A question put to support
How long can a driving school car
stay in service?
It is a question of age, not of wear. It is counted from first registration, and the answer changes with what the vehicle is used to teach.
The three limits
A teaching vehicle must have been first registered less than:
- seven years ago for cars and two-wheelers (A1, A2, A, B1, B);
- twelve years ago for the towing vehicles used in B96 and BE training;
- sixteen years ago for passenger or goods transport, and for vehicles with special equipment used to train people with disabilities.
Trailers, semi-trailers and mopeds are not covered.
The widespread idea, and it is wrong
You often hear that a vehicle past its age can no longer be used for the test, but still for lessons. That is not what the text says. Past the limit, the vehicle can no longer be used for teaching at all. No rule in force sets an age that would bar the test alone.
What does apply to the test is of another kind: the vehicle has to be clean and in perfect working order on the day, failing which the local test service can refuse to let it be used. That is judged on the spot, it is not something you calculate.
One territorial exception
These age limits do not apply in the overseas collectivities governed by article 73 of the French Constitution, nor in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon — except for motorcycles.
What App does with this
The date is worked out for every vehicle, and above all the screen shows you how many sessions are already booked after it. That number is what makes you act, not the date. When you come to book a lesson, the check is run again: the screen tells you whether the car you picked will still be allowed on the road that day — without blocking anything.
A question that is not here?
Write it to us. If it comes back, it will end up on this page — or it will become a feature.