The Crit’Air scheme, which came into force in January 2017 to help tackle pollution, requires all vehicles (including motorbikes and commercial vehicles) to display a windscreen sticker, or vignette, according to how much they pollute.
The locations where this legislation is currently in place is Paris, Lille, Lyon and Grenoble; although it is expected that many more French towns will follow suite in the near future.
Therefore, for UK motorists planning to drive to these locations, best advice is to order the relevant windscreen sticker well in advance of the travel date. The website states that 30 days should be allowed for the certificate to arrive in the UK. However, in some instances it has taken 6 weeks for a certificate to be received in the UK.
Windscreen discs cost £3.60 (€4.18) each, including postage, come in six coloured categories and cover the very cleanest engines such as electric vehicles (designated by a green sticker) to the most polluting which is grey.
These relate to the six European Union emission standards for vehicle engines – dating back to 1992 when Euro 1 was introduced. The penalty for failure to display a sticker is an on-the-spot fine of between €68-135 (£58 to £117).
To apply for a sticker online, drivers must know their vehicle’s European Emissions Standard. For newer vehicles, covered by Euro 5 and Euro 6 standards, the category may be in section D2 of your logbook (DVLA V5C registered keeper form).
However, if your vehicle is leased, then you need to approach the leasing company as they hold the logbook and it is advised that you do so well in advance of your travel dates. Depending on which leasing supplier your vehicle is with, they may include this service within their foreign travel documentation.
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Article by: Sean Bingham