Commuting Costs on a French Apprenticeship in 2026: What Your Employer Must Pay

Two days a week at a company 35 km away, three days at a training centre on the other side of the metro area: for many work-study students, the biggest expense is neither rent nor textbooks, it's travel. Yet a good chunk of that bill doesn't have to come out of your own pocket.

In short: a work-study student, whether on an apprenticeship or a professionalisation contract, is an employee. The employer must therefore cover at least 50% of their season ticket for public transport or a self-service bike scheme (second-class fare, shortest route), from the first month and on presentation of proof. Everything else is optional: the fuel bonus, exempt up to €600 a year in 2026 (instead of €300), the sustainable mobility allowance (cycling, car-sharing, scooters), exempt up to €600 a year and €900 when combined with the pass, or coverage of a separate pass for the training centre. Business trips made in your own car, on the other hand, must be reimbursed, usually at the mileage rate. Finally, the €500 driving-licence grant for apprentices has been abolished since February 2026.

Does my employer have to reimburse a work-study student's transport pass?

Yes. It is neither a perk nor a goodwill gesture, but an obligation laid down by the French Labour Code:

"The employer covers, in a proportion and under conditions set by regulation, the price of the season tickets bought by its employees for their journeys between their usual residence and their place of work […]." — Article L. 3261-2 of the Labour Code

The minimum rate is set at 50% by article R. 3261-1, calculated on the second-class fare and the shortest route. What you need to know:

• Only season tickets count: weekly, monthly or annual (Navigo, TER, urban network, intercity coach), as well as public bike-hire schemes (Vélib', Vélo'v…). Single tickets and books of tickets are not covered.
• No age, length-of-service or pay condition: a 17-year-old apprentice is entitled from the first month, probation period included, exactly like someone on a professionalisation contract.
• The money is exempt from social contributions and income tax: it comes on top of your net pay.
• The employer can go further: in 2026, coverage of up to 75% of the pass remains exempt.

What if I work part-time?

If you work at least half-time, you are entitled to the same contribution as a full-time employee. Below half-time, it is pro-rated according to the hours worked (article R. 3261-9). In practice, almost all work-study contracts are full-time, since training hours count as working time: you therefore receive the full 50%.

How do you actually get reimbursed?

Reimbursement is never automatic. You have to ask for it and provide proof:

1. Take out a pass in your own name: a ticket in a parent's name will not be covered.
2. Send the proof to HR or payroll (certificate, invoice, screenshot of your customer account), ideally before the monthly payroll closes.
3. Check your payslip: the sum appears on a separate line such as "remboursement transport". It must be paid by the end of the month following the one for which the pass was validated.
4. Renew the proof with each new pass or whenever the employer asks.

File everything from the very first month: an expanding file folder for receipts or a digital folder will save you chasing a September invoice in April.

Are trips to the training centre covered?

It depends on your pass. For an apprentice, time spent at the training centre (CFA) counts as working time (article L. 6222-24 of the Labour Code): your weeks in class are therefore not, on their own, a reason to stop reimbursing a pass you keep using. However, the rules refer to the journey between your usual residence and your place of work; they do not explicitly address a second pass used only for the CFA.

Two avenues to explore if your CFA is far away:

• Ancillary costs funded by the OPCO. For apprentices, the industry's skills operator (OPCO) pays the CFA a flat-rate amount for accommodation and meals. The money doesn't land in your account, but it should reduce what the CFA charges you for boarding or meals: ask the administrative office for details.
• Support from the regions and the CFA. Some regions fund apprentices' travel (reduced TER fares, travel or accommodation grants), and many CFAs have a hardship fund. Names, amounts and deadlines vary: check your regional council's website and ask your contact person at the start of the year.

I drive: what am I entitled to?

Two situations not to confuse: the home-to-work commute, which is in principle at your own expense, and business trips, which must be reimbursed.

How much is the fuel bonus in 2026?

Provided for in article L. 3261-3 of the Labour Code, coverage of fuel or electric charging costs is optional: the employer sets it up through an agreement or a unilateral decision, for all eligible employees, work-study students included. Exemption caps:

• standard rules: €300 a year for fuel, €600 a year for an electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen vehicle;
• exceptional 2026 measure: for bonuses paid until 31 December 2026, the fuel cap rises to €600 a year, and two conditions are suspended, namely living or working outside an area served by public transport, and not combining it with the pass reimbursement.

In practice, in 2026, a work-study student who takes the train part of the week and drives the rest of the time can combine the 50% pass contribution with a fuel bonus. An increase in the cap to €1,000 was announced on 22 September 2026, but no text had been published as of 3 October 2026: until it is, the cap remains €600.

Commute or business trip?

As soon as your employer asks you to use your vehicle for an assignment (worksite, client, another site, trade fair), it counts as a business expense: it must be reimbursed through an expense claim, either at actual cost (fuel, tolls, parking) or as mileage allowances. The tax mileage scale, which URSSAF accepts as a reference, has not been increased (it has been the same since 2022 income): up to 5,000 km a year, €0.606/km for a 4 CV car and €0.636/km for a 5 CV, with a 20% increase for an electric vehicle.

Two good habits: keep a mileage logbook in the glovebox, and check that your insurance covers business use of the vehicle. All reimbursement cases (meals, assignments, remote working) are covered in our article on a work-study student's business expenses.

