Erroneous French speeding ticket, Ticket issued even though we and the car were not in France! Options

[Boilsjeeco]

Hi all,

A few weeks ago we received a French speeding ticket. The numberplate correlates with a car we own, BUT we weren’t in France at the time, we hadn’t lent it to anyone and have never taken that car to France. I responded stating this and asking to see the photographic evidence, assuming that either the plate had been cloned or mis-read by the camera, French numberplates being similar to ours in layout (AB123CD as opposed to our AB12CDE).

I phoned the police but they advised doing nothing until or unless it was proven that the numberplate had been cloned, not least because we’d keep getting mistaken for the cloned vehicle on ANPR systems. They strongly suggested getting hold of a copy of the photo.

I assumed we’d hear nothing more but a few days ago we received an email saying they reject our claim because of ‘non-compliance with at least one of the mandatory rules prescribed by Articles 529-10 and 530 of the Code of Civil Procedure’ i.e:

• ‘No deposit made’ – they seem to expect us to pay the fine even if we then contest it, as far as I can see. (By ‘deposit’ they actually mean the total amount of the fine, amusing though it would otherwise have been to pay, say, I cent.)
• ‘Absence of supporting document (complaint form, proof of payment, emergency, death certificate etc.).’ – I don’t know where to begin with this one

Guilty until proven innocent it would seem.

I can’t find anything similar on the net, but intend to reply, asking (again) to see the photographic evidence (especially given what our police said) and for some more information about the complaint form they mentioned.

Does anyone on here know anything about Articles 529-10 and 530 of the Code of Civil Procedure? Does it really mean we have to pay the fine first? What if we couldn’t afford to?

Can the French authorities collude with the British ones to force me to pay the fine, even though we will subsequently be proven innocent?

All advice gratefully received; thanks for reading.

This post has been edited by Boilsjeeco: Tue, 19 Nov 2019 - 13:02

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[The Rookie]

The French system requires you to pay the fine (as a deposit) in order for the appeal to be considered as it would (should) have made clear on the original Avis.

However as they will almost certainly do nothing to try and recover any money from you then the other option is to ignore.

[Boilsjeeco]

The French system requires you to pay the fine (as a deposit) in order for the appeal to be considered as it would (should) have made clear on the original Avis.

However as they will almost certainly do nothing to try and recover any money from you then the other option is to ignore.

Thank you for that - it was sort of what I expected, although someone else said to me that there is an 'exemption' section that I could/should have filled in. I don't recall seeing it but I'll have another look. It seems outrageous that they can charge me with the offence without at the very least showing me the evidence i.e. the photo!

[The Rookie]

It seems outrageous that they can charge me with the offence without at the very least showing me the evidence i.e. the photo!

Be outraged all you like, it's exactly the same in the UK though.

[baroudeur]

Hi all,

A few weeks ago we received a French speeding ticket. The numberplate correlates with a car we own, BUT we weren’t in France at the time, we hadn’t lent it to anyone and have never taken that car to France. I responded stating this and asking to see the photographic evidence, assuming that either the plate had been cloned or mis-read by the camera, French numberplates being similar to ours in layout (AB123CD as opposed to our AB12CDE).

I phoned the police but they advised doing nothing until or unless it was proven that the numberplate had been cloned, not least because we’d keep getting mistaken for the cloned vehicle on ANPR systems. They strongly suggested getting hold of a copy of the photo.

I assumed we’d hear nothing more but a few days ago we received an email saying they reject our claim because of ‘non-compliance with at least one of the mandatory rules prescribed by Articles 529-10 and 530 of the Code of Civil Procedure’ i.e:

• ‘No deposit made’ – they seem to expect us to pay the fine even if we then contest it, as far as I can see. (By ‘deposit’ they actually mean the total amount of the fine, amusing though it would otherwise have been to pay, say, I cent.)
• ‘Absence of supporting document (complaint form, proof of payment, emergency, death certificate etc.).’ – I don’t know where to begin with this one

Guilty until proven innocent it would seem.

I can’t find anything similar on the net, but intend to reply, asking (again) to see the photographic evidence (especially given what our police said) and for some more information about the complaint form they mentioned.

Does anyone on here know anything about Articles 529-10 and 530 of the Code of Civil Procedure? Does it really mean we have to pay the fine first? What if we couldn’t afford to?

