Car insurance in Morocco: what's compulsory and what's not

What the law requires

Car insurance is compulsory in Morocco. Under article 120 of the Code des assurances (law 17-99), anyone whose civil liability can be engaged for injury or damage caused to others by a motor vehicle must be insured with an insurance company.

The compulsory policy covers the person who took it out, the car's owner, and anyone who drives the car with their permission. The minimum cover is 50 million dirhams per vehicle per event.

Insurers that sell motor insurance must offer this cover to any car owner. If one refuses you, you can take the case to ACAPS, the insurance regulator, which sets the premium at which that insurer must cover you.

What compulsory cover pays for, and what it doesn't

Compulsory civil liability (RC Auto) pays for the injuries and damage you cause to others when you are at fault. According to ACAPS, injured passengers are also compensated.

It does not pay for your own injuries as the driver, or for damage to your own car. The law also excludes the policyholder, the owner and anyone driving with their permission from its compensation.

Optional cover

That gap is why compulsory cover is often topped up with optional cover. ACAPS describes these:

• Dommages collision: damage to your own car, at fault or not, as long as the accident involves an identified third party.
• Tierce: damage to your car whatever the circumstances of the accident, within the contract's limits.
• Fire and theft: taken together or separately, if your car is damaged by fire or stolen.
• Bris de glace: damage to the windscreen and other windows.
• Défense et recours: your insurer pays for your defence after an accident, or defends your interests if you are the victim.

Every one applies within the limits and exclusions of your contract, so read them. If you buy a car on credit, the lender may require theft and fire cover.

Your insurance certificate

Your insurer gives you an insurance certificate (attestation d'assurance) each time you take out or renew your policy. You must be able to show it to the police or gendarmerie. It is valid only for the dates printed on it.

Certificates are colour-coded by use: yellow for private cars. For electric cars, ACAPS told insurers in February 2026 to issue the white "divers" model, after drivers with a yellow certificate were fined as if uninsured. If yours is lost or stolen, your insurer must issue a duplicate on request.

Driving abroad: the carte verte

To drive abroad, ask your insurer for a carte verte, the international motor-insurance card. It is issued on request, for a fee set by the Moroccan issuing body. [TO VERIFY — which countries a Moroccan carte verte covers, and the current fee]

Visitors driving a foreign car into Morocco need a carte verte that includes Morocco, an inter-Arab carte orange or another card provided for by a treaty; otherwise they must buy border insurance on arrival.

Renewing on your car's own date

Your policy's length is set by the contract itself, so its end date is your car's own date, not the calendar's. Either side may withdraw at the end of one year from the contract's start date, with the notice period it sets. Automatic renewal applies only if the contract provides for it.

If a premium goes unpaid, the insurer can suspend your cover 20 days after a formal notice, and cancel the contract 10 days after that. That rule is not a grace period after your policy ends: once the dates on your certificate have passed, it no longer proves you are insured.

When your contract ends, your insurer must give you your claims history (relevé d'information) to hand to a new insurer.

Driving without insurance

Not showing your certificate when stopped carries a fine of 200 to 400 dirhams. Knowingly driving without the compulsory insurance is punishable by 1 to 6 months in prison and/or a fine of 1,200 to 6,000 dirhams, and the car is sent to the pound.

If something goes wrong

Report any accident to your insurer as soon as you know of it, and within 5 days at the latest.

If you are in a dispute with your insurer, you can file a complaint with ACAPS. When the person responsible for an accident is unknown, or uninsured and unable to pay, the Fonds de garantie des accidents de la circulation (FGAC) can compensate bodily injury.

Comparing quotes

When you compare offers, compare the same covers and the same limits, check the exclusions, and ask your current insurer for your relevé d'information to hand to the new one.

How GarageLink helps

Your insurance ends on its own date, which is easy to lose track of. GarageLink keeps it with your car's other dates and reminds you well before, so your cover never lapses at a checkpoint. Read our guides to the Vignette and the Visite technique too.