In brief
- The confidential code is a 5-digit code sent with the registration certificate. The official route asks for it for an address change or a duplicate, unless the request is made for yourself with FranceConnect.
- A new code can be requested at any time, free of charge. It is sent by post to the registered address on the certificate, which blocks anyone who has moved since.
- Registration certificates in the old FNI format (plate 123 AB 45) never had a confidential code: their holders have lost nothing.
- A professional approved by the Ministry of the Interior does not need this code. cartegrise.com (approval no. 9744, accreditation no. 14871, since 2009) states that processing and the provisional certificate take 12 to 24 hours after the complete file is received.
The process is under way online: an address change after a move, a duplicate after a loss, a declaration of sale. The fields are filled in, then the screen asks for a five-digit confidential code. That code has never been seen, or it went in the bin with the envelope the registration certificate came in. The process stops there.
This roadblock is common, and there is a simple explanation for it. The confidential code is used to authenticate the registration certificate during procedures carried out on the French government website. It exists in only one place, and it does not apply to every certificate. Above all, there are three ways forward when it is missing: request a new one, sign in with FranceConnect, or hand the file to an approved professional. One of these routes requires no code at all.
The three routes when the code is missing
| Criterion | Request a new code | Sign in with FranceConnect | Use an approved professional (e.g. cartegrise.com) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confidential code required | Yes, the new code replaces the old one | No, for a request made for yourself | No for an address change or a duplicate |
| Time frame | Email within 24 hours at most for a request made for yourself, otherwise post only, to the address on the certificate | Immediate: the process continues without waiting | Processing and provisional certificate in 12 to 24 hours after the complete file is received |
| Steps left to do yourself | Wait for the code, then resume the process online | Complete the whole process on the ANTS website | Send the supporting documents, the file is checked before it is recorded |
| Cost | Free | Free (excluding any taxes) | Service fees: €44.90 for an address change, €54.90 for a duplicate, on top of taxes |
| Account needed | ANTS user account | Account with a FranceConnect identity provider (impots.gouv.fr, Ameli…) | Standard account, email and password |
| Verdict | Free, but depends on the post and on matching the records | Immediate, but only for your own request | Paid, but depends on no code and no letter: the quick route when the request concerns someone else or a person who has moved |
These three routes are not in competition. They answer different situations, which the following sections cover one by one.
Where to find the confidential code
The confidential code came in with the move of registration procedures online, under the Plan préfectures nouvelle génération (PPNG). Since then, procedures are carried out online, and the government website has to make sure that the person changing a registration certificate is entitled to do so. That is the job of this code: authenticating the registration certificate during a procedure on the ANTS website.
It is a unique five-digit code. It is issued when the registration certificate is printed, after the vehicle has been recorded in the vehicle registration system (SIV). Each certificate therefore has its own code, and the code travels with the document from the day it is printed.
On the letter that comes with the registration certificate
The code appears in the middle of the letter that accompanies the registration certificate when it arrives, printed in bold. It cannot be read on the certificate itself: only that letter carries it.
That also explains most roadblocks. The letter looks like an ordinary cover letter, and many holders throw it away when they put the certificate in the glove box. The useful habit, with every new registration certificate, is to keep that letter with the vehicle papers, or to write the code down somewhere safe.
Before concluding that the code is lost, two things are worth checking: the issue date of the certificate, since a reissue (duplicate, change of owner) comes with a new letter, and the format of the registration number, which tells you whether a code ever existed.
FNI certificates that never had one
The confidential code only applies to certificates in the current system, the SIV, which can be recognised by a registration number in the AB-123-CD format. Certificates from the old national registration file (FNI), in the 123 AB 45 format, never received one.
The holder of an FNI certificate is therefore not at fault and has lost nothing: there is simply nothing to find. There is no point looking for the letter or requesting a new code for that certificate.
This case has a practical consequence. For an address change on an FNI vehicle, the service-public.gouv.fr page “Changer l’adresse sur son certificat d’immatriculation” (changing the address on your registration certificate) states that a new certificate is issued, for a delivery fee of €2.76. The confidential code will come with that new certificate.
Requesting a new code: why it does not always arrive
On the ANTS website, a button to the right of the “code confidentiel” field lets you request a new one. You then enter details about the registration certificate and the holder’s identity. The request is free and can be made at any time.
The service-public.gouv.fr page “Vendre ou donner son véhicule” (selling or giving away your vehicle) sets out how it is sent. For a request made for yourself, the new code is sent by email within 24 hours at most, and by post to the address shown on the registration certificate. For a request made on behalf of someone else, it is sent only by post, to that same address.
