Fuel Aid for French Hauliers: Amounts and ASP Application

The third instalment of the 2026 fuel aid for road transport companies in France has been published: it covers June, July and August 2026 (Decree No. 2026-885 of 23 September 2026, published in the Journal officiel, the French official gazette, on 24 September and in force from 25 September). It is a flat-rate aid per vehicle, paid by the Agence de services et de paiement (ASP, the French government payment agency), and it can be combined with the April and July instalments. It is reserved for companies established in France. This guide answers three questions: am I eligible, how much will I receive, and by what date must I register?

All article references refer to Decree No. 2026-885.

2026 fuel aid for hauliers at a glance: who, how much, by when

• Who: public road transport companies established in France with fewer than 1,000 employees, holding a goods or passenger transport licence, whose main activity falls under one of the 11 NAF codes (French business activity codes) listed in the decree (Art. 1).
• How much: from €210 to €1,500 per vehicle for the three months, depending on the category, capped at €180,000 per company (Arts. 1 and 4).
• By when: applications open since 5 October 2026 on the ASP online service, by 9 November 2026 at the latest (Art. 7).
• Watch out: above €5,000 per month, a profitability condition applies upfront, and the aid may have to be repaid depending on how the gross operating surplus (EBE, excédent brut d’exploitation) changes (Arts. 2 and 5).

How much per vehicle? The amount of the fuel aid

The decree sets a monthly unit amount per vehicle category. The total aid equals “three times the sum of the products”: multiply the number of vehicles in each category by the unit amount, add the results together, then multiply by three (Art. 4).

Two worked examples

• Small fleet, below the threshold: 5 tractor units and 3 rigid trucks of 7.5 to 26 t give (5 × 500) + (3 × 250) = €3,250 per month, i.e. €9,750 over three months. The aid stays below €5,000 per month: no ratio condition and no EBE check.
• Fleet above the threshold: 10 tractor units and 5 rigid trucks of 26 t or more give (10 × 500) + (5 × 400) = €7,000 per month, i.e. €21,000. The aid exceeds €5,000 per month: the profitability ratio (Art. 2) and the repayment rule (Art. 5) apply.

As a benchmark, the €180,000 cap corresponds to €60,000 per month, for example 120 tractor units.

Companies capped by their number of licence copies

• NAF codes 49.41C (truck rental with driver), 80.10Z (private security activities) and 52.10B (non-refrigerated warehousing and storage): the number of eligible vehicles is capped at the number of transport licence copies. The company then puts forward the vehicles that give the most favourable calculation, i.e. those in the best-funded categories first.
• NAF codes 49.39A and 49.39B (road passenger transport): vehicles with fewer than 10 seats are capped at the number of light passenger transport licence copies.

Eligibility conditions for the fuel aid

Company conditions (Art. 1)

• Be established in France and employ fewer than 1,000 employees on the date the application is submitted.
• Hold a domestic or Community licence for public passenger or goods transport (Article L. 3411-1 of the French Transport Code).
• Have as main activity one of the following 11 NAF codes:
  • 49.41A: interurban road freight transport;
  • 49.41B: local road freight transport;
  • 49.41C: truck rental with driver;
  • 49.42Z: removal services;
  • 53.20Z: other postal and courier activities;
  • 52.10B: non-refrigerated warehousing and storage;
  • 52.29A: parcel and express freight services;
  • 52.29B: freight chartering and transport organisation;
  • 49.39A: scheduled road passenger transport;
  • 49.39B: other road passenger transport;
  • 80.10Z: private security activities.
• Have no unpaid tax or social security debt as at 31 December 2024 (the date written in the decree), except for:
  • debts settled or covered by a repayment plan on the date of the application;
  • tax debts totalling €1,500 or less;
  • debts that, as at 1 April 2026, were subject to a dispute without a final decision.

