How much does the code exam itself cost?
The code exam costs €30 per sitting. This fee is set nationally and paid directly to the approved operator (La Poste, SGS, Dekra, Bureau Veritas…) when you book. That €30 covers only the sitting of the test, not the preparation. Always check the current fee on the official sources (service-public.fr, securite-routiere.gouv.fr), as it can change.
Driving school or independent candidate: what’s the price gap?
This is where most of the budget is decided. Going through a driving school, code preparation is often bundled into a package that can cost several hundred euros (lessons, platform access, support). As an independent candidate, you pay only for the exam (€30) and the revision tool of your choice: the bill then drops to a few dozen euros in total. Driving-school prices vary widely from one town and one school to another, so compare several quotes before committing.
How much does a failure cost — do you pay again?
Each fresh sitting of the code costs €30 again. There is no cap on the number of attempts, but each one is paid for. That’s precisely why solid preparation is the best investment: better to spend a little time revising than to rack up €30 sittings. Well prepared, most people pass first time and the total budget stays tiny.
How do you revise the code without breaking the bank?
This is exactly Koody’s niche: complete preparation (lessons, road signs, thousands of official questions and mock exams) for a fraction of the cost of a driving-school package, and available in French, Arabic and English. You revise at your own pace, spot your weak themes, and only pay the €30 exam once you’re genuinely ready. Add it up: €30 for the exam + a Koody pass, and your code costs a small fraction of what a traditional driving school charges.
In short: the exam costs €30 per sitting, a national fee. The real saving lever is preparation: a driving-school package can reach several hundred euros, whereas as an independent candidate with Koody your budget is limited to the exam and an affordable pass. Revising well to pass first time is still the best way to spend less.