Contrôle technique price in 2026: €80 on average

How much does a contrôle technique cost for your car?#

For a gasoline or diesel car, the usual price is €80, the same for both. There are about as many centers under €80 as over €80. Centers declare this price to the state, which publishes it on its price comparison tool, prix.conso.gouv.fr. On their own websites, the centers that give their price also show €80 in general. Each center sets its own price freely.

Car or van? Use the category on your registration certificate (carte grise): a small utility vehicle registered as a van is charged the van rate. Pick the same category on the comparison tool.

A 4x4 (four-wheel drive)? Centers declare a separate price for them, €85 in general: ask the center whether your vehicle falls under it.

Does a hybrid or an electric car always cost more? No. 6 centers in 10 charge more for it than for a gasoline car; almost all the others charge the same price. That puts the typical price at €85; ask what the center charges for your vehicle.

Does your car run on LPG or CNG? Not every center declares a price for these cars: check before you book. Motorcycle inspections have a separate price, which not every center declares either: see our article on the motorcycle contrôle technique.

How much does the contrôle technique cost in your département and your city?#

Depending on your département, the usual price for a gasoline or diesel car runs from €70 in the Loiret to €100 in Haute-Savoie. Location has the biggest effect on inspection prices; the center's brand makes almost no difference. We don't know why prices differ so much from one département to another.

Aim for the usual price in your département, or lower. In 9 départements out of 10 on the list, the lowest price is at least €10 below the usual price. These département benchmarks are for gasoline or diesel cars. For a hybrid or an electric car, ask the center for its price: it may be the same or higher. For a car powered by LPG or CNG, or for a van, we have no price by département: compare nearby centers on the comparison tool.

Open the list below, sorted by département number. How to read it: in Maine-et-Loire (49), the usual price is €85 and the lowest price €74. That lowest price is from a single center, perhaps far from you, for a gasoline or diesel car: to see the prices of nearby centers, search for your town on prix.conso.gouv.fr. Your département isn't there? It has fewer than 20 centers, like Paris (€90 in general) and ten other départements: there too, search for your town on the comparison tool.

Inspections cost more in big cities: €89 in Lyon, compared with €85 for the Rhône département as a whole. If you can travel, aim for the département price.

How can you pay less?#

What really lowers the bill: the center you choose and the promo on its site.

To find a center at €70 or less near you, when one exists: our guide to a cheap contrôle technique.

You can have your car tested at any approved center in France, according to service-public.fr: compare the savings with the cost of the trip.

Cheaper doesn't mean less thorough: whatever the price, the test covers the same 133 points, set by regulation, according to service-public.fr.

The brand barely matters: the big networks (Dekra, Autosur, Autovision, Sécuritest) generally charge the same price as the other centers, within €2.

Is the price on the state's comparison tool the one the center shows?#

Most of the time, yes. On October 8 and 9, 2026, we read the websites of 4,015 centers and compared the normal price they show for a car, without promo, with the one on the comparison tool. Out of 10 sites that give their price, about 7 show the same price as the comparison tool, 2 a higher price (€4 more in general) and 1, at most, a lower price.

Most of the more expensive centers haven't changed their price on the comparison tool since 2020. As the DGCCRF (France's consumer protection and fraud agency, which checks prices) reiterated in 2021, the regular price displayed at the center must match the comparison tool; you can report discrepancies on SignalConso, the government's site for disputes with businesses.

The comparison tool lists about 9 approved centers in 10: if yours isn't there, ask it for its price.

How much does the retest cost?#

€15 to €30 in general, on top of the test, if it found a defect to repair. But 1 center in 11 does it free of charge, at least in some cases: ask before you book. It has to be done within 2 months; after that, you have to take a full test again, according to the ministerial order (arrêté) that governs the contrôle technique. Test and contre-visite included, expect €95 to €110 in general for a gasoline or diesel car. The details: our article on the price of the contre-visite.

When should you get the test, and what do you risk if you are late?#

The first test is done within the 6 months before the car turns 4 (date of first registration, on the carte grise), with no notice sent to you, according to service-public.fr. After that, a test with no defect is valid for 2 years, and the deadline is written on the carte grise and on the sticker on the windshield: after that date, your car no longer has a valid test.

If you are late, you risk a fine of €135 in general, which can go up to €750, according to service-public.fr.

During a roadside check, the police or the gendarmerie (France's military police) can also immobilize the car. You must then take it to a contrôle technique at the center of your choice. Without a test, or without the repairs required, the car can be impounded, according to the French traffic code (Code de la route).

Frequently asked questions#

What is the average price of a contrôle technique in 2026?#

€80 for a gasoline or diesel car: the average and the usual price land on the same figure. For a hybrid or an electric car, expect €85.

Did the price of the contrôle technique go up in 2026?#

We can't measure it: the state's file only keeps each center's latest price, not the old ones.

Is there a free contrôle technique?#

Not among the prices declared to the state: for a car, the lowest is €45, once typing errors are set aside. For the contre-visite, however, some centers do it free of charge: see the section on the retest.

Can you negotiate the price of the contrôle technique?#

Each center is free to set its price, but must display it, according to the DGCCRF. We haven't measured whether centers lower it at the counter. What works, according to our review of the websites: the promo on the center's site (see how to pay less).

Further reading#

The detailed figures, for the curious, journalists and professionals. Our other studies are on the Scalon Observatory page, including the number of auto repair shops in France and the shops that fit tires.

Method#

The declared prices come from the public file of the DGCCRF, extracted on September 24, 2026: 6,100 centers out of 6,133 declare a price there for a gasoline or diesel car. On October 8 and 9, 2026, we read the websites of 4,015 centers to record the price shown. We checked a randomly selected subset of the records a second time. The details are in the block below.

Sources#

Cite this study#