Driving without a Crit'Air sticker will cost you dearly. The small sticker, to be placed on the windshield, has become essential for driving legally in many urban areas. The latter, designed to classify vehicles according to their pollution level, allows the environmental impact of each vehicle to be quickly identified thanks to a color code. Electric and hydrogen cars benefit from the green sticker, while the most polluting vehicles receive a gray sticker or are excluded from the system.
This classification is essential in Zones à Low Emission Zones (ZFE). Regulated urban areas limit traffic to vehicles that meet certain environmental criteria. Without the appropriate sticker, it is impossible to legally access them. Fortunately, the process for obtaining one remains simple and accessible to all vehicle owners.
How to obtain your Crit’Air sticker?
To order your certificate, go to the official website of the Ministry of Ecological Transition. Bring your registration document and prepare a payment of 3.67 euros to cover administrative costs. The process takes a few minutes, but receipt by mail can take one to two weeks. So plan ahead before traveling in the affected areas.
Failure to display a Crit'Air sticker on your windshield exposes you to a dissuasive fine. For light vehicles, the fine is 68 euros, but it rises to 135 euros for heavy goods vehicles. Currently, twelve French cities have adopted Low Emission Zones: Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Nice, Strasbourg, Montpellier, Grenoble, Reims, Rouen, Saint-Étienne, and Clermont-Ferrand. Since January 1st, restrictions have become even stricter, particularly for vehicles classified as Crit'Air 3. In Paris, for example, these are prohibited from Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., while in In Lyon, the ban applies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The vehicles concerned are mainly diesels registered before 2011 and petrols before 2006, which represent nearly 40% of the current vehicle fleet.
Check the category of your vehicle
The stickers are divided into six categories, each with its own specific color:
- Green: electric and non-electric vehicles hydrogen (zero emissions)
- Purple (1): very recent gasoline vehicles
- Yellow (2): recent gasoline or diesel vehicles
- Orange (3): intermediate gasoline or diesel vehicles
- Brown (4): older diesel vehicles
- Grey (5): most polluting vehicles
The Crit’Air sticker, valid for the entire lifespan of the vehicle (except in the event of a change of ownership), represents a mandatory investment. By anticipating this simple step, you will avoid inconvenience financial resources while contributing to improving air quality in urban areas.
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