Brexit & Requirement (?) to Exchange UK Driving Licence

[Gardian]

I eventually managed to exchange mine a couple of years ago, but this is a question on behalf of a friend.

Hitherto, it was the case that the holder of a UK licence did not need to exchange it for a French one until it became expired. This related to the UK’s membership of the EU (I think!)

Does Brexit change this and if so from which date?

Thanks in advance.

[pomme]

This French government web site (in English) gives the details in the FAQ

https://brexit.gouv.fr/sites/brexit/accueil/vous-etes-britannique-en/permis-de-conduire-en.html

Note the details are relevant to FRance. If you wish to drive elsewhere in the EU there may be different regulations.

[BritinBretagne]

For those who want a simple answer; a UK photo card licence will remain valid in France until its expiry date. In fact you can only renew it if it’s lost or stolen, you receive multiple points for a traffic offence or it is about to expire.

[pomme]

It may be valid in France, just not for driving legally. It will become a non-EU licence on 1 Jan 2021 so subject to different rules than exist for an EU licence.

This is the UK government web site.

Driving in the EU from 1 January 2021: UK licence holders living in the EU

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/driving-in-the-eu-from-1-january-2021-uk-licence-holders-living-in-the-eu

UK and EU driving licences

If you are resident in an EU country you will need to exchange your driving licence for a local one. The deadline for doing this depends on which country you live in.

[EuroTr@sh]

I believe the default posiiton at present is that Brits resident in France must exchange their driving licence for a French licence. This will remain the case unless the UK and France reach an agreement whereby it's not necessary. Which I imagine is some way down the agenda for discussion, if it's on the agenda at all.

Brits who live in the UK and have UK driving licences need to have the relevant International Driving Permit when they drive in the EU, you can get them over the counter at main Post Offices, for a fee. There are different versions of the permit, depending which EU countries you're visiting.

I have one for France and it is quite a bulky document to carry in your wallet/handbag/pocket, don't be thinking "credit card". Bit of a pain but there you go.

[pomme]

The UK would have to conclude agreements with each EU country unless there is an overall UK-EU driving licence agreement.

Each EU country has their own regulations regarding non-EU licences.

The validity of the licence will also have implications for anyone insuring a car in France and possible future claims.

[EuroTr@sh]

Good point about the insurance and this might be a particular pain for Brits who live in France but regularly visit family in the UK. French insurers don't tend to insist on a French driving licence, usually they are happy to cover any driver with a valid licence (may change after Brexit though) but even when the UK was in the EU, a lot of UK insurers wouldn't include foreign licence holders as named drivers. Whether they would be covered if you have an "any drivers" policy (can you still get those?) I don't know. But for Brits who live in France and like to fly back to stay with their kids and borrow their kids' cars to run around in while they're there, this could put a spanner in the works.

[Judith-aka-Judith]

[quote user="BritinBretagne"]For those who want a simple answer; a UK photo card licence will remain valid in France until its expiry date. In fact you can only renew it if it’s lost or stolen, you receive multiple points for a traffic offence or it is about to expire.[/quote]

I follow the Facebook page on on exchanging licences.  The admin there is an expert.  The advice I quote above is correct, whatever other posts says.

Whatever the DVLA site says, it is incorrect.

[pomme]

Has your "expert" read the French Government web site statement I posted earlier?

Have you?

FAQ

1. What is the situation during the transition period ?

A French driving licence allows you to drive in EU Member States.

During the transition period, you will be able to drive in the other EU Member States with your British driving licence.

However, after the transition period or if there is no withdrawal agreement, if you have a British driving licence and wish to drive in other Member States you should contact those States. Each EU Member State has sovereign authority to determine the regulations applying to recognising and exchanging driving licences with non-EU countries.

2. What will the situation be at the end of the transition period ?

Thereafter, there will be three main scenarios depending on whether you are driving in France as a tourist or resident:

If you live in France, special and reciprocal provisions will set out the conditions of exchange for British driving licence holders who are resident of France

If you are a tourist in France, you can drive with your licence obtained by means of a driving test in the UK for the duration of your stay accompanied by an international driving permit.

If you intend to settle in France, after the transition period, your British driving licence will be recognised in France for one year but you will be required to apply to exchange it during this period if a reciprocal agreement is concluded between France and the United Kingdom.

However, after the transition period, if you have a British driving licence and wish to drive in other Member States you should contact those States. Each EU Member State has sovereign authority to determine the regulations applying to recognising and exchanging driving licences with non-EU countries.

