France's car rental cash ban: what operators must know

For an operator in France the question changes: it is no longer whether the amount is under a limit, but whether the customer can pay another way. The rule came in with France's anti-drug-trafficking law, to make rentals traceable, and many pages about cash limits have not caught up. Here is the text, what follows from it and what is still open. It applies to operators renting in France, not to rentals elsewhere.

What does the rule actually say?

Paragraph II ter of article L. 112-6 of the Code monétaire et financier, created by article 4 of law no. 2025-532 of 13 June 2025, is one sentence:

Nonobstant le I, le paiement des opérations afférentes à la location de véhicules automobiles ne peut être effectué en espèces.

In English: notwithstanding paragraph I, payment for operations relating to the rental of motor vehicles may not be made in cash. It has been in force since 15 June 2025. In decision no. 2025-885 DC (§54 to 60) the Conseil constitutionnel upheld it, noting that Parliament wanted these rentals to be traceable.

Three phrases matter. "Nonobstant le I" sets aside the general regime of limits. "Opérations afférentes" is wider than the rental charge alone. "Espèces" means cash: card, transfer and cheque are not touched by this paragraph.

Why don't the €1,000 and €15,000 limits apply?

They answer a different question. Article D. 112-3 sets the amounts for paragraph I of article L. 112-6, and II ter puts paragraph I aside for car rental.

Two mistakes come up often. One is saying a rental under €1,000 can be paid in cash. The other is presenting €15,000 as every tourist's limit, when the decree separates €10,000 and €15,000 by payee. For a car rental, neither figure is the right reflex.

Who can still pay in cash?

Paragraph III of article L. 112-6 opens with "Les dispositions qui précèdent ne sont pas applicables" (the preceding provisions do not apply) and covers, among others, people who cannot bind themselves by cheque or another means of payment, and people with no deposit account.

That this exception reaches II ter is a reading, not a rule a court has settled on a rental case. It does rest on a strong source: at §59 the Conseil constitutionnel writes that it "résulte du paragraphe III" that the ban "n'est pas applicable" to these people.

We found no decree or guidance on how to check at the counter that someone has no account.

Does the ban cover a cash deposit?

Not confirmed. No primary source we consulted deals with the security deposit. "Operations relating to the rental" argues for caution, and a deposit held on a card avoids the question when the customer has one, but that is our reading, not a text.

The same doubt applies to charges at return (fuel, an extra day). They look tied to the rental, but we found no source saying so.

Are scooters, motorbikes and vans covered?

For two-wheelers, not confirmed. The law says "véhicules automobiles" without defining it. The Government first proposed "véhicules terrestres motorisés" (motorised land vehicles), and the final text is narrower.

Amendment no. 918 replaced "terrestres motorisés" with "automobiles" in the bill, and its explanatory statement excludes two-wheelers. But that statement discusses anti-money-laundering duties, not cash payment, and we could not verify that the paragraph it changed is the one that became II ter. It is not a safe answer for a scooter operator.

For vans, no source we consulted draws the line. The Senate debate of 28 January 2025 mentions people renting a vehicle to move house, which is not enough to conclude.

Can a foreign tourist pay in cash?

II ter draws no distinction by residence, and the non-resident limits belong to paragraph I, which it sets aside. We found no text carving out tourists.

One point is unconfirmed: does an account held abroad count as a "compte de dépôt" for the paragraph III exception? The text does not specify, and no source we consulted answers it.

What about the overseas territories?

• French Polynesia: article L. 733-1 applies L. 112-6 in the wording of law no. 2025-532, with no adaptation aimed at that article.
• New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna: not confirmed. We could not open the current articles L. 732-1 and L. 734-1, or the IEOM statement on the subject.
• Overseas departments, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon: not confirmed. No source we consulted deals expressly with II ter in these places.

What is the penalty?

Article L. 112-7 provides a fine aimed at the debtor, set by the seriousness of the breach and capped at 5% of the sums paid in breach. For breaches of article L. 112-6, debtor and creditor are jointly liable for paying it, so an operator who takes the cash is not safe because the fine is aimed first at the customer.

One more change to watch: the same law adds to article L. 561-2 people who rent motor vehicles as a habitual and main activity above a price threshold set by decree. It takes effect on a date set by decree, by 10 July 2027 at the latest. We have not checked whether that decree has been published.

What should you change at the counter?

1. State payment methods before pickup

   Put them in the booking confirmation and your terms: card, transfer or cheque, whichever you accept. A customer told the day before does not arrive with an envelope.

2. Give staff one answer

   Not "up to €1,000". For a car, refuse cash, unless an exception your adviser has approved applies.

3. Write down the exception procedure

   Who decides, what the customer declares, what you keep. An exception with no record looks like a breach.

4. Settle the open cases with your adviser

   Deposits, two-wheelers, vans, customers with foreign accounts, overseas territories: get a position and note it.

What Renviq does

Renviq applies an entry rule. It is not a legal analysis:

• Cash is refused when recording a payment on a car booking in France, vans included.
• So is a cash deposit. That is a cautious choice on our part, not proof the law says so.
• The exception is ticked by hand ("customer has no bank account"), with an optional note, and the payment carries a badge. Renviq does not verify what the customer says.
• Motorbikes, scooters and boats are not blocked. That follows our reading of "véhicules automobiles", which is still unsettled for two-wheelers.
• Overseas, the block also applies in the overseas departments, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna. Again this is caution, not confirmation for each territory.

Cash and terminal payments are still recorded by hand: Renviq has no card-terminal integration.