The check on the Paris ring road
Karim lives in Montreuil and works in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. He has been getting around for two years with his Microcar M.Go without ever having a problem. One morning, he runs into a check at an access point towards Porte de Vincennes. The officer asks him whether he has his Crit’Air sticker. Karim does not have the answer. He thinks license-free cars might be exempt. Wrong.
License-free cars are subject to the Crit’Air regulations just like other motorised vehicles. Here is what you need to know.
What is Crit’Air?
The Air Quality Certificate (Crit’Air) scheme was created in 2016 to allow local authorities to regulate traffic in Low Emission Zones (ZFE) based on a vehicle’s pollution level.
Concretely, each vehicle receives a coloured sticker indicating its emissions class, from Crit’Air 0 (zero emissions) to Crit’Air 5 (the most polluting). During a pollution peak or a permanent restriction linked to a ZFE, only vehicles above a certain threshold are allowed to drive.
The sticker is stuck on the windscreen, on the inside, in the top right corner. It is mandatory to drive in towns that have set up a ZFE.
Which sticker for a combustion license-free car?
A license-free car with a combustion engine (petrol or diesel) gets a Crit’Air 1 sticker, the best category for combustion vehicles.
Several factors explain this favourable classification:
The engine displacement is very small. The engines of combustion license-free cars are generally single cylinders of 305 to 500 cm³. A small displacement means low consumption and reduced absolute emissions.
The Euro 6 standard applies. All light quadricycles sold new since 2017 meet the Euro 6 standard (or Euro 5 for slightly earlier models). The Euro 6 standard is the decisive criterion for awarding the Crit’Air 1 sticker, that is what the administration looks at first.
The fiscal power is 1 CV. This figure, although not directly used in the Crit’Air calculation, confirms the low emissions of the engine.
In practice
If your combustion license-free car was bought new after 2017 (Euro 6 standard), it automatically gets the Crit’Air 1 sticker.
For older models (before Euro 5), the class may be different, but given the typical lifespan of license-free cars and the rate at which the fleet is renewed, almost all vehicles in active use correspond to Crit’Air 1.
Which sticker for an electric license-free car?
An electric license-free car gets the Crit’Air 0 sticker, shown as a green badge with a “0” and the words “Electrique & Hydrogène”.
Crit’Air 0 is the most favourable classification. It guarantees:
- Access to all ZFE in France, whatever the restrictions in force
- Access during pollution peaks, including the most restrictive days of alternate or differentiated traffic
- Parking benefits in some towns (free or reduced rates in cities like Paris for clean vehicles)
In theory, the Crit’Air 0 sticker is optional for fully electric vehicles, in the sense that these vehicles cannot be excluded from a ZFE. But in practice, it is strongly recommended to have it on your windscreen to make checks easier.
ZFE in France in 2025-2026
Low Emission Zones currently affect several major French conurbations. The restrictions vary by town and change regularly.
Paris and the Métropole du Grand Paris
The Paris ZFE is the most restrictive. Since 2023:
- Inner Paris: Crit’Air 3 and above vehicles are banned on weekdays from 8am to 8pm
- Métropole du Grand Paris (95 towns): Crit’Air 4 and 5 are banned on weekdays
For a combustion license-free car (Crit’Air 1) or an electric one (Crit’Air 0), access is free in both zones.
Lyon
The Métropole de Lyon has introduced a permanent ZFE on the main roads:
- Since 2023, Crit’Air 3 and above vehicles are banned on weekdays from 7am to 8pm
- Crit’Air 5 are banned 24/7
Crit’Air 1 and Crit’Air 0: free access.
Marseille and Aix-Marseille-Provence
The ZFE is being phased in. In 2025, Crit’Air 4 and 5 are subject to restrictions on the main arteries. The changes planned for 2026 could include Crit’Air 3.
license-free car: no restriction.
Other conurbations affected
Bordeaux, Toulon, Montpellier, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Reims, Rouen and a dozen other conurbations of more than 150,000 inhabitants are subject to the legal obligation to create ZFE (Climate and Resilience law of 2021). The timetables and levels of restriction vary by territory.
In all cases, a license-free car with Crit’Air 1 or Crit’Air 0 is not affected by the restrictions currently in force in France.
How to order your Crit’Air sticker
The process is entirely online. There is no official physical point of sale, so beware of third-party sites that offer the sticker at inflated prices.
The official website
The only official website is certificatair.fr, run by the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
Documents required
- The vehicle’s registration number
- Your email address
- A means of payment
The system automatically retrieves the vehicle’s characteristics (date of first registration, Euro standard) via the SIV database to determine the Crit’Air class.
Cost
The sticker costs €3.62, delivery included. It is sent by post within 5 to 10 working days.
Validity period
The Crit’Air sticker is for life, it does not expire. A single order is enough for the entire period you own the vehicle, unless you change vehicle or the sticker is damaged.
Fines for non-compliance
Driving in a ZFE without a sticker or with an insufficient sticker exposes you to a fixed fine of €68 for light vehicles (€135 if it is not paid within 45 days, or €45 if paid within 15 days, the same scale as second-class fines).
Enforcement is carried out by manual check (officer) or by automatic plate reading (LAPI), which cross-references the registration with the database of issued stickers.
What to remember
- Combustion license-free car (new since 2017): Crit’Air 1 sticker (yellow), free access to all current ZFE
- Electric license-free car: Crit’Air 0 sticker (green), guaranteed access everywhere, including during pollution peaks
- Ordering: only on certificatair.fr, €3.62, delivery within 10 working days
- Validity: for life
- Fine for no sticker in a ZFE: €68
The situation is comfortable for license-free car drivers: their vehicle, whether combustion or electric, belongs to the least polluting classes and will not be affected by ZFE restrictions for the foreseeable future.
Once your sticker is on the windscreen, the practical question arises: navigating efficiently in these dense urban areas where ZFE apply. This is precisely where conventional GPS apps show their limits for 45 km/h. TacTac offers filtered navigation for license-free cars, with routes that avoid unsuitable roads and travel times calculated at your real speed, not at an average of 60 km/h.