Day: April 17, 2024

I’m still trying to get my new electric bike registered as required in France to legally use it on public roads. My first application was rejected but although I don’t know for sure, I think it was because the delay receiving the manufacturer’s Certificate of Conformity that hadn’t been included with my application was too long and the registration authority just closed my file as a result.

Now there’s a new twist. As far as I am aware, bikes like mine cannot legally be used in many countries (the UK included) and France is the only one that requires them to be registered in order for them to be used legally on public roads. This is because they are treated under similar laws to cyclomoteurs and motor scooters with engine capacity up to 50cc.

As a result, I’m now being asked to provide a VIN number for my bike but because it doesn’t have an internal combustion engine and, presumably, because no other country that allows them to be used asks for them to be registered, bikes like mine do not come with VINs.

I’ve just pointed this out to the registration authority and asked what on earth I can do to satisfy the legal requirements as surely I can’t be the first person in France asking to register a bike like mine. The whole process has been a bureaucratic nightmare right from the very beginning and to be honest, I’m getting a bit sick of banging my head against a brick wall 🙁