What about actual expenses on your tax return?

For an apprentice, the benefit is often limited: their pay is tax-exempt up to the annual minimum wage (SMIC) amount (€21,622 for 2025 income), and their actual expenses are only deductible in proportion to the taxable part of their pay. A work-study student on a professionalisation contract, taxed normally, may on the other hand benefit from deducting their commute at the mileage rate (up to 40 km per journey, barring special circumstances). The detailed calculation is in our guide to deducting actual expenses on a work-study contract.

The sustainable mobility allowance: cycling, car-sharing, scooters

Created by the 2019 mobility orientation act (article L. 3261-3-1 of the Labour Code), the sustainable mobility allowance (forfait mobilités durables, FMD) lets the employer fund home-to-work journeys made using a "clean" mode of transport:

• your own bike, including an electric bike;
• car-sharing, as driver or passenger;
• a scooter or other personal mobility device, and self-service vehicles (bikes, scooters, electric mopeds);
• car-sharing services with low-emission vehicles;
• public transport outside a season ticket (single tickets).

It is optional but very attractive: in 2026, it is exempt from contributions and tax up to €600 a year, and up to €900 a year when it comes on top of coverage of a public transport pass. Proof is often limited to an annual sworn statement.

Many small firms have never set it up for lack of requests: a well-argued request has a good chance of success. If you switch to cycling, a certified U-lock and good lights are the two purchases that stop you giving up by November.

What other travel support is there for work-study students?

• Youth fares. Most regions offer reduced-price TER or coach passes for young people, sometimes reserved for apprentices, and SNCF Voyageurs sells the Avantage Jeune card (ages 12-27) for long-distance journeys. A reduced fare can be combined with the employer's contribution, which is calculated on the price you actually pay.
• Driving licence. The €500 grant reserved for adult apprentices was abolished by the 2026 finance act and has not been granted since 21 February 2026. What remains: the €1-a-day driving licence loan, grants from regions, departments or municipalities, and the CPF when a third party co-funds the licence. The full picture is in our article on the driving-licence grant for apprentices.
• Living closer. Mobili-Jeune (Action Logement) is not a transport grant but a housing one: €10 to €100 a month, up to €1,100 per training year, for two years at most, for work-study students under 30 working for a non-agricultural private-sector company and paid no more than 120% of the SMIC. You apply between 3 months before and 5 months after the start of the contract; all the details are in our Mobili-Jeune guide.
• Missions locales (ages 16-25) can provide one-off mobility support, granted case by case with an adviser.

The national schemes that can be combined are listed on our financial support page.

How much can you recover over a year?

Four typical profiles, based on 11 months of season ticket or 200 days of commuting. Pass prices and fuel costs are examples: replace them with your own.

The lesson is clear: only the reimbursement of a public transport pass is guaranteed by law. Before signing, factor travel costs into your budget: our pay calculator gives you the salary baseline, from which you subtract travel and add reimbursements.

What if your employer refuses to reimburse?

Refusing the 50% is illegal, but it is usually an oversight, especially in small organisations. In order of escalation:

1. A written request (an email is enough) to HR or the manager, with proof attached and a reference to articles L. 3261-2 and R. 3261-1 of the Labour Code.
2. Back-payment of forgotten months: ask for the arrears since the start of the contract, without delay, because claims are subject to limitation periods.
3. The apprenticeship ombudsman: for an apprentice, every chamber of commerce, trades or agriculture (CCI, CMA, chambre d'agriculture) has one, and their help is free. Your CFA can also back your request.
4. The labour inspectorate, then the employment tribunal (conseil de prud'hommes) as a last resort.

Stick to the facts: you are asking for a rule to be applied, not for a favour. And if the distance makes the contract unbearable, there are properly framed ways out, set out in our article on terminating an apprenticeship contract.

What should you do at the start of your contract?

1. Send proof of your pass in the very first week, before payroll closes.
2. Ask whether there is a fuel bonus or a sustainable mobility allowance: if you don't ask, nothing will be paid.
3. Check your region's transport or apprenticeship page within a month of signing: support schemes often have deadlines.
4. Ask your CFA about accommodation and meal costs and about its hardship fund.
5. Tell your apprenticeship supervisor about your travel constraints: shifting your hours by thirty minutes to catch the right train costs the company nothing.

If you're still looking for a contract, factor distance in from the start of your job search: for the same pay, a short commute is worth several hundred euros a year.

Key takeaways

• 50% of the pass for public transport or a self-service bike scheme: compulsory, on presentation of proof, for all work-study students.
• Fuel bonus: optional, exempt up to €600 in 2026 and, this year, combinable with the pass reimbursement.
• Sustainable mobility allowance: optional, €600 a year exempt (€900 combined with the pass).
• Trips to the CFA: covered if the pass is shared; otherwise, to be negotiated and topped up with regional schemes and the OPCO.
• €500 driving-licence grant: abolished since February 2026.

Sources: service-public.gouv.fr (factsheet on reimbursement of home-to-work travel costs), URSSAF (2026 fuel bonus), Légifrance (Labour Code), Action Logement (Mobili-Jeune), impots.gouv.fr (mileage scale).