Millions of French people will have to redo their crisis card: but why ?

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A reform that went relatively unnoticed a few months ago could have serious consequences for many motorists. The 3DS law relating to differentiation, decentralization, deconcentration and carrying various measures to simplify local public action. was adopted on January 4, 2022. It is in the last part of this law that we find a measure which could force millions of French people to redo their registration document.

A national database

At the heart of this reform is the creation of a national database (BAN) for geolocation of addresses, explain our colleagues at Auto Plus. The objective of this initiative is to ensure precise location of all postal addresses throughout France. This would be useful for emergency services and other public and private services.

To set up such a database, Municipalities are required to create their own database by adding new addresses for streets that previously had none. Municipalities with more than 2,000 inhabitants had until January 1, 2024 to complete this task, while smaller municipalities had until June 1 to do so.

According to the reported figures, 53% of municipalities have already created their database for a total of 26.1 million addresses. Despite the date that has passed, there are still approximately 20 million addresses to be integrated into the BAN. While not all of these addresses will necessarily be changed, those that will will have a direct impact on drivers of these “new” addresses.

An annoying consequence

The creation of this database will have numerous repercussions, particularly for French motorists. Indeed, you should know that any change of address implies the obligation to renew your registration document. Although it is difficult to precisely estimate the exact number of people affected by this reform, La Poste puts forward the figure of 1.8 million motorists who could be required to update their registration document following this change.

If you didn't know: the change of address for the gray card must be made within the month following allocation from the new address. For vehicles whose registration is in the recent format “AA-123-AA”, the first 3 changes of address are free. Beyond that, each modification will cost €2.76 – and it's up to you to pay it even if it's a reform imposed on you and which requires you to take all these steps.

To carry out this procedure and update their card, motorists must go to the site dedicated to registration: inscription.ants.gouv.fr. If you are affected by this measure, we invite you to be as quick as possible because the process may take a little time.

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