sid

Apology accepted. Let's move on shall we ?

I can't believe how this has taken off ! It's completely irrelevant to the original thread, so if you want to argue about old driving licences I suggest that you do it elsewhere, but let me say this for the hard of hearing: If you read the thread that I posted you'll see that many of the users of this forum agreed that old licences were still valid and you only need to exchange if required by the gendarmerie after an offence or if the licence expires. If you wish to change before that you are quite entitled but not compelled. I don't understand what R51 is saying about the UK address on a licence; that has been covered so many times, the licence is not invalid, the entitlement still holds true, and it's the same for the latest UK plastic ones too. The DVLA are not interested if you move out of UK, they can't put a foreign address on your licence, you get a new one in your new country when it expires, at the latest, or if required to because one of the conditions no longer holds true. I've finished with this old paper licence discussion now, please keep this thread to its original topic: exchange of licence under the new system and how long it takes. Thank you to those who have been helpful, no thanks to those who are being obstructive, I've got a life to get on with.

Which part of this says that the old paper licence is not valid ? https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1757 I prefer to try an interpret what the French say is acceptable rather than trying to decipher EU legislation. Isn't this why Brexit is going to take years to sort out ? EDIT I also found this old thread on here: http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance-forums/cs/forums/2684229/PrintPost.aspx

Richard51, I don't know why you think this is "creating enemies", or why an apology is expected; I'm grateful for any proper information, and links to authoritative sources. It may have taken 1 minute to find your information now, but in 2004 it wasn't so clear, and it's not as if I've continually re-checked since then, why should I, one check was enough I thought. My wife has driven on this licence here in France since 2004 and has been through a "contrôl" without any hiccups, having produced the by now very tattered paper licence. I'll do some more research, but if it does mean an exchange, heaven help us with another 4 month wait or more! Anyway, I suppose the bottom line is that it's my worry not yours. Thanks for the link.

Just to clarify, I wasn't referring to the "counterpart" when I said that my wife has the old green paper licence, I really did mean the old green licence, issued sometime in the 80's when we moved house in UK. As far as I'm aware that lasts until age 70.

I had assumed that the plastic licence must be renewed every 10 years in order to keep the photo updated. That's the same as in UK. I hadn't thought about what happens if you exchange for a French one at age, say, 68, would it only last 2 years initially ? I thought it would still last 10 years. However, renewal is possible in France (ha ha if the system eventually works at reasonable speed), whereas it's impossible, without declaring a false address, to renew an UK licence whilst being a French resident. I think this thread could run and run. My wife still has the old green paper UK licence and she intends to hang onto that until 70.

At age 70, yes, but at least they'll be able to renew it, unlike a UK one.

Gardian, Thanks, yes, we sent the application in November and got the recorded delivery notification on 13th Nov. I will update this thread when (if) the licence arrives.

Gardian ! I've been checking here nearly every day ! I'm so pleased to hear that your licence has arrived. My friend's is now at the 4-month stage, so there could well be a long wait still ahead, but on the other hand, taking an optimistic view, I'm hoping that the backlog is being cleared at last. I will report here when "ours" arrives.

Point taken ANO, and no I didn't think about a CoE as it wasn't on the list of required documents. Certainly good advice for any future applicants ! I'm sure the French HAVE seen it before because previous applicants will have sent (or taken) it in, as I did with mine 10 years ago. Will the DVLA issue a CoE to an address in France ? We only have photocopies now of everything but we know they're not acceptable to the police, and my friend has stopped driving because of the worry! I included the Counterpart because it did at one time constitute part of the licence and usually it's useful to include the complete set if you have it. I wonder how many ex-pats are even aware that it's redundant now, and so would still include it, as I did? If it's causing a delay one would reasonably expect a request for more information, not a complete shutdown. Email addresses were provided; how long would it take to bang out a quick demand, for heaven's sake!

Gardian, thanks I'll keep a lookout here. The photo licence had expired but from previous experience this doesn't matter for an exchange, as the actual "entitlement to drive" doesn't expire until much later (shown on the green counterpart), just the photo card. A previous application I did for another person (i'm not doing any more !) came through with no problem.

Mac, The one I did was a plastic-type licence; on the back are listed the categories, I simply copied the "from" and "to" dates (dates in 1975-2021) for the appropriate categories and left the "code département" blank. For the "date d'obtention" we weren't sure as the valid dates of the licence were different (2004-2014) so we put the same date as for the categories, being the date the test was passed. I can't tell you whether this is correct as we haven't heard anything, as you'll guess from this thread ! Good luck, and I hope you're patient.

