This guide covers French notices only and is no substitute for advice from a lawyer.
Key takeaways
- You have 45 days from the date on the notice to contest it or name the actual rider.
- Paying means admitting the offence: the points are deducted and you can no longer contest.
- Disputing a camera offence requires a deposit equal to the fine, €68 or €135 for speeding under 50 km/h over the limit. Naming another rider requires neither payment nor deposit.
- Ignoring the notice does not save your points: the fine is increased, for example from €135 to €375, and the points are deducted.
- Never name a fictitious person or someone who was not riding: it is fraud and can be prosecuted.
Step by step
How do you contest a camera fine in France?
You contest online at antai.gouv.fr, using the “Désigner ou contester en ligne” button, or by registered post with proof of delivery to the officier du ministère public named on the notice. Either way, you start by ticking the right case on the requête en exonération form sent with the notice.
The table below sums up the three situations. Only case 3, where you dispute the offence itself, requires a deposit.
Sources ANTAI: naming the driver or contesting (French) ANTAI: contesting a notice (French)
- 1. Check the notice: plate, date, time, place, retained speed and speed limit.
- 2. Request the camera photo if you have doubts about the bike or the rider.
- 3. Choose your case, then lodge the deposit if you are in case 3.
- 4. File online, or send the original notice, the signed form and your evidence by registered post.
- 5. Keep the online receipt or proof of delivery until you receive a decision.
| Your situation | Case to tick | Documents to attach | Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bike stolen, destroyed, sold or plate cloned | Case 1 | Police report, destruction certificate or transfer declaration | No |
| Someone else was riding | Case 2 | The rider’s identity, address and licence number | No |
| You dispute the offence itself | Case 3 | Your written explanation and evidence | Yes, the amount of the fine |
Deadlines
How long do you have to contest?
The standard deadline is 45 days from the date printed on the notice. It applies both to contesting and to naming another rider. If you neither pay nor contest within that time, the notice becomes an increased fine (amende forfaitaire majorée).
For an increased fine issued after a camera offence, ANTAI gives 3 months from the date it was sent. If the notice was sent to an address outside France, these deadlines are extended by one month, which matters if you ride in France on a foreign-registered bike. The exact deadline is also printed on the form sent with the notice.
Use that time to check every detail. On a fixed camera, the retained speed is the measured speed minus 5 km/h below 100 km/h, or minus 5% above: caught at 97 km/h, you are recorded at 92 km/h. The location on the notice also lets you look up the camera and its type.
Explore this topic Map of speed cameras and enforcement areas in France Speed camera types in France and what each checks
Sources ANTAI: contest deadlines (French) Service Public: fixed fines (French) ANTAI: camera margins (French)
| Type of notice | Deadline to contest | Starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Standard notice (avis de contravention) | 45 days | Date printed on the notice |
| Increased fine after a camera offence | 3 months | Date the increased notice was sent |
| Notice sent abroad | One extra month | Same starting point |
Pay or deposit
Paying or lodging a deposit: what is the difference?
Payment is not a deposit. Paying the fine counts as admitting the offence: you can no longer contest it, and the points attached to it are deducted from your licence.
The deposit (consignation) is a guarantee. For a camera offence, it is compulsory when you dispute the offence itself (case 3), and it equals the fixed fine. Pay it with the deposit slip (carte de consignation) sent with the notice, never with the payment slip. It deducts no points and is refunded if the case is dropped or you are acquitted. For an increased fine, the deposit equals the increased amount.
Leaving the notice unanswered does not protect your licence: once the increased fine is issued, the offence is legally established and the points are deducted.
Sources Service Public: payment and deposit (French) French Highway Code, Article L223-1 ANTAI: deposit and admissibility (French)
| Class | Camera offences concerned | Reduced | Standard | Increased |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd class | Speeding by less than 20 km/h where the limit is above 50 km/h | €45 | €68 | €180 |
| 4th class | Other speeding under 50 km/h over the limit, red lights, level crossings | €90 | €135 | €375 |
Reduced rate: pay within 15 days, or 30 days online. Standard rate: within 45 days, or 60 days online. Increased rate: after that.
The photo
How do you get the speed camera photo?
Request it online through the Ministry of the Interior form, or by post to: CACIR, Service photographies, CS 41101, 35911 Rennes Cedex 9, France. Enclose a copy of your identity document, your registration certificate and the first page of the notice.
The 45-day deadline keeps running while you wait, so send the request as soon as the notice arrives.
On the photo, check that the plate is legible and matches your bike. The model, colour, top box or a passenger should match your machine and your ride. A different bike carrying your number points to a cloned plate: report it to the police and use case 1.
