Every gold buyer in France must record your sale in a mandatory police register (livre de police) and verify your identity, by law. This protects against stolen goods and creates traceability, but it guarantees only legality, not a fair buyback rate.
The police register (livre de police) is a mandatory logbook that every second-hand and precious-metals dealer in France must keep, recording each purchase of gold in detail. It exists to prevent the trade of stolen or laundered goods, and it is a legal obligation, not an optional formality. When you sell a ring, a coin or a bar, the buyer must enter the transaction and note your identity. A dealer who buys gold without maintaining this register is operating illegally, and that alone tells you a great deal about how trustworthy they are. The register is one of several safeguards, alongside traceable payment and mandatory identification, that together make a legitimate sale easy to distinguish from a dubious one.
The buyer records your full identity, verified against a valid photo ID, together with a precise description of each item sold. Expect to present a passport or national identity card; a driving licence is often not accepted on its own. The entry typically includes your name, date and place of birth, and address, plus the object's nature, weight, fineness (for example 750 for 18k or 916 for 22k) and any hallmarks. Refusing to show ID means the dealer cannot lawfully buy from you, so bring identification to every appointment. This applies whether you are a resident, an expat or a tourist selling gold in France. The record is kept for years and can be inspected by the authorities, which is precisely why a serious buyer follows the procedure without shortcuts.
The register works alongside two other rules: payment must be traceable, and the sale may be taxed. A dealer cannot pay you in cash for gold; settlement must be by bank transfer or cheque, which creates a paper trail matching the register entry. On tax, selling precious metals falls under a flat tax on the sale price, unless you can prove your purchase price and opt instead for the capital-gains regime, which can be lighter and eventually exempt after a holding period. Keeping any original invoice matters, because without proof of purchase you cannot choose the capital-gains route. The register itself is not a tax document, but the traceability it enforces is what makes an honest declaration straightforward.
No. The register guarantees legality, not a good rate. Compliance and price are two separate questions. The spot price of gold is public, identical for everyone and moves daily; what varies between dealers is the buyback rate, the percentage of spot they actually pay, and their margin. A shop can keep a perfect register and still offer a poor rate, because the margin need not be published anywhere. So treat the register as the minimum bar to clear, then compare the rate offered, item by item, against the fineness and weight. The most transparent buyers state their buyback percentage openly. You can compare gold buyers in your city to see who is both compliant and competitive.
No. The dealer is legally required to verify your identity against a valid photo document and record it in the police register. Without ID, the buyer cannot lawfully complete the purchase, so bring a passport or national identity card.
No. The register is the dealer's own mandatory internal logbook of purchases. You should separately receive a purchase document for your transaction, which you keep for tax purposes, particularly if you later opt for the capital-gains regime.
No. Payment for precious metals must be traceable, meaning bank transfer or cheque. A buyer offering cash is not following French rules, and the payment trail is designed to match the register entry.