3. What will the situation be if no agreement on the future relationship comes into effect at the end of the transition period ?

Following the transition period, British driving licences will be regarded as non-EU driving licences.

Under national law, licences issued by non-EU countries are valid for a year from the date of taking up usual residence in France. Individuals in this case have this same period of one year in which to apply to exchange their licence for a French driving licence, provided a reciprocal agreement exists between France and the country that issued the driving licence.

In the absence of an agreement, driving licences will be valid for a year from the date of taking up usual residence in France, but they will not be exchangeable. At the end of this period of validity, British driving licences will no longer entitle their holders to drive in France.

[Judith-aka-Judith]

Pomme, if this is from teh UK site, I would ignore it.  She only operates on teh French regulations, is in constant contact with ANTS (and the Nantes office before it moved) has a huge load of documents on the site, which is updated as needed and often before we get any other information about it.

I would certainly trust her advice above any on here.

It does not concern me, I had to change my licence last year when I got to the magic age .. and had to do it in the new system.

Having said that, it looks as some applications are slipping through which do not follow the general conditions for exchange.

I spent my professional life providing information from published sources, the first thing was always to verify the facts, date etc .. and go direct to the relevant (and in this case, country) source.  Hence my comment above.

[nomoss]

[quote user="pomme"]Has your "expert" read the French Government web site statement I posted earlier?

Have you?  ..................[/quote]

I have, including the FAQ's, which I noticed are somewhat out of date (e.g. "if there is no withdrawal agreement", when this was completed in 2019)

Then I noticed it is dated 2018 (at the very bottom)

[NormanH]

I am surprised that there are people living and driving in France who didn't exchange their licence during the first six months that they  were here.

I had to, but that may have changed since 1996..

[Gardian]

Just to say thanks everybody.

Nothing like liking the blue touch paper and retiring immediately !

From all this (and setting aside all the must-do’s or don’t really need to do’s) .........

............it seems to me that best advice for anybody resident in France who hasn’t exchanged their licence for a French one ........ is to get on and do it pdq !!!

[woolybanana]

Yep,G, simples, always was.

Now, what about UK number plates?

[pomme]

nomoss: there has not been any need to change those web pages (although it might have been sensible) as all conditions are covered and still valid.

Judith-aka-Judith: The web site is in the domain gouv.fr. That is the French Government. You pay taxes at a sub-domain impots.gouv.fr.

The domain I linked to is brexit.gouv.fr which is the French Government web site for conveying information on Brexit. It is not a UK site. This is the French language version of the web site https://brexit.gouv.fr/sites/brexit/accueil/vous-etes-britannique/permis-de-conduire.html which gives the same information.

As from the end of 2020, the UK driving licence will no longer be classified as an EU licence but as a non-European licence.

https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1460 which you get to from the ANTS page

Echange de permis étranger pour un permis français https://permisdeconduire.ants.gouv.fr/Vos-demarches/Echange-de-permis-etranger-pour-un-permis-francais

L'échange de votre permis de conduire contre un permis français est obligatoire si vous vous installez en France.

En effet, un permis délivré par un État non européen est reconnu uniquement pendant 1 an à partir de l'acquisition de la résidence normale en France.

Un permis délivré par un État non européen est reconnu en France pendant 1 an à partir de l'acquisition de votre résidence normale.

This europa.eu will give you links to allow you to see the driving licence conditions for each EU country as affected by Brexit page https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/vehicles/driving-licence/driving-licence-exchange-recognition/index_en.htm

The original question was:

Hitherto, it was the case that the holder of a UK licence did not need to exchange it for a French one until it became expired. This related to the UK’s membership of the EU (I think!)

Does Brexit change this and if so from which date?

The links explain quite clearly that if your permanent residence is France you can only use a UK licence in France for a year once it becomes a non-EU licence at the end of 2020. It will not be valid for use in France after that period until expiry date printed on the licence

[nomoss]

[quote user="pomme"]nomoss: there has not been any need to change those web pages (although it might have been sensible) as all conditions are covered and still valid  ......................[/quote]

I'm not criticising you, pomme, I just think that the UK and other governments should update the interminable information they spew out onto the web, or just remove outdated information.

I agree that the information is still valid, except that the bit inferring there is no withdrawal agreement encourages those (many) who still think this is so, having confused it with the agreement on the future relationship.

I have come across people on forums, who are unaware of what is already agreed, citing articles in newspapers casting doubt on matters that were settled in the WA - quite apart from the current chaos being created by the illustrious PM. I have read such articles myself, but can't recall the publication which produced them.