Two situations nevertheless stop the code from arriving.
- The address is out of date. The letter goes to the address registered on the certificate. Someone who has moved without updating their certificate will receive it at their old home. It is a closed loop: you need the code to change the address, and an up-to-date address to receive the code by post.
- The details do not match. If the details entered differ from those recorded in the vehicle registration system, no new code is issued. An error in the date of birth held on file is enough to block the request.
The cartegrise.com help page on the confidential code also reports that the sending of new codes sometimes runs into malfunctions. In that case, the process stays on hold and the holder does not know when it can resume.
Requesting a new code remains the right first option when the address on the certificate is up to date, the request is for yourself and there is no rush. In other cases, the next two routes avoid the wait.
FranceConnect: the condition that changes everything
FranceConnect is the French government’s identification and authentication system for online services. It lets you sign in to the ANTS website with an account you already hold with an identity provider, such as impots.gouv.fr or Ameli. FranceConnect then passes the necessary identity details to the registration website.
The “code confidentiel” help page of the government registration website draws the consequence: signing in with FranceConnect removes the need to provide the code, for a request made for yourself. The exemption applies in particular to address changes and duplicates. The service-public.gouv.fr page on selling a vehicle also applies it to the declaration of sale: signing in with FranceConnect means you do not have to enter the code.
This is neither a trick nor a workaround. It is an administrative rule: FranceConnect already proves who the applicant is, so the code serves no further purpose. The effect is immediate, with no letter to wait for.
The condition is strict. The exemption only applies if the applicant is the holder of the registration certificate. As soon as the request is made for a spouse, a parent or a child, FranceConnect proves the identity of the person signing in, not their right to change someone else’s registration certificate. The code then becomes essential again.
To learn more about how this system works in registration procedures, cartegrise.com publishes a dedicated page on FranceConnect and vehicle registration. The site also describes itself as a partner of the FranceConnect authentication system since 2019.
When the request is made for someone else
This case is particularly hard to unblock. A child managing an elderly parent’s registration, a spouse looking after the household vehicle, a relative taking care of an address change: on the ANTS website, the process goes through the “Pour quelqu’un d’autre” (for someone else) button, and the holder’s confidential code is required.
FranceConnect does not lift this requirement. That leaves requesting a new code, but it is sent only by post to the address shown on the registration certificate. If the holder has moved, or if the letter does not arrive, the process remains blocked.
This is where the third route comes into its own. A professional approved by the Ministry of the Interior and accredited by the Treasury has direct access to the vehicle registration system. They do not need the confidential code to handle an address change or a duplicate: the holder appoints them, sends the supporting documents, and the file moves forward without waiting for a letter.
One exception is worth knowing. To record a declaration of sale, the service-public.gouv.fr page “Vendre ou donner son véhicule” states that a seller who appoints a professional gives them the confidential code, for security reasons. A seller who makes the declaration themselves can sign in with FranceConnect instead.
cartegrise.com is one of these professionals. It has been approved by the Prefecture (no. 9744) and accredited by the Treasury (no. 14871) since 15 April 2009, and reports more than 1 million files processed, with ratings of 4.6 and 4.5 out of 5 across more than 32,000 reviews. It is a private provider, separate from the ANTS. The site publishes a full page on how to register your vehicle without the confidential code.
The process has three steps: work out the cost of the procedure, confirm the request, then send the supporting documents from a personalised list. The file is checked before it is recorded, with a follow-up if anything is wrong. Processing and the provisional certificate take 12 to 24 hours after the complete file is received, then the Imprimerie nationale sends the final registration certificate around 2 to 3 days after the provisional certificate. Some procedures can take up to 8 working days.
On price, service fees are added to the taxes, which are the same as on the official route: €44.90 for an address change, €54.90 for a duplicate, €34.90 for a declaration of sale, and €44.90 to €99.90 for a change of owner depending on the amount of the regional tax. Payment in 3 or 4 instalments is available for purchases between €150 and €500.
The official route remains free, excluding taxes. An address change is even free there for up to three declarations per certificate, according to service-public.gouv.fr. Using a professional is therefore mainly worthwhile when the code is missing and neither of the two free routes works: a request for someone else, an out-of-date address, a new code that never arrived.
Further reading
- Motorcycle registration: approved sites compared
- ANTS website down: options for your vehicle registration
- Vehicle registration without FranceConnect: approved sites
- Vehicle registration without a transfer code: sites compared
- Vehicle registration without a document number: 7 approved sites
- All our services comparisons