Motorcycle registration 2026: cost and approved sites

In brief:

1. Ranking: 1. Cartegrise.com (10 out of 10); 2. cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org tied (9 out of 10); 2. eplaque.fr tied (9 out of 10); 4. guichetcartegrise.com (7 out of 10), according to the grid published in the ranking methodology.
2. For a motorcycle, the regional tax is halved: the fiscal-horsepower rate applied to two-wheelers comes to half that of a car, in every region, with no age discount since 2021.
3. Technical inspection has been mandatory for two-wheelers since 15 April 2024, with a first inspection date that depends on the registration date.
4. Cartegrise.com, approved since 2009 (No. 9744, approval No. 14871), has a dedicated motorcycle registration page and announces the provisional certificate within 12 to 24 hours of receiving the file.

The motorcycle is bought, the helmet is ready, but it cannot be ridden until the registration certificate is in its new owner’s name. The deadline to sort this out is one month after the purchase.

The first thing to know is that the process is free through the official channel, the ANTS website, excluding taxes. Approved professionals also handle it, for a service fee. This ranking compares four approved providers on ten verifiable criteria, based on their public pages on 6 November 2026, then details what changes for a motorcycle: how the tax is calculated, the two-wheeler categories, and technical inspection.

Where to register a motorcycle: the comparison

N.A: not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team.

Information published on 6 November 2026 on each provider’s public pages. The terms and conditions displayed at the time of ordering prevail.

1. Cartegrise.com

Cartegrise.com is operated by SAS Car Concept Diffusion, accredited by the prefecture (No. 9744) and approved by the Treasury (No. 14871) since 15 April 2009. The site reports more than 1 million customers.

Its motorcycle registration page details the procedure and explains the calculation: the regional tax is halved for all motorcycles (MTL, MTT1, MTT2), whatever their age, with a tax simulator to get the price. The provisional certificate is sent by email within 12 to 24 hours of receiving the file, the final certificate arrives within 2 to 3 days, and customers are notified by email and SMS at each step. Published fees from €44.90 to €99.90 for a change of ownership depending on the regional tax, payment in 4 instalments available. A branch welcomes walk-in visitors in Roquebrune-sur-Argens.

Ideal for: a rider who wants the file checked before submission, email and SMS updates and the option of visiting a branch.

2. Tied - cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org

These two sites are published by the same company, DBA (accreditation No. 15119, approval No. 21599), and are assessed together. Online since 2009, cartegriseminute.fr reports 978,245 registration certificates issued.

Its motorcycle registration page points out that the fiscal horsepower rate is halved for every motorcycle category and offers a calculator, and the site publishes a motorcycle-specific document list as well as content on two-wheeler technical inspection. carte-grise.org announces a file processed within 24 hours of validation. Scale in the terms and conditions from €49.90 to €179.90 for a change of ownership depending on the regional tax, payment in 3 or 4 instalments by card, branch in Boulogne-Billancourt.

Ideal for: a rider in the Paris region who wants to be able to visit a branch or spread the payment.

2. Tied - eplaque.fr

eplaque.fr is published by SAS EPLAQUE (accreditation No. 18621, approval No. 26579), a registration platform since 2009. Its motorcycle page details the calculation for MTL, MTT1 and MTT2: fiscal horsepower multiplied by 50% of the fiscal horsepower rate, plus the fixed taxes.

The provisional certificate is announced by email within 24 hours of receiving the complete file, with prefilled Cerfa forms to sign online. Its terms and conditions set the change of ownership at €41.90, and €29.90 for a moped, with payment in 3 or 4 instalments through Cofidis.

Ideal for: a rider who wants to sign everything online, without printing a form.

4. guichetcartegrise.com

guichetcartegrise.com is published by SAS SLICK (accreditation No. 212900, approval No. 52480). Its motorcycle registration page publishes a rate table by engine size and states that a motorcycle’s regional tax corresponds to half the fiscal horsepower rate.

The site announces a review of the documents within 24 hours and a registration certificate about 48 hours after validation, with SMS alerts. Its pricing page itemises each line: €60 service access, €2 data entry, €2.90 archiving and €15 to €85 file check depending on the procedure. Reception at 28 rue Miollis, Paris 15th.

Ideal for: a rider who wants to know the fee breakdown and track the file by SMS.

Ranking methodology

This ranking compares four professionals approved by the Ministry of the Interior that publish an online motorcycle registration offer. They were assessed on 6 November 2026 against the same ten criteria, based on their public pages (home page, motorcycle and procedure pages, pricing, terms and conditions, legal notice, contact) and, for criterion 1, the Google and Trustpilot platforms. Two sites published by the same company, cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org (DBA), are assessed together. The official channel is shown for comparison, outside the ranking. The first three criteria, assessed at brand level, are the same in all the registration rankings on this site that include Cartegrise.com; the next seven are specific to motorcycle registration.

Scoring grid. Each criterion met is worth 1 point and is marked Yes. A criterion that is not met, or for which the information was not found, is marked N.A (not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team) and is worth 0 points. All criteria carry the same weight, 1/10 of the overall score each (10%). The position follows from the overall score. Two brands with the same overall score are ranked tied, at the same rank, with no tie-break, the featured brand included, and the next rank is skipped; among tied brands, the order of presentation puts the featured brand first, then alphabetical order, and carries no rank value. For criterion 1, the editorial team uses the rating and number of reviews published by the provider on its site, or failing that those shown by Google and Trustpilot.

Results.

