Crit’Air Criteria
In order to reduce urban pollution, petrol cars, vans and motorhomes first-registered before 1997 and diesels prior to 2001 are banned in certain areas of several major towns, with more to follow. These ‘zones à faibles émissions mobilité’ or ‘ZFE-m’ were set up in Paris several years ago. Grenoble followed in 2022 and Strasbourg in January 2023, with ZFEs introduced fairly recently in Lille, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse and Annecy. Montpellier is set up for this summer and Perpignan in 2025. 
The Crit’Air anti-pollution sticker, placed on the windscreen, is an official ‘vignette’ to show the pollution level of a vehicle. There are six stickers, from the ‘greenest’ at 100 per cent, pure-electric sticker, to the naughty number 5 covering Euro 2 diesel-engine cars registered from January 1, 1997 – December 31, 2000. One sticker covers the car for all ZFEs for life. The fine for not displaying a sticker is €68 at time of writing. 
Montpellier & scams, Valerie Mclellan tells us more…
Having recently visited Montpellier, the Crit’Air sticker is on my radar. The town has the infrastructure in place now and is due to begin implementing in July 2023. What’s important to know is that the system applies to vehicles registered both in France and abroad, regardless of whether resident, tourist or just passing by. In just a few clicks, it’s possible to find out the Crit’Air level needed for a vehicle; all that’s needed is the vehicle’s European Emissions Standard, and that’s on the registration document. The sticker can be ordered online. It’s a one-off job, so no need to renew. The price is the same for all stickers and at present is 3.72 euros. That may change but won’t break the bank.
The process
1. Go to the official government website : https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/. BEWARE OF SCAMS, see below.
2. Select if your car is registered in France (left-hand tab) or abroad (right-hand tab), and click the blue Commander (order) button.
3. Input your car’s registration number and the date it was first registered (this is written in the B. category of your carte grise, if you have a French registered car.)
If you have a car registered abroad, you need to upload proof of registration and fill in additional details:
- Country of registration
- Registration number
- Date of first registration
- Vehicle category
- Fuel/energy source
- Serial number
- Brand
4. Once the system has identified your car, you can proceed to the secure payment site and finalise your order. You will instantly receive a provisional Crit’Air justification by email, awaiting the actual sticker to be sent to you by post.
The Scam
As always beware of fraudsters and intermediaries. After my trip to Montpellier, I received a scam demand for payment of a fine, saying I had driven through a low emission zone. The system wasn’t even running then!