Fills itself in
Every vehicle in and out writes its own line.
Module · Trade register
The trade register, finally digital
No more writing it out by hand: the register fills itself on every stock movement. Compliant, up to date, and free of mistakes.
What is the vehicle trade register?
The trade register — the livre de police in French law, also called the used vehicle register — is the statutory record every used vehicle trader must keep. It sets down, in order, every vehicle that enters and leaves your stock: this document is the proof of where the cars you buy to resell came from.
In practice it falls under the rules covering anyone who sells or exchanges second-hand goods. For a motor trade business — a used vehicle dealership, a workshop that resells, a broker, a trader — it is not optional: it is an obligation, and failing to keep it, or keeping it badly, carries heavy penalties.
It serves two purposes: complete traceability of the used vehicles in circulation, and the fight against handling and reselling stolen vehicles. If you are inspected — by the police, the gendarmerie, customs or the tax authority — it is the first thing you will be asked for.
Paper or digital: what the law allows
The register was historically a bound paper book, numbered and initialled, filled in by hand on every movement. That version is still permitted, but it eats time and invites mistakes: one missed line, one approximate date, one incomplete provenance, and your compliance is on shaky ground.
The law now allows a digital register, provided the software guarantees the integrity, immutability and security of what is recorded — in other words, that an entry cannot be deleted or altered after the fact without leaving a trace. That is exactly what Cleclic does: every movement is timestamped and sealed.
Worth knowing: since GDPR came into force on 25 May 2018, a digital register no longer has to be declared to the CNIL, the French data protection authority. In exchange, you are fully responsible for protecting the data you handle — which means hosting it somewhere reliable and secure.
A register that fills itself in
With Cleclic you copy nothing out. The moment a vehicle is bought into stock, the entry line is created in the register with its sequence number and every required detail, taken from the vehicle record. When it sells, the disposal line is written the same way. The register is always current, with nothing for you to do.
- Sequence numbers allocated automatically, in the order vehicles arrive.
- Details pre-filled: make, model, VIN, registration, provenance, date and price.
- The seller's or buyer's identity and the method of payment attached to the entry.
- Entries timestamped and impossible to alter afterwards.
- PDF export at any moment, for an inspection or for your accountant.
Every required detail, with none forgotten
The strength of a digital register is that nothing slips through. Where a handwritten entry forgets a provenance or a payment method, Cleclic asks for and pre-fills every detail the regulations expect: the nature and description of the vehicle, its VIN, its registration, the date and price of acquisition, the seller's identity and contact details, the method of payment — then the same again when it is sold on.
You stay compliant by construction, without having to memorise the list of required fields or fear the missing entry that turns a routine inspection into an assessment.
Your data compliant, and hosted in France
Since you are responsible for the data in your register, where it lives matters. Cleclic hosts your data in France, encrypted and backed up daily. You keep the full history of your business, readable and exportable at any time — including for vehicles that have long since left the forecourt.
If you cease trading or are inspected, you have a complete, ordered, dated register ready to present: no folder to dig out, no missing page to account for.
What you can do
The essentials, done properly
Legally compliant
A register kept to the obligations on used vehicle traders.
Nothing keyed twice
No more wasted time, and no copying errors.
Available any time
A complete history, exportable if you are inspected.
How it works
Up and running in 3 steps
A vehicle arrives
The line is created in the register.
The vehicle is sold
The disposal is recorded automatically.
Stay compliant
The register is always current, with nothing to do.
Common questions
Everything worth knowing
Is the trade register really compulsory for a used vehicle trader?+
Yes. Any business buying used vehicles with a view to reselling them must keep a trade register. It is a legal obligation, it is inspected, and failing to keep it can carry criminal penalties.
Can I replace my paper register with a digital one?+
Yes. The law allows a digital register as long as the software guarantees the integrity, immutability and security of the entries. Cleclic meets those requirements: entries are timestamped and cannot be altered afterwards.
Do I have to declare a digital register to the CNIL?+
No, not since GDPR came into force on 25 May 2018. In exchange you become responsible for protecting the data you handle — which is why Cleclic hosts it in France, encrypted and backed up.
What information has to appear in the register?+
Among other things: the sequence number, the description of the vehicle (make, model, VIN, registration), its provenance, the date and price of acquisition, the seller's identity and the method of payment — then the same details when it is resold. Cleclic pre-fills them from the vehicle record.
How do I bring my existing history into Cleclic?+
You import your history when the system is set up. From the changeover onwards, every vehicle in and out feeds the register automatically. Nothing is keyed twice.
What actually happens if I'm inspected?+
You export, in seconds, a complete register — chronological, timestamped and carrying the legally required details — straight out of Cleclic, with nothing to reconstruct.
Want to see Cleclic in action?
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