Of the 2025French motorists have seen an old habit disappear: no longer need to stick the green sticker on the windshield. This is a big turning point towards simpler and more modern administrative procedures for everything related to car insurance. For drivers, it's less daily stress, and for insurers, it's an opportunity to make their processes more efficient.
Why did you say goodbye to the sticker?
The removal of the green sticker comes from a series of problems with the old system. First, as you could cancel your insurance contract at any time during the year, these stickers quickly became expired even before their deadline. As a result, it was difficult to guarantee that all vehicles in France were properly insured.
In addition, there were a lot of false insurance certificates which complicated the cops' job during traffic stops. Going digital proved to be a concrete solution to avoid these concerns by removing the need for a physical document that could be falsified.
What are the concrete benefits of going all digital?
Going completely digital brings plenty of practical benefits. Drivers no longer have to worry about renewing or displaying this famous sticker on their windshield. This completely simplifies their daily lives and reduces the risk of fines for forgetting or expiring.
For insurers, this change allows better contract management thanks to real-time monitoring. This also makes the processing of new subscriptions as well as terminations and contractual modifications much simpler.
How to check now? The FVA comes into play
With the end of the green sticker, we have put in place a new way to check whether a vehicle is insured: the Insured Vehicle File (FVA). This file lists all valid auto insurance contracts and is accessible to law enforcement during road checks. By just entering the vehicle registration number, they can directly see all the important information such as the name of the insurer or the expiry date of the contract.
Some insurers also offer a QR code to stick on the windshield. This code is linked to the FVA and allows police officers and gendarmes to quickly scan all the necessary information on the vehicle's insurance.
Always up-to-date data: how does it work?
For the FVA to be effective, its information must be updated regularly. Insurers therefore have up to 72 hours after any subscription or modification to update this data in the national file. This speed is super important to avoid confusion during roadside checks.
While waiting for these updates to be made, a temporary document called a “Memo” is provided by the insurer. This memo temporarily certifies the validity of the insurance contract and must be kept either in the car or digitally on your mobile phone to be shown during a surprise check.
Some tips for riding peacefully
To always comply with roadside checks, drivers are advised to keep this memo carefully until their situation is recorded in the FVA. By adopting these new digital habits, they can not only avoid unnecessary sanctions but also participate in safer and better regulated traffic.
This legislative change clearly shows a desire to adapt our society to new technologies while making citizens' daily lives simpler. As we move towards a future where digitalization rhymes with increased efficiency and safety, each driver plays their role in this transition towards more intelligent and responsible mobility.
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