Vehicle conditions (Art. 3)

• Categories: M2 or M3 vehicles meeting classes II, III and B of UNECE Regulation No. 107 (coaches), and N or M1 vehicles, including VASP (special-purpose motor vehicles), used for goods transport or public passenger transport.
• On the date of the application, each vehicle must be:
  • owned by the company, or held under a long-term lease or a finance lease;
  • actually operated by the company in public road transport;
  • up to date with its roadworthiness test.

Short-term rental is not mentioned in the decree.

Above €5,000 per month: profitability ratio and repayment

This is the trickiest part of the scheme. It only concerns companies whose aid exceeds €5,000 per month (€15,000 over three months) and it works in two stages.

1. To apply for more than €5,000 per month (Art. 2): the ratio of pre-tax current profit to turnover must be 1% or less over the last two financial years closed before 30 April 2026, or over the last one if the company has only one.

2. To keep the aid (Art. 5): the EBE for the financial year that includes August 2026, calculated excluding the aid from all three decrees (2026-289, 2026-591 and 2026-885), must not exceed 65% of the EBE for the previous financial year. Otherwise, the company repays the aid received.

A few clarifications:

• Company with no financial year closed before 30 April 2026: the aid is capped at €5,000 per month (Art. 2).
• Ratio above 1%: the condition only targets applications “above 5,000 euros per month”. A company in this situation therefore appears to be able to apply for the aid up to €5,000 per month. This is our reading of the text, which the decree does not spell out: have it confirmed by your accountant or by the ASP.
• What the 65% rule means: to keep the aid, the EBE excluding aid must have fallen by at least 35% compared with the previous financial year. The text refers to repaying “the aid received”, without distinguishing the share below the €5,000 threshold.
• Supporting documents: they must reach the ASP before 31 October 2027. If they are non-compliant or not sent, the ASP recovers the sums paid (Art. 5).

A word of caution: until the financial year that includes August 2026 is closed, it may be wise not to treat the aid received as definitively acquired. The accounting treatment (whether or not to book a provision) should be discussed with your accountant.

The ASP application process and timetable

The ASP manages this diesel aid on behalf of the French State (Art. 6): it collects the data, processes the applications, notifies the aid by unilateral decision, pays it, recovers any sums unduly received and handles complaints and appeals.

The company must register with the ASP by 9 November 2026 at the latest and keep available the documents proving its eligibility and that of its vehicles (Art. 7).

Applications have been open since 5 October 2026 on the ASP online service (in French), until midnight on 9 November 2026. Only one application is allowed per company (SIREN number): it covers the whole fleet and is filed under the SIRET number of the head establishment. ASP helpline: 0 806 809 115, Monday to Friday.

Documents to prepare

For this third instalment, the ASP online service asks for:

• the vehicle identification file, in Excel format only, used for the provisional calculation of the aid. Note: the template for this instalment is different from the one used for the April and May instalments;
• the number of the domestic or Community transport licence;
• the company’s number of employees on the date of application;
• if the provisional aid exceeds €15,000, an accountant’s certificate confirming a profitability ratio of 1% or less and a headcount of fewer than 1,000 employees at company level (SIREN).

To prepare these documents, here is what is worth gathering now, based on the conditions of the decree:

• Kbis extract or SIRENE status notice (NAF code), i.e. the French company registration documents;
• transport licence and number of licence copies;
• vehicle registration certificates;
• long-term lease or finance lease contracts;
• roadworthiness test reports;
• headcount on the date of the application;
• tax and social security compliance certificates;
• tax returns for the last two closed financial years, if the aid exceeds €5,000 per month.

The timetable

What is still unknown

• Payment times: the FNTR (French national road haulage federation) denounces payments that are still blocked (Gaz-mobilite.fr, in French).

This page will be updated if the ASP changes the timetable or the list of documents.

What happens after August?

