Private sale contract for a used vehicle (France)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in French
The PDF you download is in French — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
For selling or buying a used car or motorbike between private persons in France. The official steps stay free and compulsory: the transfer certificate (Cerfa no. 15776*02), the seller's online declaration on the France Titres (ANTS) site within fifteen days, the crossed-out registration certificate. This contract comes on top of them: vehicle, mileage, price and payment, date and hour of handover, known defects, the hidden-defects warranty kept or limited (articles 1641 and 1643 of the French Civil Code), each side's steps. Signed in two originals. In French.
- Made for use in France
- Last updated October 13, 2026
When to use this document
- You are selling your used car to a private buyer in France and want a written contract on top of the transfer certificate.
- You are buying a second-hand motorbike from a private seller and want the mileage and known faults in writing.
- You want proof of the exact time the car was handed over, in case a fine arrives after the sale.
- You need a private sale contract for a used vehicle, signed by seller and buyer.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Seller
- Seller's address
- Buyer
- Buyer's address
- Vehicle
- Registration plate
- Vehicle identification number (VIN)
- Date of first registration
- Odometer reading (km)
- Last roadworthiness test (date and result)
- Price
- Method of payment
- Price in words
- Handover date
- Time of handover (for example 14:30)
- Other documents and items handed over (service book, invoices, winter tyres)
- Defects known to the seller (or “none”)
- Known accident damage and how it was repaired
- Warranty against hidden defects
- Additional terms
- City
- Date
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Which official steps go with a private sale of a used vehicle in France?
- They are free and this contract does not replace them. The seller fills in the transfer certificate (Cerfa no. 15776*02) with the buyer, crosses out the registration certificate, hands over an administrative status certificate under fifteen days old and, for a vehicle subject to roadworthiness testing, a test report under six months old. The seller declares the sale online on the France Titres (ANTS) site within fifteen days; the buyer registers the vehicle in their own name within a month.
- Can a private seller in France exclude the warranty against hidden defects?
- The seller can stipulate that they will not answer for defects they did not know of (article 1643 of the Civil Code); the clause has no effect for a defect they knew. The contract lets the parties choose between the full warranty and this clause. The buyer must act within two years of discovering the defect (article 1648). Between private persons there is neither the consumer code's legal conformity guarantee nor a right of withdrawal.
- Why record the exact hour the vehicle was handed over?
- Because notices of traffic offences go to the registered keeper until the change is recorded. The hour of handover, written in the contract, on the crossed-out certificate and in the online declaration, shows who was driving. The contract is made in two originals, one for each party; it needs no handwritten words such as “read and approved”, which the law does not require.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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