Sources ANTAI: getting the photo (French) Service Public: photo request form (French)
Motorcycle case
Photographed from behind in a helmet: what does it prove?
A motorcycle carries a single plate, at the rear. French fixed cameras, including two-sided units and turrets, can photograph from the front or the rear. A rear shot shows your plate and your bike, not the rider’s face.
French law covers this situation. For camera offences, the registered keeper is liable for the fine unless they establish theft, force majeure, or that they were not the actual offender (Article L121-3). When the court finds only this financial liability, you pay the fine with no points deducted and nothing on your criminal record.
The court weighs the whole file and may also find you guilty as the rider, in which case the points are deducted. A private keeper has no legal duty to name the rider, unlike a company. If a friend was riding, the proper route is still to name them.
Sources French Highway Code, Article L121-3 French Highway Code: rear plate, Article R317-8 Road safety brochure: front or rear checks (French)
Lent bike
A friend was riding your bike: how do you name them?
Online or on the form (case 2), give the identity, address and licence number of the person who was riding. You neither pay nor lodge a deposit. The named rider then receives their own notice.
Naming the wrong person on purpose is fraud and can be prosecuted. If you receive a notice after being named falsely, ANTAI explains how to report it.
Sources ANTAI: naming the driver (French) ANTAI: fraudulent driver identification (French)
Company bike
Company motorcycle: must the rider be named?
Yes. When the bike is registered to a legal entity, its legal representative must name the rider within 45 days of the notice being sent or delivered, by registered post or online (Article L121-6). Only theft, a cloned plate or force majeure exempt them.
Failing to do so is a separate offence: a 4th-class contravention, or 5th class when the original offence is a délit, such as speeding by 50 km/h or more. The article also covers sole traders, who meet the obligation by showing, within the same deadline, that the bike is registered in their own name.
Sources French Highway Code, Article L121-6, current version
Common pitfalls
Which mistakes sink a challenge?
An inadmissible request is notified by post and does not extend the deadline. Check these points before sending.
Sources ANTAI: admissibility and documents (French) Service Public: effects of payment (French) French Highway Code, Article L130-9
- Paying the fine, then contesting: payment closes the door.
- Using the payment slip instead of the deposit slip.
- Forgetting the deposit in case 3: for a camera offence, it is a condition of admissibility.
- Sending a copy instead of the original notice, or forgetting to sign the form.
- Waiting for the photo and letting the 45 days run out.
- Contesting without concrete evidence: findings from an approved camera stand unless proven otherwise (Article L130-9).
After sending
What happens after you contest?
The officier du ministère public reviews your request. They can reject it as inadmissible, drop the case, in which case the deposit is refunded, or refer you to a judge.
Before the judge, there are three possible outcomes: acquittal, with the deposit refunded; financial liability only, where you pay the fine without losing points; or conviction. A conviction means a fine at least 10% above the fixed fine, so at least €148.50 for a €135 notice, minus any deposit, and the points are deducted.
Speeding by 50 km/h or more has been a délit since 29 December 2025 and follows a different procedure, not covered here. For your next rides, MotoLert, coming soon to iPhone, will show your real-time speed and reported enforcement areas, even without a route. The app does not handle fine challenges.
Sources ANTAI: possible outcomes (French) Decree of 22 December 2025 on serious speeding (French)
References
The information cited was checked on 21 October 2026. Rules and services may change after this date.
- ANTAI: naming the driver or contestingThe three cases, the deposit, naming the rider and possible outcomes. In French.
- ANTAI: contest deadlines45 days, 3 months for an increased camera fine, one extra month abroad. In French.
- ANTAI: contesting a noticeOnline and postal procedure. In French.
- Service Public: fixed finesAmounts by class, payment deadlines, deposit and effects of payment. In French.
- ANTAI: getting the camera photoCACIR address and documents to enclose. In French.
- Service Public: photo requestLink to the Ministry of the Interior online form. In French.
- French Highway Code, Article L121-3Keeper’s financial liability, with no points deducted. In French.
- French Highway Code, Article L121-6Driver identification by legal entities, version in force since 31 December 2025. In French.
- French Highway Code, Article L223-1Payment, increased fine or conviction: when points are deducted. In French.
- French Highway Code, Article L130-9Evidential value of approved camera findings. In French.
- French Highway Code, Article R317-8Single rear plate for motorcycles. In French.
- French road safety agency: guide to automated camerasApril 2025 brochure: front or rear checks and how notices are processed. In French.
- ANTAI: speed cameras in FranceTechnical margins of fixed and mobile cameras. In French.
- ANTAI: fraudulent driver identificationHow to report being named falsely. In French.
- Decree No. 2025-1269 of 22 December 2025Speeding by 50 km/h or more became a délit on 29 December 2025. In French.
