Driving Licences 2021 Onwards
Click the link here to access the Facebook group - French Driving Licence Applications - Drive La France
The group is archived every Friday at 12.00 until Monday 14.00 and all bank holidays, France & UK so may not be visible when you click the link.
To join you must be resident in France as documents required to apply can only be obtained once you are here.
Please ensure you complete the joining questions.
UK* LICENCE EXCHANGE AGREEMENT 25.06.2021
UK* - GB, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey & Isle of Man.
Applications resumed on Monday 28 June 2021 for UK* exchanges.
The date of 31.12.2021 is no longer relevant, the new agreement below overrides this date.
Licence Issue Date – the agreement refers to this date, the French regard the date you passed your test as the date your licence was issued, NOT the date your photocard/physical licence was issued.
UK* Licences or Photocards, DRIVING TEST passed BEFORE 01.01.2021
Original UK* paper licences or photocard, driving test passed BEFORE 01.01.2022 (column 10), continue to be recognised as legal and valid and will be eligible for exchange only when it meets at least one of the following criteria:
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6 months before expiration or your photocard (4b) or old original paper licence.
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or you commit an infraction resulting in any points to be taken.
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or lost or stolen licence / photocard
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or new category to be added to your licence
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or deterioration/tatty original paper licence.
Expired UK* licence or photocard, driving test passed before 01.01.2021, continue to be eligible for exchange.
All UK* licence categories are exchangeable
Apart from f G H k l M n - these do NOT exist in France.
30/03/2022 UPDATE (GB LICENCE) – C1/C1E & D1/D1E – GRANDFATHER RIGHTS
If you obtained C1/C1E and D1/D1E by grandfather rights, currently these are not being exchanged. This is under review.
If you passed a driving test to obtain C/C1/C1E or D/D1/D1E, these categories will be exchanged.
21/06/2022 UPDATE (GB LICENCE) – MOTORBIKE CATEGORY A – TEST PRE 1974
If you obtained your motorbike A category prior to 1975 you will need to include a copy of your old red licence to show when you passed your test, if column 10 on your photocard shows the same test passed date for A (bike) and B (car). If you no longer have this licence you can try contacting the local authority where you passed your test. This is under review.
UK* Photocard DRIVING TEST passed FROM 01.01.2021
Driving test passed from 01.01.2021 (column 10), you have 12 months from either validation of your visa (VLS-TS) by OFII or if arrived in France on a 3 month visa you have 12 months to start the application from the issue date of your first residence permit.
If you hold EU nationality you will require official dated evidence of arrival in France, you must be in France for 6 months before you can apply and then have 12 months to start your application.
French Resident Driving in the UK with a UK Licence
When you travel back to the UK until you have a Titre de Séjour etc, ensure you have a utility bill or something that shows your address in France to show that you no longer live in the UK as sometimes the officials don't know the rules either.
If you run into problems carry the UK/France agreement in English to show that you can legally use your licence and that you are not eligible to exchange.
GB DVLA Licence – Paper Counterpart originally issued with the Photocard - NO LONGER VALID
The paper counterpart which was originally issued with a GB Photocard was discontinued in June 2015 and is no longer legal and the advice from the DVLA is to destroy it.
This is NOT to be confused with the original GB paper licence which continues to be legal and exchangeable.
UK GOV driving-licence-changes
NB: If you are resident in France you are no longer legally entitled to renew your licence in the UK.
UK* Licence – Address on Licence
If you are unable to exchange your licence due to the current criteria, or you are waiting for a your French application to be processed, your UK* Licence is valid in France regardless of the address, providing your licence (column 11) is still valid or you are not yet 70 with the original GB DVLA paper licence (not photocard counterpart).
French licences do not have an address on them, therefore the address is irrelevant It is not a condition to exchange your licence.
It is only an offence not to change your address if you are a UK or Irish resident it’s NOT an offence if you have moved away from the UK.
GB DVLA Licence - Informing the DVLA you are no longer a Resident in the UK
Once you leave the UK you are advised to inform HMRC and the DVLA that you are no longer a UK resident. DVLA do not care where you go, they need to know so they can stop sending correspondence to an address where you are no longer officially resident (you remain on the DVLA database). There is no such thing as an ADMIN address in the UK.
Click 'Find Contact Details', then 'Something Else' at the bottom.
UK Gov Living in France - Driving Licences
Living in France - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
French Government - Official Agreement Statement
French - Service-Public.gouv.fr – Official Criteria
Échange d'un permis de conduire obtenu en Europe (EEE) | Service-public.fr
ANTS - Agence Nationale des Titres Sécurisés
Facebook Group
French Driving Licence Applications - Drive La France
Page updated January 2023