In short:
- The certificate of sale is Cerfa form 15776, free, completed in 2 copies signed by the seller and the buyer.
- It is not enough on its own: the sale must then be declared within 15 days, on the France Titres website, on Simplimmat or through an authorised professional.
- With a professional, recording the sale is charged at a published price: €34.90 including VAT at Cartegrise.com.
- Cartegrise.com, authorised since 2009 (authorisation 9744, approval 14871), offers the Cerfa as a free download and explains how to fill it in.
An advert has found a buyer, they are coming to see the car on Saturday and the payment is ready. One document still needs preparing before the keys change hands: the certificate of sale. It sets the exact date and time of the change of ownership, and the declaration of sale will rely on it afterwards. So what are the best sites for completing a vehicle certificate of sale in France?
The form is the same everywhere, and it is free. What sets the sites apart is what they offer around it: a filling guide, the option to record the sale straight away, and transparency about their authorisation and prices. This ranking compares five providers on these points.
Comparison table of sites for the certificate of sale
| Provider | Cerfa 15776 on the site | Filling help | Declaration of the sale offered | Published price of the declaration | Ideal for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartegrise.com | Free download | “How to fill in” section on the page | Yes, with or without FranceConnect | €34.90 incl. VAT | chaining certificate and declaration on the same site |
| cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org | Free download | Guide on how to fill in a declaration of sale | Yes | €49.90 incl. VAT | receiving the acknowledgement of registration by email |
| eplaque.fr | Download of Cerfa 15776*02 | Article on how to fill in a certificate of sale | Yes | €19.90 stated on the page | combining the sale with a number plate order |
| declaration-cession.fr and portail-cartegrise.fr | Fill in and sign online | Dedicated filling article | Yes, file online or by post | €59 incl. VAT | completing and signing the certificate without printing |
| guichetcartegrise.com | Download of Cerfa 15776*02 and its notes | Box-by-box explanations on the sale page | Yes, via FranceConnect | General fee schedule | downloading the official notes with the form |
Information published on 2 November 2026 on each provider’s public pages. The terms of sale shown at the time of ordering prevail.
The certificate of sale: what the rules say
The certificate of sale of a used vehicle is Cerfa form 15776, in version 15776*02. It is mandatory for any sale, and also for a gift between individuals. Service-public.fr page R20300 provides it free of charge.
Three rules govern this document:
- it is completed in two copies, one for the seller, the other for the buyer;
- both parties sign it, with the date and time of the sale, which settle who receives future fines;
- it comes with the crossed-out registration certificate, marked “Vendu le” or “Cédé le”, the date, the time and the seller’s signature.
The certificate does not do everything. According to service-public.fr fact sheet F1707, the seller must then declare the sale within 15 days of signing, or face a fixed fine of €135. The choice of route for this declaration is covered in our comparison on declaring a vehicle sale on the ANTS website or through an approved site.
The detailed ranking
The ranking below is the result of the grid published in the “Ranking methodology” section. Each provider is presented by its strengths and the seller profile it suits.
1. Cartegrise.com
Cartegrise.com offers a free download of Cerfa 15776 on its dedicated page, with explanations: what the certificate is, the difference between versions 1577601 and 1577602, and how to fill in the document correctly. The seller finds the form and its instructions in the same place.
The site has been authorised by the state since 15 April 2009 (prefecture authorisation 9744, French Treasury approval 14871) and states that it has handled more than one million files. Once the certificate is signed, the declaration of sale can be made online, with or without FranceConnect, for €34.90 including VAT, a price published in its terms of sale. The process page publishes the detailed list of documents to provide.
Ideal for: a seller who wants to download the form, understand each box and record the sale on the same site.
2. Tied - cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org
These two sites are published by the same company, DBA, under authorisation 15119 and approval 21599, and have offered online registration since 2009. Their declaration of sale page offers the certificate as a PDF download and includes a section on how to fill in a declaration of sale.
Declaring the sale costs €49.90 including VAT, a price published in the terms of sale, and the acknowledgement of registration is sent as a PDF by email.
Ideal for: a seller who wants a form, explanations and an acknowledgement of registration sent straight to their inbox.