This third instalment of the exceptional fuel aid for road haulage (TRM, transport routier de marchandises) covers the last period of support for road transport. According to the trade press, the Government is not extending the fuel aid for road haulage beyond 31 August, while it is maintaining support for farmers, fishers and the construction sector (France Routes). Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon justified this choice: the sector could have “passed the increase on in its contracts” thanks to diesel indexation, a mechanism provided for by law. According to L’Officiel des transporteurs, the professional diesel index of the CNR (the French national road transport committee) rose by more than 40% between January and August 2026.

Trade organisations dispute this argument (Supply Chain Magazine). The OTRE considers the decision “unfair and dangerous for the survival of our companies”. The FNTR is calling for accountability on how indexation is enforced: “Hauliers have the right to know the concrete results of the State’s action to enforce the provisions laid down by law.” Union TLF, through its president Jean-Thomas Schmitt, argues for a simple rule: “no French tax heavier and no French standard more restrictive than for our European competitors”.

On 28 September, the FNTR asked the Government for an answer by mid-October (Le Journal du Poids Lourd). It is calling for the road transport aid to be extended and for the April to August aid to be paid quickly, a temporary cut in taxes on professional fuel, and stronger indexation in the law: a single index per energy source, that of the current month, and more checks by the DGCCRF (the French consumer protection and fraud authority). Failing an answer, it will consult companies again on possible action.

The OTRE and the Fédération des autocaristes indépendants (FAI, an independent coach operators’ federation), for their part, are calling for a mobilisation in Paris from 21 October (OTRE). They are demanding lower pump prices, a single, enforceable indexation reference based on the CNR indices, an immediate increase in transport prices and the reinstatement of road haulage in the aid schemes. The action targets the Government and members of Parliament, without roadblocks in the regions (L’Officiel des Transporteurs); the details will be announced later. The FNTR is not taking part and is sticking to its mid-October deadline. To date, no new aid for road haulage has been announced.

FAQ

Can this aid be combined with the April and July aid?

Yes. The decree expressly provides for it to be combined with the aid from Decrees No. 2026-289 and No. 2026-591 (Art. 4).

Are my vehicles on long-term lease or finance lease eligible?

Yes, provided they are actually operated in public road transport and up to date with their roadworthiness test (Art. 3).

Do light commercial vehicles of 3.5 t or less count?

Yes: €70 per month per vehicle, i.e. €210 over the three months.

I am a coach operator: how much per coach?

The fuel aid per coach is €250 per month, i.e. €750 over the three months. Vehicles with fewer than 10 seats used for public passenger transport are entitled to €70 per month, i.e. €210.

My company was set up in 2025 or 2026: am I entitled to the aid?

Yes, if it meets the other conditions. Without a financial year closed before 30 April 2026, the aid is capped at €5,000 per month, i.e. €15,000 over three months (Art. 2).

Do I have to repay the aid?

Only if it exceeds €5,000 per month and the EBE for the financial year that includes August 2026, calculated excluding the aid, remains above 65% of that of the previous financial year (Art. 5).

What is the deadline?

You must register with the ASP by midnight on 9 November 2026 at the latest (Art. 7); applications have been open since 5 October 2026.

Does the aid count towards the de minimis aid ceiling?

Yes, it falls under Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 (Art. 4). This regulation caps de minimis aid at €300,000 per company over three rolling fiscal years, including for road freight transport for hire or reward (service-public.gouv.fr, in French). Add up the three instalments and any other de minimis aid received to check the cumulative total.

With no aid after August, the route is the remaining lever

Once this last instalment has been paid, the cost of fuel falls entirely back on operations. The first lever available then becomes controlling the kilometres driven and the fuel cost of each route. To go further, read why optimize your routes or estimate the cost of an optimisation tool.

Information checked against the text of Decree No. 2026-885 on 24 September 2026 and against the ASP page (update of 25 September 2026) on 26 September 2026; ASP page (update of 5 October 2026) and ASP online service consulted on 8 October 2026. Sources: Légifrance · ASP (in French). This guide is not a substitute for advice from your accountant.