Mandatory since 1949, this document will disappear from April 1st! No need to have a physical version anymore, it will be dematerialized in a database. But be careful that everything is in order, otherwise you will be fined…
The Government is determined to continue its strategy of digitalization of administrative services. After the dematerialization of the identity card and driving license, which can now be stored on your smartphone within the France Idêtes application, it is the turn of car insurance to undergo a major transformation! Until now, proof of insurance was provided by presentation of the famous green card. This paper document, renewed and sent every year by insurers, includes an insurance certificate as well as a certificate – also called a “green butterfly” – affixed to the vehicle’s windshield. HAS from 1er April 2024, the green card will no longer be compulsory for French motorists, motorcycles included – electric scooters, however, will still have to display it. It’s the end of an annual ritual dating back to 1949!
HAS Instead, the police will carry out checks based on the Insured Vehicle File (FVA). Established in 2016 and used by law enforcement since 2019, this file centralizes all data from automobile insurance contracts. It contains the registration, the name of the insurer, the contract number and its validity period. The physical nature of the green card presented disadvantages, such as the risk of being fined by the police if the green sticker on the windshield is forgotten to be renewed, even though the driver is well insured. In addition, the dematerialization of the green card will make it possible to reduce the production of paper which is used for green stickers for environmental purposes. In fact, the ecological cost of printing and sending them is 1,200 tonnes of CO2 per year. The measure was mentioned in 2022, before being made official at the end of 2023. But not everyone seems to be aware of it… According to a survey conducted by Leocare and released on March 19, 2024, 37% of French people are completely unaware of the application imminent of this progress.
But then, what will this change for motorists? As said above, you will no longer have a sticker to affix to your windshield from this date. In the event of an inspection, you will therefore have absolutely nothing to do! Law enforcement can ensure that everything is in order by consulting the FVA. Well, in most cases. Indeed, if you have just taken out car insurance, it takes 72 hours for your purchased insurance to be added to the FVA. During this period, in the event of an inspection, you must have your Insured Vehicle Memo. This is a document provided by your insurer which contains all the information concerning your contract. It will act as a presumption of insurance while waiting for everything to be in order in the database.
Be careful though! It is possible that you are not in the FVA, even if you are indeed insured! The insurance contracts of 0.7% of policyholders were not entered into the software – a significant number of motorists were simply “forgotten”. Also, these people could be fined in the coming days for lack of insurance, an offense which is punishable by a fine of 600 euros – it can even rise to 1,500 euros in the event of an increase for late payment. We also advise you to check that your vehicle has been registered in the FVA. To do this, simply go to the fva-assurance.fr website and enter the registration number of your car as well as your registration certificate number. You can also do this by telephone by calling 01 83 64 32 22. Finally, if you have insurance, but you are not present in the FVA and have been fined, you have 45 days to contact the National Agency for Automated Offense Processing (ANTAI) to make a complaint.