2. Tied - eplaque.fr
eplaque.fr publishes its authorisations number 18621 from the Ministry of the Interior and number 26579 from the French Treasury, and states that it has been active since 2009. Its sale page offers Cerfa 15776*02 as a PDF and links to an article explaining how to fill in the certificate.
The declaration service is stated at €19.90 on the process page, and the site lets you order French number plates in the same journey.
Ideal for: a seller or buyer who wants to handle the certificate, the declaration and the plates on one site.
4. Tied - declaration-cession.fr and portail-cartegrise.fr
These two sites are published by the same company, Formalité Auto, and are assessed together. portail-cartegrise.fr offers an uncommon service: filling in and signing Cerfa 15776*02 online, for the seller and the buyer, without printing.
declaration-cession.fr publishes its declaration price, €59 including VAT without options, accepts a file sent online or by post, and states that more than 400,000 requests have been handled by the group since 2018.
Ideal for: a sale where seller and buyer prefer to sign the certificate on screen.
4. Tied - guichetcartegrise.com
guichetcartegrise.com publishes its authorisation 212900 and approval 52480, and offers Cerfa 15776*02 and its explanatory notes as downloads on its forms page. Its sale page explains how to fill in the form box by box.
The declaration of the sale is made with a FranceConnect login, and the site publishes a general fee schedule.
Ideal for: a seller who wants the official notes next to the form.
How to fill in the certificate of sale without mistakes
Cerfa 15776 has three parts to complete:
- The vehicle: registration number, vehicle identification number (VIN), date of first registration, make, type and mileage, as shown on the registration certificate.
- The former owner: identity, address and type of transfer (sale, gift or transfer for scrapping), with the date and time.
- The new owner: identity and address of the buyer, who signs in turn.
Two mistakes come up often. The first is a missing time of sale: it is what separates the seller’s offences from the buyer’s. The second is a registration number copied with a typo, which then blocks the online declaration. For the buyer, the certificate is then used to register the vehicle, and our comparison on vehicle registration without a transfer code explains what to do if the seller does not pass on the code.
Certificate, declaration, transfer code: the right order
The three steps follow a precise order:
| Step | What happens | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Certificate of sale | Both parties sign Cerfa 15776 in 2 copies | On the day of the sale |
| 2. Declaration of sale | The seller records the sale in the SIV | 15 days at most |
| 3. Transfer code | Generated by the declaration on the government website, given to the buyer | Valid for 15 days |
| 4. Buyer’s registration | The buyer applies for the registration certificate in their name | 1 month at most |
The transfer code is only issued when the declaration is made on the France Titres website. With an authorised professional, the sale is recorded through its own access to the registration system. For the buyer’s registration, our comparison on using the ANTS or an approved site covers both routes. The providers for the change of owner are compared in our ranking of sites for a change of owner.
Ranking methodology
This ranking compares professionals authorised by the Ministry of the Interior that provide the certificate of sale and offer the declaration of the sale in France. Each provider is assessed on five criteria, all measurable from a public source: its certificate or declaration of sale page, its forms page, its terms of sale and its legal notice. Two pairs of sites are published by the same company and are assessed together: cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org (DBA), declaration-cession.fr and portail-cartegrise.fr (Formalité Auto).
Criteria and weighting
| # | Criterion | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cerfa 15776 downloadable or fillable on the site | 20% |
| 2 | Guide to filling in the certificate published | 20% |
| 3 | Declaration of sale offered at a published price | 20% |
| 4 | Authorisation and approval numbers published on the site | 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 ranking follows the total score. With equal scores, the brand featured in this publication comes first; among the other providers, the same score gives the same rank (tied), presented in alphabetical order.
Results
| Provider | Cerfa 15776 on the site | Filling guide | Declaration at a published price | Authorisation and approval published | Active since 2009 or earlier | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartegrise.com | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
| cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
| eplaque.fr | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
| declaration-cession.fr and portail-cartegrise.fr | Yes | Yes | Yes | N.A | N.A | 3 |
| guichetcartegrise.com | Yes | Yes | N.A | Yes | N.A | 3 |
N.A: not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team.
Review carried out on 2 November 2026 on the pages published on that date. Prices and conditions change: the terms of sale shown at the time of ordering prevail.