What Is the Deadline to Register a Car After Buying It?

In brief:

1. The legal deadline to request a new registration certificate after a purchase is one month (30 days) from the vehicle’s purchase date.
2. Filing the application immediately issues a provisional registration certificate, which allows driving for one month while waiting for the final document.
3. Missing this deadline leads to a 135 € standard fine (fourth-class offence), reduced or increased depending on how quickly it is paid.
4. The application is filed online on the ANTS (France Titres) website or through an authorised professional, with the same supporting documents either way.

After buying a vehicle, new or used, applying for a new registration certificate in the buyer’s name follows a precise legal deadline. This deadline, the documents it requires and the consequences of being late are often confused with the seller’s own sale declaration, which follows a different timeline.

Key deadlines at a glance

This table keeps the two procedures apart: the seller’s shorter one, and the buyer’s, which concerns the new registration certificate itself.

The legal deadline to register a car after a purchase

The rule is the same for a new or used vehicle, bought from a private seller or a professional: the buyer has one month, or thirty days, from the purchase date to file the application for a new registration certificate. This reference date is the one shown on the sale certificate (for a used vehicle) or on the purchase invoice (for a new vehicle), not the date the vehicle was first driven.

This one-month deadline only concerns filing the application, not its approval or the receipt of the final document: as long as the application is filed within this window, no fine applies, even if processing then takes longer. This is one of the most frequent points of confusion with the fifteen-day deadline that applies to the seller’s own sale declaration.

Documents needed for the application

The application for a new registration certificate combines several documents, identical whether the process is completed online or through an authorised professional:

• The sale certificate signed by the seller and the buyer (used vehicle), or the purchase invoice (new vehicle).
• The previous registration certificate, crossed out by the seller with the date of sale and their signature.
• A vehicle status certificate (formerly the lien-free certificate), dated less than fifteen days ago, confirming there is no objection to the transfer.
• An identity document and proof of address less than six months old in the buyer’s name.
• The latest roadworthiness test report, still valid, for a vehicle over four years old (unless it is a new purchase or a sale by a professional with a warranty).

Online, these documents are uploaded as clear photos or scans. Through an authorised professional, form Cerfa no. 13750 (registration certificate application) accompanies the paper file submitted on-site.

Applying online with ANTS or through an authorised professional

Two routes allow the application to be filed within the legal deadline. The ANTS website, now France Titres, offers an online process accessible with FranceConnect or a France Titres account, to be used directly by the buyer. The other option goes through an authorised motor trade professional (dealership, garage or approved online service), who has direct access to the national vehicle registration system and files the application on the buyer’s behalf, usually for a service fee.

Both routes lead to the same result: the application is recorded in the national registration system and a provisional certificate is issued immediately. The choice mostly depends on how much time the buyer wants to spend on it and whether their digital credentials are at hand. If the online process is not available, for instance when the ANTS website is down, an authorised professional remains the fastest way to meet the one-month deadline.

The provisional certificate, then the final registration certificate

As soon as the application is filed and the documents validated, a provisional registration certificate is issued immediately, as a printable digital document. It allows driving throughout France for one month, renewable once if production of the final certificate is delayed, for example during busy periods.

The final certificate itself is produced by the national printing office and sent by post to the address given in the application, with no option to collect it in person. Delivery usually takes a few days to a few weeks, depending on how busy the national registration system is and how complete the filed application was. A missing document or an issue with the file extends this delay and may require additional information before it is sent.

What happens if the application is late?

Failing to apply for a new registration certificate within the one-month deadline is a fourth-class offence. The standard fine is 135 €, reduced to 90 € for prompt payment and increased to 375 € without payment within the set time. This offence can be recorded during a roadside check, since the name still shown on the old certificate no longer matches the vehicle’s actual owner.

Beyond the financial risk, a delay also extends an administrative grey area: until the new certificate is issued, certain steps linked to the vehicle (a later resale, registration abroad, some insurance claims) remain harder to process. It is best to file the application as soon as possible after the purchase, rather than waiting until the legal deadline is close.

Special cases depending on the seller

Buying from a private seller requires the seller to declare the sale within fifteen days, independently of the buyer’s own one-month deadline: although linked by the same vehicle, the two procedures follow separate timelines and fall to a different party each. For more on this step from the seller’s side, our guide on declaring a vehicle sale through ANTS or an approved site details the process.

Buying from a professional (dealership, agent) is often simpler: the professional seller frequently offers to file the registration application on the buyer’s behalf, for a service fee that must be disclosed before payment. This service does not, however, exempt the buyer from checking that the process was indeed started within the one-month deadline: when in doubt, a registration cost simulator helps compare the price of this service among authorised professionals.

One last case deserves particular attention: a change of owner without a purchase, for instance following a gift or an inheritance, follows similar deadline rules but different supporting documents, detailed in our guide on changing the registered owner of a vehicle.

Motorcycles and classic vehicles

The one-month legal deadline applies the same way to buying a motorcycle or scooter: the reference date remains the one on the sale certificate, and the same documents (lien-free certificate, proof of address, identity document) are required, with the roadworthiness test only applying to two-wheelers subject to that rule. Our comparison of authorised sites for motorcycle registration details the steps specific to this type of vehicle.

A classic vehicle, identifiable by the “VC” mention on its registration certificate, follows the same one-month deadline after purchase, but with registration rules that can differ (black-background plates for vehicles first registered before 1950, a certificate issued for life without the usual periodic roadworthiness test). For these files, which often require extra documents, our guide on classic vehicle registration lists the authorised sites that handle them.

In every case, whether it is a city car, a motorcycle or a classic vehicle, the principle stays the same: one month to file the application, or face the standard fine described above.