In brief
- A vehicle bought without a registration certificate in the buyer’s name cannot be driven: the provisional certificate, valid for 1 month, unblocks the situation while waiting for the definitive document.
- An authorized professional accesses the registration system directly and is not blocked by an outage of the government website.
- The one-month deadline after the purchase and the 15 days to declare the transfer keep running during the outage: they are not suspended.
- cartegrise.com announces application processing and the provisional certificate within 12 to 24 hours after receiving the complete application, with over 1 million applications processed since 2009.
A used car has just been bought, the transfer certificate is signed, the crossed-out registration certificate is in the glove box. All that is left is the online application, and the ANTS website is not responding. The vehicle stays in the garage, while the legal deadline keeps running.
The real problem is therefore not the outage itself: it is an immobilized vehicle, insurance to arrange and a deadline getting closer. This article starts from these concrete situations, explains what the provisional certificate allows, what happens with insurance, vehicle inspection and the transfer, and how to prepare the application so as not to start from scratch.
Your situation and the fastest solution
| Situation | What is at stake | Immediate action | Timeline to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle purchased, need to drive this week | No driving possible without a certificate in the buyer’s name | Hand the application to an authorized professional, who does not depend on the website being down | At cartegrise.com: processing and provisional certificate within 12 to 24 hours after receiving the complete application |
| Seller must declare the transfer within 15 days | A legal obligation of the seller (article R322-4 of the Highway Code) | Follow up in writing, reminding them of the deadline | 15 days from the sale, outage or not |
| Application already started and stuck | The one-month deadline after the purchase | Note the application number, then resume it once the website is back, or hand it to an authorized professional | Varies with the period and the volume of applications processed |
| Vehicle inspection or insurance about to expire | An inspection report older than 6 months is no longer accepted for the application | Check the report’s date before deciding to wait | 6 months of validity for the application, 2 months if a re-inspection was required |
| Verdict | The faster the vehicle needs to be back on the road, the more support from an authorized professional becomes a direct route, which can suit when the vehicle must be back on the road quickly. |
The full procedure, including how to check whether the outage is real and a table of alternatives, is detailed in our comparison of solutions when the ANTS website is down.
Driving during the outage: what the provisional certificate allows
The provisional certificate of registration is handed over at the end of the application, along with the application number and the registration acknowledgement. According to the service-public.gouv.fr page on change of owner, it allows driving for 1 month, in France only, while waiting for the definitive registration certificate sent by mail.
This document must be printed and kept in the vehicle. It replaces the registration certificate for its period of validity, no more and no less: it does not allow leaving the country, and it cannot be extended.
The question during an outage is therefore simple: who can issue this certificate when the government website is unavailable? A professional authorized by the Ministry of the Interior enters the application directly into the vehicle registration system, without going through the public online service. The interface being down therefore does not prevent them from issuing the provisional certificate.
At cartegrise.com, application processing and the provisional certificate are announced within 12 to 24 hours after receiving the complete application, and the definitive registration certificate then arrives about 2 to 3 days later. Some applications, other than a change of owner, may take up to 8 business days. Service fees for a change of owner range from €44.90 to €99.90 depending on the regional tax, on top of the taxes, which are the same as through the official channel.
Insurance, vehicle inspection and transfer during an outage
Three deadlines keep running while the website is unavailable. None of them is suspended.
Insurance
The application requires certifying on your honor that the owner holds proof of insurance for the vehicle. No copy needs to be attached, but the statement must be accurate: the policy must be taken out before the application, not after. A website outage does not prevent insuring the vehicle, and it is actually a good time to settle this point.
Vehicle inspection
For a vehicle over 4 years old that is not exempt, the service-public.gouv.fr page requires proof of a vehicle inspection less than 6 months old, or less than 2 months old if a re-inspection was ordered. This is the trickiest deadline during an outage: an inspection report carried out five months before the sale can become too old if the application waits several weeks. It is better to check its date before deciding to wait for the website to come back.