[EuroTr@sh]

Best to exchange soon as you can I think.

In the unlikely event that the UK and France don't come to an agreement on exchanging licences, you could wind up having to take French driving test.

I believe that was Spain's position, don't know if it's changed, but as I recall what Spain said was that Brits already living in Spain before the end of transition would be given a certain period after the end of transition (9 months?) to exchange their licence and after that date their UK licence would no longer be exchangeable, meaning they would have to pass the Spanish test in order to drive. Hard to believe there won't be an agreement but these days, unbelievable things seem to happen on a regular basis.

[NormanH]

"would be given a certain period after the end of transition (9 months?)

to exchange their licence and after that date their UK licence would no

longer be exchangeable"

As I said above it used to be 6  months from the  date of arriving in France

[EuroTr@sh]

Yes. But what I was quoting there was the one-off Brexit arrangement that Spain proposed.

Not really relevant to the thread, except to point out that there may be dangers in assuming that Brexit won't change anything. It may be that not only are you obliged to change your licence (which at present there is no blanket obligation to do in France), but if you don't do it within the timescale it will no longer be possible, and if you want to drive you will need to obtain a local licence by passing your test.

[alittlebitfrench]

Just bare in mind folks that it takes (well it took me) 7 months from the point of application to receiving the license.

I would start exchanging NOW !

Just to be on the safe side.

The process is not for babies BTW. Lots of documents are required. People who have moved to France this year are going to have a nightmare.

You may need a medical as well. I did.

[woolybanana]

That is because you are a lorry driver.

[NickP]

ALBF wrote: The process is not for babies BTW. Lots of documents are required. People who have moved to France this year are going to have a nightmare.

No nightmare for me my lovely wife is Irish and likes driving, so it can take as long as it likes. ??

[NormanH]

As long as she doesn't drive off without you  [6]

[NickP]

After nearly 50 years Norman, unlikely. ???

[Judith-aka-Judith]

To the best of my knowledge this has not changed, but try, if you must, I wish you well.  You might be lucky.

UK, NI, EU, EEA Licence - Info & Instructions for Exchange, Lost or Stolen and Infractions

T

All applications can only be carried out online. The exchange procedure is on the ANTS system for UK, NI, EU, EEA and Non-EU Citizens that currently hold a UK, NI, EU, EEA Licence ONLY. Should you wish to read the Government Notice confirming this please click here Service-Public.

----------------------------------------

If you have a photocard licence that expires (4b) between 01/02/2020 and 31/08/2020 your card validity has been extended for 7 months from the date of expiry of your card (4b) providing your licence, column 11 on the back, has at least 7 months validity remaining, otherwise your photocard is only extended for as long as column 11 remains in date.

You will apply to exchange 6 weeks before the end of your 7 month extension, or how ever long before your licence expires, not before.

This is the link to the Notice issued with with regard to the extension

https://www.facebook.com/groups/206199943590115/permalink/547007989509307/

There are pdf documents to print and keep in the car should you get stopped if you do not meet the current exchange criteria, link is in document A1 (Not copied here)

YOU CANNOT EXCHANGE YOUR LICENCE UNTIL YOU MEET A CONDITION BELOW

This applies to all UK/NI/EU/EEA Licences

• Licence* or Photocard (4b) has expired or is due to expire in the next 6 weeks.
  • UK GB 70+ and expired NI licences will also require a Certificate of Entitlement from where your licence was issued, please read document B5 - Driving Rights Document in Files.
  • EU (not UK or NI) - I believe certain countries only allow you to drive for a specific period of time once you have left that country (if you fall into this exchange criteria can you let me know).
  • Remember you must be domiciled in France and be able to provide official evidence of 185 days in France, noted in document A2, before you can apply.

* UK - Licence expired - column 11 on a card and expiry date on old original paper licence.

** UK - Photocard (4b) - expired card is a condition for exchange, as above.

• Licence lost (there is a 25€ charge for this at the end of your application)
  • declaration to be completed and uploaded, form at the end
• Licence stolen (there is a 25€ charge for this at the end of your application)
  • you will require a police report to be uploaded later in the application
• New driving category added to your licence.
• You commit an infraction
  • cancellation or suspension - select relevant section - you require documents to evidence completion of said offence.
  • point/s - you require the letter to upload later in the application.
    • NB. It is an exchange condition if you have a UK licence, you do NOT receive notification of a point being withdrawn from your licence, that is only if you have a French licence.