N.A: not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team.

cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org and eplaque.fr obtain the same overall score (9 out of 10): they are ranked tied 2nd and listed in alphabetical order. The fees quoted are those published by each provider on 6 November 2026.

Motorcycle registration: what differs from a car

Half the fiscal-horsepower rate

The price of a motorcycle registration certificate follows the same logic as a car’s: the fiscal-horsepower rate of the region of residence is multiplied by the vehicle’s fiscal power. The difference is one extra step: for all motorcycles, MTL, MTT1 and MTT2, the regional tax obtained this way is halved, whatever the age of the motorcycle.

A worked example helps. With a fiscal-horsepower rate of €50, a motorcycle with 5 fiscal horsepower pays 5 × 50 ÷ 2 = €125 in regional tax, where a car of the same power would pay €250. Two fixed amounts are added on top, the same for every vehicle: the €11 processing fee and the €2.76 delivery fee. No eco-tax applies to motorcycles. To get the exact amount, our ranking of carte grise cost simulators compares the online calculators.

The exact amount depends on the rate set by each region. Cartegrise.com, cartegriseminute.fr and carte-grise.org offer a calculator on their motorcycle page, which applies the region’s rate and the motorcycle’s power.

The three categories: MTL, MTT1 and MTT2

The motorcycle’s national type appears in field J.1 of the registration certificate. Three categories coexist.

• MTL, the light motorcycle. Over 50 cm³ and up to 125 cm³, maximum power of 11 kW. It can be ridden with an A1 licence, available from age 16.
• MTT1, the intermediate motorcycle. Over 125 cm³, power between 12 and 25 kW, power-to-weight ratio of at most 0.16 kW per kg. Its engine size rarely exceeds 600 cm³.
• MTT2, the large-displacement motorcycle. Every motorcycle above these thresholds, generally over 600 cm³ and over 25 kW. Restricting power output to 73.6 kW has no longer been mandatory since 1 January 2016 for ABS-equipped motorcycles.

The category matters for the file: since the order (« arrêté ») of 14 August 2017, obtaining a motorcycle’s registration certificate is conditional on holding the licence matching its category. Restricting or de-restricting a motorcycle, and so changing category, also requires updating the registration certificate.

No age discount since 2021

For cars over 10 years old, some regions apply a discount on the regional tax. For two-wheelers, that has no longer been the case since January 2021: a 15-year-old motorcycle pays the same half-rate as a recent one.

In other words, the half-rate is already the two-wheeler’s advantage, and it does not stack with an age-related discount. The calculation stays simple: regional rate × fiscal horsepower ÷ 2, plus €13.76 in fixed amounts.

Documents to gather

New motorcycle

• The purchase invoice, in place of the transfer certificate.
• The registration certificate application (Cerfa 13750).
• Proof of address less than 6 months old and a valid ID.
• The A1, A2 or A licence matching the motorcycle’s category.
• The motorcycle’s insurance certificate.

At a dealership, the seller often handles the process. Otherwise, an approved professional needs a registration mandate (Cerfa 13757) to act on the owner’s behalf.

Used motorcycle, and the technical inspection under six months old

• The previous registration certificate, crossed out and signed by the seller.
• The transfer certificate (Cerfa 15776), signed by both parties, and the registration application (Cerfa 13750).
• Proof of address less than 6 months old, an ID, the matching licence and the insurance certificate.
• The technical inspection report, less than 6 months old, for a motorcycle subject to it.

The technical inspection is the document that has changed. Since 15 April 2024, it has applied to two-wheelers, tricycles and motorised quadricycles, with a timetable based on the date of first registration. Category L vehicles over 5 years old are subject to it. For a used purchase, it is up to the seller to provide an inspection report less than 6 months old, so it is worth checking before signing. The certificate confirming the vehicle is free of liens, mandatory for the sale, is not one of the documents in the registration file.

How long the process takes

The legal deadline is one month after the purchase, according to the service-public.gouv.fr page on the registration certificate. The processing time itself depends on the channel chosen.

• Through the official channel, it depends on service workload. The provisional certificate is issued at the end of the online process.
• At Cartegrise.com, the provisional certificate is sent by email within 12 to 24 hours of receiving the file, and the final certificate arrives at home within 2 to 3 days.
• At the other ranked providers, eplaque.fr announces the provisional certificate within 24 hours, carte-grise.org a file processed within 24 hours of validation, and guichetcartegrise.com a review of the documents within 24 hours and a certificate about 48 hours after validation.

In every case, the provisional certificate allows driving for 1 month, in France only, while waiting for the final certificate. It also gives the number to put on the French motorcycle number plate when the change of owner allocates a new one. An incomplete file is the main cause of delay: an inspection report that is too old, or a licence that does not match the category, will block the application.

How to check that a site is genuinely approved

1. Look for the two numbers. An approved professional displays its prefecture approval number and its Treasury agreement number, in the footer or in its terms and conditions.
2. Check the official tool. ANTS provides a tool to locate approved professionals, which lets you confirm a provider appears on the list.
3. Read the fees before paying. According to the service-public.gouv.fr page on automotive professionals, their service is freely priced, on top of the cost of the registration certificate. A serious site clearly separates the taxes, which are the same everywhere, from its own service fees.

Cartegrise.com is a professional approved by the Ministry of the Interior and agreed by the Treasury, separate from ANTS.

Further reading

• Confidential code for a French registration certificate: how to find it or do without it
• ANTS website down: how to register your vehicle
• Vehicle registration without a transfer code: 5 sites compared
• All our service comparisons