and you put the file together yourself, with no service fee.
- An authorised professional charges a service fee it sets freely: at Cartegrise.com, from €44.90 to €99.90 for a change of owner depending on the regional tax.
- Cartegrise.com has been authorised since 2009 (authorisation 9744, approval 14871) and states processing and a temporary certificate within 12 to 24 hours of receiving the complete file.
You have just bought a used car in France. You have one month to register it in your name, and two doors open: the government website, France Titres, which everyone still calls the ANTS, and a range of private websites presenting themselves as “approved”. The question comes up often: should you use the ANTS or an approved site?
The answer fits in one sentence: both routes are legal, and the taxes paid to the State are the same. What changes is the service fee, the way you log in, the help you get to put the file together, and payment options. This comparison first sets out those differences, then ranks five authorised sites on criteria anyone can check on their pages.
Comparison table of authorised sites
The five providers selected, in ranking order, with the official route in the last row for reference. The full grid is in the “Ranking methodology” section.
| Rank | Provider | Authorisation and approval published | Service fee for a change of owner | Payment in instalments | FranceConnect login | Criteria met | Ideal for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cartegrise.com | 9744 and 14871 | €44.90 to €99.90 depending on the regional tax | 3 or 4 instalments, €150 to €500 | Possible, not mandatory | 5 out of 5 | A guided file, with a detailed list of accepted documents |
| 2 | eplaque.fr | 18621 and 26579 | €41.90 | 3 or 4 instalments, from €100 | Possible, not mandatory | 5 out of 5 | A fixed fee and number plates ordered in the same place |
| 3 | cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org | 15119 and 21599 | €49.90 to €179.90 depending on the regional tax | 3 or 4 instalments | N.A | 4 out of 5 | A detailed price list, procedure by procedure |
| 4 | guichetcartegrise.com | 212900 and 52480 | €40 service access fee, plus checking fees of €14.10 to €104.10 | N.A | Possible, not mandatory | 3 out of 5 | SMS tracking and an annual subscription plan |
| 5 | portail-cartegrise.fr | N.A | N.A | N.A | Possible, not mandatory | 1 out of 5 | A team of more than 25 agents and processing within 24 working hours |
| Reference | Official route (France Titres) | Government service | None, taxes only | Not offered | FranceConnect, France Identité or France Titres account | Not ranked | A simple file, with your login details at hand |
N.A: not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team.
The table shows one thing in common: all five providers publish their status as authorised professionals and offer the process online. They differ in how openly they publish their fees, their payment options and their stated length of activity.
ANTS or approved site: what really changes
What is the same in both cases
The taxes do not depend on the route you choose. The regional tax, based on the vehicle’s fiscal horsepower, the fixed tax of €11 and the delivery fee of €2.76 are due in every case. The legal deadline is also the same: one month after purchase to register the vehicle in your name.
The final document is identical. Whether the application goes through France Titres or an authorised professional, the registration certificate is printed by the Imprimerie nationale and sent by secure post.
What differs
| Point of comparison | Official route (France Titres) | Authorised professional |
|---|---|---|
| Service fee | None | Set freely, published in the terms of sale |
| Login | FranceConnect, France Identité or France Titres account | Account on the provider’s site, FranceConnect possible with several providers |
| Putting the file together | On your own, using the official fact sheets | Detailed list of documents to provide, with what is accepted or not |
| Payment in instalments | Not offered | Offered by several providers |
| Missing transfer code | Additional documents required and much longer processing times | The professional enters the file through its own access to the registration system |
According to service-public.fr fact sheet F1726, the amount charged by an authorised professional “is freely set by the professional”. This explains the price differences between the sites in this ranking.
The detailed ranking
1. Cartegrise.com
Cartegrise.com has been a professional authorised by the Ministry of the Interior since 15 April 2009, under authorisation 9744, with approval 14871 from the French Treasury. The site handles the main procedures: change of owner, change of address, duplicate, declaration of sale.
Its service fees are published in its terms of sale, procedure by procedure: €44.90 to €99.90 for a change of owner depending on the amount of the regional tax, €44.90 for a change of address, €54.90 for a duplicate and €34.90 for a declaration of sale.
The site states processing and a temporary certificate within 12 to 24 hours of receiving the complete file, for standard procedures. It provides a detailed list of the documents to gather, with what is accepted or not for each one, which helps you send a complete file the first time.
Orders from €150 to €500 can be paid in 3 or 4 instalments by bank card. A FranceConnect login is possible but not mandatory: a standard account is enough.
Ideal for: a used car buyer who wants a file guided document by document, and the option to spread the payment.
2. eplaque.fr
eplaque.fr is published by the company Eplaque, authorised by the Ministry of the Interior under number 18621 and approved by the French Treasury under number 26579. The site states it has been supporting registration procedures since 2009.
