We Applied for a Crit'Air Sticker and Used It in France

There’s a lot written about how to get a Crit’Air sticker, but almost nothing about what it’s like to actually use one. I can write this from both sides: I built France Stickers because the official French application was such a pain, and I’ve also driven to France myself, displayed the sticker, and been stopped and checked. Here’s the whole experience.

Why I needed one, and why I built the site

The official Crit’Air application was frustrating enough to put me off, which is exactly why I built France Stickers to handle it in plain English. For our own 18-day trip we drove into Paris, Strasbourg, Lyon and Nice, all of which enforce low-emission zones. Our car is a 2018 petrol Kia Sportage, which is Crit’Air 1, the cleanest petrol band, so we could enter every zone with no restrictions.

Not sure what category your car is? Check it free from the registration:

Getting the sticker

Once the application was in, the confirmation and receipt emails came through, and the digital certificate followed promptly after. The physical sticker arrived by post in about two to three weeks, so leave that time before you travel.

Displaying it

Sticking it on is genuinely easy: read the instructions (in English), and put it in the bottom corner of the windscreen where it’s visible from outside, as our display guide explains.

Driving through the ZFE zones

Honestly, the hardest part was knowing when we were inside a zone at all. The boundaries aren’t always obvious, so you have to watch for the roadside signs. With a Crit’Air 1 sticker it didn’t restrict us, but in an older, more polluting car it would.

The roadside check near Reims

Here’s the part I didn’t expect. On the road near Reims, just after we left Paris, we were pulled into a routine police check. They looked over the car and our documents, including the Crit’Air sticker on the windscreen, and waved us on within seconds.

Reims itself isn’t a low-emission zone, so this was a general check rather than a ZFE one. But it was a reminder that the sticker is part of what they can look at, and that the rules are enforced on the ground, not just by cameras. Inside a zone, driving without a valid sticker displayed risks a fine of up to €450, far more than the £7 the sticker costs.

Would I bother again?

Yes, without hesitation, and not just because I run the service. Being stopped and cleared in seconds made the case on its own.

A Crit’Air sticker is £7, valid for the lifetime of the vehicle, and covers every future trip to France. Check your category and apply here, and give yourself 10 to 14 working days for the physical sticker to arrive.