OK Wooly, understood, but this post is about the new national system administered from Nantes; most regular tasks can only be carried out online now, like registering vehicles and applying for new licences. The awkward one is exchange of "foreign" licences for French ones which has to be done by post and it's this procedure that I'm questioning with regard to how long it takes.

[quote user="woolybanana"]In the Vendée mine took more than six months; the delay was down to staffing and method of processing applications.[/quote] Wooly, the new system only started in September didn't it, so it's not been running for 6 months yet ? Did you apply under the old system ?

Wow! Thanks, it's getting worse. I hope you'll let us know when you licence eventually arrives, and I'll do the same. Agreed, more training, and probably more staff required.

It was this from BritinBretagne - > Hmmm yes, it could not be clearer .... now, but when they move the goalposts which instructions do you take ? There is no need to get stroppy about this, I have kept my instructions from November which quite clearly state that I must send originals. What part of that do YOU not understand ? I can provide the instruction document but not via this pathetic forum software. All this quibbling about originals is nothing to do with my query. You clearly haven't used the licence system and are not qualified to reply other than an opinion which I didn't ask for. Let's stick to facts. Kindly keep your hair on. Thank you to the others who have replied and it appears that there is still some time to wait.

I've checked the instructions dated 11 Sept 2017 which I received from the Deux-Sevres Prefecture in November and they clearly state that the original has to be sent. I have the PDF but can't add it to this post. I Googled the same information this evening and as you say, it says to send a copy! The new page is dated 28 December 2017 so I have to assume that the backlogs are causing problems. They now say that the originals will be demanded in due course. I've read other forums too and people are worried about driving with no original licence, but I can't find anyone who has actually received a new licence by this method. In any case it's too late, we can't get them back and none of this answers my question, has anyone on the forum used the new postal system for exchange of UK licence, and how long does it take ?

Has anyone on the forum had any experience of exchanging a UK driving licence for a French one since the new system came into force towards the end of last year ? In mid-November I prepared the documents for a friend of ours, sent off the required pieces to Nantes, received the recorded delivery receipt and have heard nothing since. I understand there's a delay but 3 months seems ridiculous. Not only that but my friend has nothing to show the gendarmes apart from a photocopy of his old UK licence. When I changed mine 10 years ago it was done at the Prefecture, I got a certificate over the counter, and the new licence arrived within a week. The new ones are the plastic credit card things, so conceivably could take longer to produce, but 3 months and counting... ? I'd love to hear from anyone who has had success. I tried phoning Nantes but got absolutely nowhere, very rude !

...'the French don't want to be behind you or in front of you. 'They want to be where you are'. Excellent summary !!

Oh yes, been there, and failed. It's so difficult to find a direct contact. There used to be a contact form page but it's gone. I found this page: https://tinyurl.com/ybkc9q8h which is supposed to get you a callback. Good luck.

Thanks for the van-space offer. I read some of these replies and it all comes flooding back, the reasons that I stopped trying to contribute. It's a kind of cosy closed club, and if your views don't match, you're very much an outsider. I don't care if someone wants to cover their interior exposed stone walls just so they can be comfortable in the depths of winter. Live and let live. French paint is OK, some of it very good. Easier to buy stuff in UK - probably, no language problem. "I've been here longer than you..." So what ? Bon route, Sauce

I know the feeling too, I sold my HondaVFR 2 years ago. However, I still have my 1970 Bonneville, which only weighs a fraction of the Honda. It was considered a BIG bike when I was a teenager in the 60's but is much easier to push around. How about a garage motorcycle turntable? A Google search brings up loads of hits; you could ride in, turn ready for the off, and just ride out next time? For the insurance, you should keep minimum cover. Your agent should be able to arrange something cheaper. I presume the bike isn't exactly worthless if it was stolen, and there is the fire risk already mentioned. A 4-wheel buggy "thing" won't give you anywhere near to same pleasure as 2-wheels.

For me: 1 middle lane hoggers again 2 Facebook 3 Supercilious forum posters who can't understand why some people would prefer certain UK foods. Why? What's wrong with that? You still speak English, so why not have one or two English foods that you don't have to pay the Earth for, if that's what you want? What happened to live and let live? Ah yes, Brexit!

... in your opinion, of course. No-one has ever accused me of looking like a pimp or a drug pusher, and I object to the suggestion. You've disappointed me by being so rude. Thankfully I don't have to comply with your ideas of what constitutes good taste.

Ours had postage-paid reply envelopes.