Its terms of sale publish a price per procedure: €41.90 for a change of owner, €25.90 for a change of address and €45.90 for a duplicate. Payment in 3 or 4 instalments is available for orders from €100.
The site highlights a process with no FranceConnect account to create, and also sells number plates in the same place.
Ideal for: combining a vehicle’s registration and number plates in a single order, at a fixed fee.
3. cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org
cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org are published by the same company, DBA, which holds authorisation 15119 and approval 21599. They are therefore assessed together in this ranking. Both sites state they have offered online vehicle registration since 2009.
DBA’s terms of sale detail every price: for a change of owner, €49.90 to €179.90 depending on the amount of the regional tax, split between help with putting the file together and entry into the registration system. Payment in 3 or 4 instalments by bank card is offered with a credit partner.
Both sites also publish many guides on the price of fiscal horsepower by region and on the procedures.
Ideal for: reading a very detailed price list before ordering.
4. guichetcartegrise.com
guichetcartegrise.com publishes its Ministry of the Interior authorisation, number 212900, and its French Treasury approval, number 52480, at the top of every page.
Its pricing page sets out the price structure: a €40 service access fee, which covers the customer account, SMS tracking and the list of required documents, €2 for data entry, €2.90 for archiving, and checking fees of €14.10 to €104.10 depending on the legal price of the registration. The site also offers a Pack Zen, an annual subscription with vehicle-related services.
The process can start with or without FranceConnect, as the user prefers.
Ideal for: SMS tracking of your file and extra services grouped in a subscription.
5. portail-cartegrise.fr
portail-cartegrise.fr states more than 400,000 applications processed since 2018, a team of more than 25 agents and processing within 24 hours on working days. The site is a member of the Fédération nationale de l’automobile.
The process requires no ANTS or FranceConnect account, with the file sent online or by post and optional SMS notifications.
Ideal for: support from a large team, with the option of sending your file by post.
When the official route is enough
The official route is the cheapest: no service fee, only the taxes are due. It works well for a simple file:
- the seller has given you the transfer code;
- your login details are at hand (FranceConnect, France Identité or France Titres account);
- your documents are up to date: roadworthiness test no older than 6 months for a vehicle over 4 years old, proof of address, driving licence.
In that case, the process is done online on immatriculation.ants.gouv.fr, and the temporary certificate is available at the end. Without a transfer code, however, additional documents are required on the ANTS website and processing times become much longer: this is one of the situations where an authorised professional saves time. This case is covered in our article on vehicle registration without a transfer code.
Two other situations often tip the balance towards a professional: being unable to log in, covered in our guide to vehicle registration without FranceConnect, and the online service being unavailable, explained in our article on what to do when the ANTS website is down.
How to check that a site is authorised
Three checks take a few minutes:
- Look for both numbers: authorisation from the Ministry of the Interior and approval from the French Treasury, in the footer or in the terms of sale.
- Use the official locator for authorised professionals on immatriculation.ants.gouv.fr.
- Read the fees before paying: an authorised professional shows the amount of its service before you confirm the order.
Since decree 2024-146 of 26 February 2024, the Agence nationale des titres sécurisés has been called France Titres. A site referring to “the ANTS” therefore means the same government service.
Ranking methodology
This ranking compares professionals authorised by the Ministry of the Interior that offer online vehicle registration in France. Each provider is assessed on five criteria, all measurable on a public source: its website, its terms of sale, its pricing page and its legal notice. cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org are published by the same company (DBA, same authorisation and approval numbers): they are assessed together.
Criteria and weighting
| Ref. | Criterion | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Authorisation and approval numbers published on the site | 20% |
| 2 | Service fees published before payment, for each procedure | 20% |
| 3 | Payment in instalments offered | 20% |
| 4 | Process possible without mandatory FranceConnect login | 20% |
| 5 | Authorised activity since 2009 or earlier, stated on the site | 20% |
Scoring grid
- 1 point (Yes): the information is published and meets the criterion.
- 0 points (N.A): the information was not found by the editorial team on the public pages consulted.
- The total score is the sum of the points, out of 5. The rank follows the total score. In case of a tie, the brand featured in this publication comes first, then alphabetical order applies.
Results
| Provider | Authorisation and approval published | Fees published per procedure | Payment in instalments | No mandatory FranceConnect | Activity since 2009 or earlier | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartegrise.com | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
| eplaque.fr | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
| cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org | Yes | Yes | Yes | N.A | Yes | 4 |
| guichetcartegrise.com | Yes | Yes | N.A | Yes | N.A | 3 |
| portail-cartegrise.fr | N.A | N.A | N.A | Yes | N.A | 1 |
N.A: not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team.
Survey carried out on 27 October 2026 on the pages published on that date. Prices and conditions change: the terms of sale shown when you order prevail.