In short. A French driving-school package advertisement must detail its hours, included fees and supplies, necessary excluded costs, and actual driving time.
Definition: As of October 2026, a French driving school's advertised lesson package must specify how its training hours divide between theory and practice, included administrative fees and supplies, hours above regulatory requirements, and necessary costs excluded from the package. Advertised practical hours must identify the learner's actual time driving at the wheel.
Key facts
- The DGCCRF's driving-school guidance requires package contents, including driving hours and registration or file fees, to be detailed, together with the package's duration.
- Article 3 of the price-advertising order applies across advertising media, with an exception for directories, and requires prices inclusive of all taxes.
- The standard category B contract, Annex 1, section III, provides separate fields for lesson duration and approximate effective teaching time.
What belongs beside the package price?
Article 3 of the order of 19 June 1987 requires advertising that refers to a package to state:
- How training hours divide between road-code teaching, meaning theoretical instruction, and practical driving.
- Which administrative fees and supplies the package includes, with precise identification of registration and file fees where included.
- How many included training hours exceed regulatory requirements.
- Which costs necessary for training remain payable because the package excludes them.
The same article requires the establishment's name, address and prefectural approval number. Advertising for separately sold services must give each service's precise description, duration and tax-inclusive price. References to practical driving hours must specify actual hours at the wheel by the learner.
How should lesson duration be described?
The category B standard contract gives a concrete distinction in Annex 1, section III, footnote (**): an individual practical lesson has a stated duration and includes an approximate number of minutes of effective teaching. Its duration also includes reception, setting the objective, assessment and the lesson review. Section IV, paragraph 2.3, repeats these components of practical lesson time.
The contract's price table distinguishes individual lessons, collective lessons or observation, simulator lessons, and lessons on a training area outside traffic. Its theory provisions in section IV, paragraph 1.3, require distance-learning arrangements to specify access duration, the starting point and any limits on frequency of use.
Where must the package details also appear?
Article 4 of the price-advertising order requires documentation to be supplied to anyone who requests it. It covers the relevant licence category, each service's content and duration, the offer's validity period, and tax-inclusive prices. Package documentation repeats the breakdown of included hours, fees, supplies and excluded necessary costs.
Under Articles 1 and 2, the exterior price display covers the establishment's most commonly sold package for each licence category, while the interior display covers every package offered. Both identify the component services and their duration, alongside the overall tax-inclusive package price.
Related terms
FAQ
Can the school propose extra lessons after the package hours run out?
Yes. Under the standard contract, Annex 1, section IV, paragraph 2.4, the school may propose additional hours if the initial hours are insufficient or after an unsuccessful practical test. You can accept or refuse; the additional hours and their prices require a written agreement.
Must the receipt price each included service separately?
Article 5 of the price-advertising order requires the receipt to list the services included in the package. It allows that list without a separate price for each component.
Sources
- DGCCRF, "Auto-école", 30 June 2022
- Légifrance, "Arrêté du 19 juin 1987 relatif à la publicité des prix des prestations d'enseignement de la conduite des véhicules", 19 June 1987
- Légifrance, "Arrêté du 29 mai 2020 définissant le modèle de contrat type pour l'enseignement de la conduite pour la catégorie B du permis de conduire", consolidated text updated 24 October 2024
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