Can the French authorities collude with the British ones to force me to pay the fine, even though we will subsequently be proven innocent?

All advice gratefully received; thanks for reading.

Did you receive an Avis de Contravention in French or a Violation Notice in English? Is the car make (Mark/Marque) shown the same as your car? There is unlikely to be a mis-read of a current style French plate which has no gap between the characters which UK plates have and French plates usually have an F at one end and a regional icon at the other. Did you request a photo from Service Demande Photos?


The "supporting document" is the Exemption Request Form part of the notice you received. Payment is not required if "your vehicle....had the registration plates stolen" which should cover cloned plates so you need to follow procedure by completing the Exemption Request Form which has an "Identity Fraud" section. If you do nothing the procedure will continue according to Article 529/530 and you will receive an increased penalty notice next.

If you continue to ignore nothing is likely to happen other than you will have a record held in France.

Exemption Request Form

Penalty Notice in English

Edit:Under Art 529-10/530 a deposit of the penalty is required with any challenge but not in the case identity fraud.

Code de la Route Art 529-10



This post has been edited by baroudeur: Wed, 20 Nov 2019 - 11:56

[Boilsjeeco]

Hi all,

A few weeks ago we received a French speeding ticket. The numberplate correlates with a car we own, BUT we weren’t in France at the time, we hadn’t lent it to anyone and have never taken that car to France. I responded stating this and asking to see the photographic evidence, assuming that either the plate had been cloned or mis-read by the camera, French numberplates being similar to ours in layout (AB123CD as opposed to our AB12CDE).

I phoned the police but they advised doing nothing until or unless it was proven that the numberplate had been cloned, not least because we’d keep getting mistaken for the cloned vehicle on ANPR systems. They strongly suggested getting hold of a copy of the photo.

I assumed we’d hear nothing more but a few days ago we received an email saying they reject our claim because of ‘non-compliance with at least one of the mandatory rules prescribed by Articles 529-10 and 530 of the Code of Civil Procedure’ i.e:

• ‘No deposit made’ – they seem to expect us to pay the fine even if we then contest it, as far as I can see. (By ‘deposit’ they actually mean the total amount of the fine, amusing though it would otherwise have been to pay, say, I cent.)
• ‘Absence of supporting document (complaint form, proof of payment, emergency, death certificate etc.).’ – I don’t know where to begin with this one

Guilty until proven innocent it would seem.

I can’t find anything similar on the net, but intend to reply, asking (again) to see the photographic evidence (especially given what our police said) and for some more information about the complaint form they mentioned.

Does anyone on here know anything about Articles 529-10 and 530 of the Code of Civil Procedure? Does it really mean we have to pay the fine first? What if we couldn’t afford to?

Can the French authorities collude with the British ones to force me to pay the fine, even though we will subsequently be proven innocent?

All advice gratefully received; thanks for reading.

Did you receive an Avis de Contravention in French or a Violation Notice in English? Is the car make (Mark/Marque) shown the same as your car? There is unlikely to be a mis-read of a current style French plate which has no gap between the characters which UK plates have and French plates usually have an F at one end and a regional icon at the other. Did you request a photo from Service Demande Photos?


The "supporting document" is the Exemption Request Form part of the notice you received. Payment is not required if "your vehicle....had the registration plates stolen" which should cover cloned plates so you need to follow procedure by completing the Exemption Request Form which has an "Identity Fraud" section. If you do nothing the procedure will continue according to Article 529/530 and you will receive an increased penalty notice next.

If you continue to ignore nothing is likely to happen other than you will have a record held in France.

Exemption Request Form

Penalty Notice in English

Edit:Under Art 529-10/530 a deposit of the penalty is required with any challenge but not in the case identity fraud.

Code de la Route Art 529-10

Many thanks for that - I have completed the exemption request form (itself made less than straightforward by the fact that you have to enclose proof of registration plate change and copy of new registration doc even though they are unapplicable if you follow the 'It is my registration number but not my vehicle' link). Thanks too for the suggestion of applying for the photo. As far as I could see, there is no mention of this in the main website but I eventually found a way to do it after googling, via what seems to be a completely different website! Crazy.

I now await responses from both. Thanks again.