Abstract. This paper presents the role of vector relative degree in the formulation of stationarity conditions of optimal control problems for affine control systems. After translating the dynamics into a normal form, we study the Hamiltonian structure. Stationarity conditions are rewritten with a limited number of variables. The approach is demonstrated on two and three inputs systems, then, we prove a formal result in the general case. A mechanical system example serves as illustration.Mathematics Subject Classification. 34C20, 34H05, 49K15, 93C10, 93C35.