What is a Green Card ?

An international insurance certificate

Green Cards, still referred to as “international insurance certificates”, are issued in the name and under the supervision of each national Bureau in accordance with Recommendation No. 5 issued by the Inland Transport Committee of the Economic Commission for Europe. The Green Card is a single document recognised by all the system’s Member States (Article R211-22 of the Insurance Code).

On an international level, it enables insured drivers resident in one Member State to visit another one without having to take out an insurance policy each time they cross a border by certifying that they have third party liability cover.

A national certificate of insurance

In France, since the issue of a circular dated March 11, 1974, a Green Card has been equivalent to a national certificate of insurance (Article R211-17 of the Insurance Code) and to a presumption of insurance insofar as it tends to prove that the obligation to take out motor liability insurance with a member company of the BCF has been fulfilled.