Rather than ordering your clean air sticker from an expensive service provider, you can obtain one far  more cheaply (€3.70 + €4.80 postage. i.e. €8.50) from the government website www.certificat-air.gouv.fr –.

Click on the link on the homepage “Applying for your certificate“ or “Demander son certificat“ in the  black band at the bottom of the screen. Then take the queries in logical order, they are reasonably straightforward.  After giving the most important details about the vehicle which is to carry the clean air sticker, you need to upload to the website an image or scan of your vehicle’s registration document/log book after which the payment window appears.  This is where you need your credit card.  Once your payment is in order another window appears stating “Your order is recorded“  and a few minutes later you will receive an email announcing that the order is being processed together with your tracking number.  The sticker will arrive about 40 days later.

N.B. France now has six categories that go from zero to five, zero being the best, and stickers can only be bought electronically.

Source: Camping, Cars & Caravans (D) extract