Road traffic accident: compensation from the Victims Guarantee Fund

Verified 13 June 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

You had a traffic accident with a driver who escaped or is uninsured? The Compulsory Damage Insurance Guarantee Fund (FGAO) can compensate you under certain conditions. We present the applicable rules.

The Compulsory Damage Insurance Guarantee Fund (FGAO) is a body responsible for compensating victims of road accidents for whom those responsible are unknown or uninsured.

When the immediate victim of the accident has died, the FGAO compensates his beneficiaries (husband/wife, Civil partnership partner, common-law partner, ascendants and descendants).

The FGAO intervenes when the accident is caused by the driver of a land motor vehicle (car, scooter, truck, etc.) or by another user of the public road: cyclist, pedestrian, animal, skier, etc.

You can enter the FGAO only for a traffic accident that occurred in France and is caused by one of the following:

  • Driver of a land motor vehicle (car or motorcycle) traveling on public roads
  • Person traveling on public roads with or without gear (pedestrians, cyclists, skiers, rollerblading, etc.)
  • Pets or wild animals

The FGAO can compensate you if you have your habitual residence in France and you have a accident abroad, in one of the member countries of the green card scheme. This requires that the following three conditions be met:

  • You have not received a reasoned response from the insurer of the responsible person within 3 months of your request
  • The manager’s insurer has not appointed a representative in France
  • It is impossible to identify the accident location and the vehicle registration location responsible for your accident within 2 months of the accident

You can file a complaint with the FGAO if you are the victim or have the right to be a victim of a traffic accident for which the person responsible is unknown or uninsured.

You must:

  • either be of French nationality or have your habitual residence in France,
  • or be a national of one of the following countries:European Economic Area, Holy See, Morocco, Tunisia.

However, the FGAO may refuse to compensate you in certain cases.

Exclusion cases vary depending on whether the accident was caused by a land motor vehicle, an animal or an object, or by a pedestrian.

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Accident caused by vehicle

The FGAO will not compensate you if you are the driver of the vehicle or his successor in title.

The FGAO will also not compensate you if the accident was caused by a foreign-registered car, as the foreigner insurer is responsible for the compensation.

However, if the foreigner insurer does not have a correspondent in France or if the insurance of the vehicle was not valid at the time of the accident, you can request compensation from the Bureau Central Français.

Who shall I contact

  • French Central Office (BCT)

    By telephone

    +33 (0)1 53 21 50 80

    Monday and Friday: 8am - 12pm

    Tuesday and Thursday: 8am - 5pm

    By E-mail

    bcf.courrier@bcf.asso.fr

    By mail

    26 Boulevard Haussmann

    75331 Paris Cedex 09

Accident caused by an animal or object

The FGAO will not compensate you if you are the owner or custodian of the animal or thing at the time of the accident.

The FGAO will also not compensate your family members (ascendants and descendants) if they are liable as a result of the accident.

Compensation will also be denied if you are the legal representative of the legal person owner of the animal or thing.

Pedestrian accident

The FGAO will not compensate you if you were the author of the traffic accident and you were not the driver of a land motor vehicle or the guardian of an object or animal.

In this case, the FGAO will also not compensate your beneficiaries (husband/wife, Civil partnership partner, common-law partner, ascendants, descendants).

The situation varies depending on whether you have suffered bodily harm or not.

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You have suffered personal injury and property damage

The person responsible for the accident is known

If the person responsible for the accident is known, you have 1 year to submit the claim to the FGAO.

This period runs from one of the following 2 events:

  • Date on which the court ruling that compensation was not possible passed into force of res judicata
  • Date of the transaction signed with the person responsible for the accident or his insurer
The person responsible for the accident is unknown

If the person responsible is unknown, you have 3 years after the accident to seize the FGAO.

You have suffered only material damage

You must enter the FGAO within 1 year of the accident.

To ask the FGAO's response to a traffic accident, you must complete a file opening form:

Claim for compensation from the FGAO by a victim of a traffic or hunting accident

The form is accompanied by a notice which indicates the list of supporting documents to be provided for the preparation of your file.

You must send the complete file to the FGAO by e-mail or by registered letter with notice of receipt.

Who shall I contact

  • Compulsory non-life insurance guarantee fund (FGAO)

    Compensation for victims of road accidents whose perpetrators were not insured or identified.

    By E-mail

     Access to the contact form

The FGAO can compensate you for personal injury (injury, inability to work) and material damage (damage to the vehicle) caused by the accident, but there are conditions.

The FGAO's compensation rules vary depending on the cause of the accident, the identity of the person responsible, and the nature of the damage you have suffered (material damage, personal injury, or material damage and personal injury):

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Accident caused by vehicle

The situation varies depending on whether the driver of the vehicle is known or not.

Known driver

You can be compensated for your personal injury and for your property damage.

Unknown driver

You may be compensated for your personal injury, but compensation for your material damage is subject to the condition that the accident has caused you or another person serious personal injury.

Severe bodily injury is required for hospitalization for more than 7 days followed by temporary total incapacity of 1 month or more or permanent functional impairment of at least 10% or death.

Accident caused by an animal, an object or a pedestrian

The situation varies depending on whether the person responsible for the accident is known or not.

Responsible for the known accident

You can be compensated for your personal injury and for your property damage.

Unknown Accident Lead

The situation varies depending on whether the accident was caused by an animal or not.

The accident was caused by an animal

You can be compensated for your personal injury, but not for your property damage.

The accident was caused by a pedestrian or by object

You may be compensated for your personal injury, but compensation for your material damage is subject to the condition that the accident has caused you or another person serious personal injury.

Severe bodily injury is required for hospitalization for more than 7 days followed by temporary total incapacity of 1 month or more or permanent functional impairment of at least 10% or death.

After reviewing the file, the FGAO must decide whether you meet the conditions to receive compensation or not.

In case of a favorable decision, the FGAO must offer you an agreement with a compensation amount.

You can make a complaint against the way your case was handled by the FGAO. You can also challenge the decision that was made on your claim.

Challenge to the procedure

As a victim or a person with a victim right, you can refer the case to the FGAO Ombudsman if you feel that your rights have not been respected.

The Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to rule on the amount of compensation, but only on the procedure for handling the claim by the FGAO.

You can enter the mediator via a form:

Victims of road traffic accidents: refer the case to the Ombudsman for the Victims Guarantee Fund

The form must be sent by e-mail or registered letter with notice of receipt.

The Ombudsman must report within 2 months.

It delivers an opinion that is not binding on the FGAO.

Challenge of the decision on compensation

If you are not satisfied with the FGAO's decision on your claim for compensation (refusal of compensation or proposal of insufficient compensation), you can bring the dispute before the court competent for the place of the accident.

Who shall I contact

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • Compulsory non-life insurance guarantee fund (FGAO)

    Compensation for victims of road accidents whose perpetrators were not insured or identified.

    By E-mail

     Access to the contact form

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