The transfer declaration
On the seller’s side, article R322-4 of the Highway Code requires declaring the transfer within 15 days of the sale. The deadline does not depend on the website’s status. For the buyer, the stakes are concrete: the seller’s declaration produces the transfer code, which simplifies the application. Without it, the official channel requires additional supporting documents, as detailed in our article on registration without a transfer code.
On the buyer’s side, the one-month deadline to put the registration certificate in your own name also runs from the sale, as service-public.gouv.fr reminds. An outage of a few days is not a problem; an outage that falls at the end of this month is.
Prepare your application now to avoid starting from scratch
An outage leaves time to gather a complete application, which avoids a back-and-forth when submitting it. For a change of owner, the service-public.gouv.fr page lists the following documents:
- The original registration certificate, crossed out and signed by the seller with the words “Vendu le” (sold on) and the date.
- The transfer certificate (Cerfa 15776), filled in and signed by both parties.
- A valid proof of identity.
- A proof of address less than 6 months old.
- Proof of vehicle inspection, for a vehicle over 4 years old that is not exempt, less than 6 months old (2 months in case of a re-inspection).
- The transfer code, if it was provided by the seller.
The driving license and the proof of insurance are not attached: it is enough to certify on your honor that the owner holds them, and that the license matches the vehicle’s category.
Scanning these documents now, in color and legible, makes it possible to start the application within minutes as soon as the website is back, or to send the file straight away to an authorized professional. To place the application in its broader context, our guide to registering a vehicle online without going through a government office covers every step, and the checklist for buying a used car lists the documents to collect from the seller on the day of the sale.
A note for those moving house at the same time: the change of address follows its own timeline, covered in our article on the legal deadline for a change of address. It is done on a registration certificate already in the owner’s name, so after the change of owner.
Check that the outage really comes from the official website
Before switching approach, it is worth making sure the outage is real. A page that fails to load sometimes comes from the user’s own device, not the service.
- Switch browser or open a private window. An extension, an ad blocker or an old cache can prevent some elements of the page from loading.
- Switch connection. Moving from Wi-Fi to mobile data helps distinguish a local network issue from an outage of the service.
- Test at another time. A page showing an error at peak time and working an hour later points to overload, not a lasting outage.
If the website remains unavailable on two different devices and two different connections, the outage really is on the service’s side. This is the point where the choice comes up: wait if the deadline is far off, hand the application to an authorized professional if the vehicle needs to be back on the road quickly. cartegrise.com also publishes a guide on handling your registration when the government website is not working.
One last point: an authorized professional remains a private provider. cartegrise.com is authorized by the Ministry of the Interior and approved by the Treasury, but it is distinct from ANTS, whose official channel remains free aside from taxes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I drive during an outage of the government website?
Not with a vehicle that is not yet registered in the buyer’s name. The document that unblocks the situation is the provisional certificate of registration: according to service-public.gouv.fr, it allows driving for 1 month, in France only, while waiting for the definitive registration certificate. An authorized professional can issue it during the outage, since they access the registration system directly.
How long does it take to receive a registration certificate when using an authorized professional?
At cartegrise.com, the application processing and the provisional certificate are announced within 12 to 24 hours after receiving the complete application. The definitive registration certificate then arrives about 2 to 3 days after the provisional certificate. Some applications may take up to 8 business days.
Is the application deadline suspended during an outage?
No. The one-month deadline to put the registration certificate in your name after a purchase runs from the date of sale, and an outage of the official website does not extend it. The same applies to the 15 days the seller has to declare the transfer. This is why it is worth not waiting for the website to come back when the deadline is close.
What should I do if the seller has not yet declared the transfer?
Article R322-4 of the French Highway Code gives the seller 15 days from the sale to declare it, and this obligation does not disappear because of an outage. The simplest approach is to follow up in writing, reminding them of this deadline. Meanwhile, the buyer can prepare their own application in parallel, with the transfer certificate signed by both parties.
How can I check that a registration website is properly authorized?
An authorized professional displays two numbers, usually in the footer: their prefectural authorization and their Treasury approval. cartegrise.com, for instance, displays authorization n° 9744 and approval n° 14871, obtained in 2009. ANTS also offers a geolocation tool for authorized professionals to check that a provider appears on the list.