green plates
(France only)
CERN staff who hold an AT, CD or FI card and live in France can apply for "green plates" - diplomatic or consular license plates. The benefit of this is that you do not have to pay VAT (Value Added Tax), the registration fee, or have the car inspected. The application process will take several months. In France you can apply for temporary plates that are valid for 3 months.
Please read exact details of all requirements and procedures: CERN Green Plate procedure.
CERN staff who hold an AT, CD or FI card and live in France can apply for "green plates" - diplomatic or consular license plates. The benefit of this is that you do not have to pay VAT (Value Added Tax), the registration fee, or have the car inspected. The application process will take several months. In France you can apply for temporary plates that are valid for 3 months.
Please read exact details of all requirements and procedures: CERN Green Plate procedure.
Who is qualified to drive?
Depending on your length of stay and your spouse's status, the CERN staff member may be the only one who can drive while in France because the driver of a car with green plates needs to be the holder of a special residence permit (titre de séjour spécial), so friends and family members visiting you may not drive the car.
Depending on your length of stay and your spouse's status, the CERN staff member may be the only one who can drive while in France because the driver of a car with green plates needs to be the holder of a special residence permit (titre de séjour spécial), so friends and family members visiting you may not drive the car.
Selling a car with green plates
- If you leave CERN you will only be able to sell the car with the green plates to another qualified CERN staff member.
- To sell it to a non-qualified person, you will need to transfer the green plates back to regular French plates, and either you or the buyer will have to pay the VAT.
- When you sell a used car, the VAT will only be a fraction of what it is for a new car.
- There is a registration fee, which is based on the CV value of the car and is typically a few hundred euros for normal family cars.
- See details on our Vehicle Registration page.
How to calculate the VAT
An example
For a car worth 11,000 euro the calculation would be: 11,000-200=10,800. 10,800/1.15=9,391. 9,391/1.196=7,852. 9,391-7,852=1,539 euro VAT.
- Find the value on the Argus website. Each query costs about 5 euro, so be sure to get all the details just right.
- You can also buy an Argus magazine at most Kiosks. Find the value of your car. Subtract 200 euro. Reduce this by 15%. This is considered to be the current value, including tax. Calculate the value, excluding tax (currently at 19.6%).
An example
For a car worth 11,000 euro the calculation would be: 11,000-200=10,800. 10,800/1.15=9,391. 9,391/1.196=7,852. 9,391-7,852=1,539 euro VAT.
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