In short. French home-repair businesses must make their labour rates, time-billing method, applicable fixed prices, travel charges and estimate fees easily accessible online.
Definition: As of 17 October 2026, a French business providing repairs covered by the home-repair price-display order must make its labour rates, time-billing method, applicable fixed prices and travel charges, estimate fees and other payment conditions easily accessible online. An estimate, called a devis in French, sets out the proposed work and its price.
Key facts
- The DGCCRF's home-repair guidance identifies plumbing, locksmithing and electrical installation among the covered building trades.
- Under Article 2 of the price-display order, hourly labour rates and applicable fixed-price services are stated inclusive of taxes.
- Article 3 requires the information to be easily accessible on every online communication space dedicated to the business.
- Service Public's repair guidance states that prices are freely set by the professional.
Which work falls within the order?
Article 1 of the order of 24 January 2017 covers breakdown assistance, repair and maintenance in the building and home-equipment sectors listed in its annex. It also covers replacement or additional parts, components or appliances resulting from those services. Annex 1 includes locksmithing, plumbing and sanitary installations, roofing and electrical work.
Article 1 excludes services covered by lump-sum payments made when certain contracts are concluded or renewed, including maintenance and after-sales contracts. It also excludes publicly tariffed connections to public networks carried out by a public-service concessionaire or under its responsibility.
What must the online price information contain?
Article 2 specifies the information communicated before the service contract is concluded. The online information required by Article 3 follows that same list:
- The business states its hourly labour rate or rates, inclusive of taxes, and explains how estimated time is counted.
- Where applicable, it states tax-inclusive fixed prices for services, including prices per linear metre or square metre.
- It gives applicable travel charges.
- It states whether preparing the estimate is free or paid and gives the preparation fee when charged.
- It gives any other applicable payment conditions.
The French abbreviation TTC means inclusive of all taxes. The DGCCRF's guidance uses this abbreviation for hourly rates and fixed-price services and explicitly includes the cost of preparing a paid estimate.
Where must the information appear?
Article 3 uses the wording “tout espace de communication en ligne dédié au professionnel”: every online communication space dedicated to the professional. The requirement therefore extends beyond websites that take bookings or payments.
The same article also requires a visible display inside premises where the business receives customers. Where those premises have independent access from the public highway or a shop window, the information must also be visible and legible from outside.
For an online contract, Service Public's guidance specifically lists website disclosure of travel charges, hourly labour costs and prices for common interventions. Before the customer validates an online request, it also requires pre-contract information, including payment conditions and execution deadlines.
What belongs in the estimate for the actual job?
Article 4 of the price-display order requires a detailed estimate before performance of a service contracted at the business's premises. It includes the exact repairs, itemised quantities and prices for services and products, applicable travel charges, totals before and after tax, the VAT rate and the offer's validity period.
For a contract concluded away from the business's premises, Article 4 requires itemised service prices, particularly the hourly labour rate and estimated time or each service's fixed price. Necessary products and materials have their own descriptions and unit prices, with applicable units and quantities, alongside travel charges where applicable.
Related terms
- Which Schema.org types cover plumbing, electrical and roofing businesses?
- Which urgent repairs fall outside the French withdrawal right?
- Can a locksmith's website imply an endorsement by a French municipality?
FAQ
Can I charge for preparing an estimate?
Yes. Article 2 requires you to state whether the estimate is paid or free and disclose its preparation cost when charged.
Must I explain evening or weekend surcharges?
Service Public's guidance identifies nights, weekends and public holidays as examples of surcharges whose billing conditions must be communicated before intervention.
Does displaying prices in my shop satisfy the online requirement?
Article 3 requires both the premises display, where you receive customers, and easily accessible online information.
Sources
- DGCCRF, "Plomberie, serrurerie, chauffage… choisir le bon professionnel pour un dépannage à domicile", 1 July 2025
- Légifrance, "Arrêté du 24 janvier 2017 relatif à la publicité des prix des prestations de dépannage, de réparation et d'entretien dans le secteur du bâtiment et de l'équipement de la maison", consolidated text, 1 April 2017
- Légifrance, "Article 2", version in force from 1 April 2017
- Légifrance, "Article 3", version in force from 1 April 2017
- Service Public, "Dépannage à domicile", verified 25 March 2025
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