French acronym explainer: What is ANTS? 

February will mark 18 years since the launch of ANTS – the Agence Nationale des Titres Sécurisés. This agency is responsible for issuing all titres sécurisés – in other words, any important, personal document potentially at risk of fraud or identity theft. 

ANTS works under the authority of the Interior Ministry. In 2024, it was officially rebranded France Titres and its missions were extended, particularly regarding digital formats of secure documents.

In 2023, ANTS issued 8.1 million national ID cards, seven million passports, 2.7 million driving licences and 10.8 million car registration documents. You will almost certainly have dealt with them if you live or work in France or were born here, but you might only be aware of part of their activity. For all the documents below, ANTS is your first port of call. See ants.gouv.fr for more.

Identity cards and passports

Although the CNI (Carte Nationale d’Identité) is not compulsory, you are legally obliged to carry ID in France, so those who can get a CNI tend to do so. As it includes all your vital information, several countries accept it as equivalent to a passport.

As with passport applications, most steps are digital, meaning you can upload PDFs for your proof of address or birth certificate, and digitally upload photos. 

However, for both passport and CNI applications, you still need to visit a recognised office such as your mairie to register your fingerprints and finalise the application.

Read more: Explained: What is a Maison des Jeunes in France?

Residence permits 

While the application process for residence permits (titres de séjour) still has its frustrations, the online service is more streamlined and you can check your progress.

 Currently ANTS estimates a four-month wait between completing your application and receiving your permit, but you need an appointment to collect it, which can add two months.

Cars and driving

ANTS processes all driving licences and car registration documents (cartes grises). After buying a vehicle, you have 30 days to update your carte grise or face a penalty of up to €750.

Given the number of carte grise requests, ANTS has authorised selected private companies to process them. Known as professionnels habilités, these firms can access the government’s vehicle registration system and handle the process, but will charge a handling fee.