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Exchange UK driving licence


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5 months since we sent a UK licence to Nantes for exchange, 2 e-mail enquiries, several hours on hold and we finally got through to a human this morning. It took fifteen minutes for them to identify the application that we had sent by recorded delivery in late November. They “booked” it onto their system on 8 January. Apparently, we can expect a response in 6 to 8 months from receipt.
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[quote user="Ned Seagoon"]5 months since we sent a UK licence to Nantes for exchange, 2 e-mail enquiries, several hours on hold and we finally got through to a human this morning. It took fifteen minutes for them to identify the application that we had sent by recorded delivery in late November. They “booked” it onto their system on 8 January. Apparently, we can expect a response in 6 to 8 months from receipt.[/quote]

Unfortunately that's what happens when a centralised entity deals with a function for which the  physical checking of documentation was previously performed by a handful of people in each of 100 Prefectures and 233 sous-Prefectures!

Fortunately we decided to apply for our French permis when the first of us reached 69, in case there were delays and unexpected problems.

We went to the Prefecture, waited for several minutes, spoke directly to the officials in charge of driving licences, and walked out an hour or so later with our French permis[:D]

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  • 1 month later...
I promised an update on the application I prepared for a friend of ours back in November. Nothing ! In May I composed a letter for her to send to Nantes, recorded delivery, asking whether the original application had been received (we know it had, just testing, we got the AR by return in November), and whether there was any progress on the application. She got the AR for this latest communication but no other response.

Since she hasn't got a driving licence, and the need is now pressing, (the original licence having been sent in to Nantes in November), we now contacted DVLA, as advised earlier in this thread, and have received very quickly (4 days) a D737 (cert of entitlement). I've now put together a new application using the D737 (copy !) and that's been sent recorded delivery.

I'll report back if there's any further progress.
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  • 5 weeks later...
We also sent ours off in April and haven't heard a thing.  I've read that we should have recieved an attestation de depot .  Has anyone any light to shed on this or details of how to contact CERT?  I cannot understand how a public service is able to get away with  such inefficiency.

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[quote user="slowfox05"]I cannot understand how a public service is able to get away with  such inefficiency.[/quote]Perhaps because it's A France and B you have no other option but to use it !

When you've been around a bit longer and you'll come to realise that it's more the norm than the exception.

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Late reply, sorry. No, nothing yet. She has got the Accusé de Reception, that's all. We think the application will be at the back of the queue once more, so may expect a 5-month or more turnround.
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  • 2 weeks later...
Thanks sid,
Has she received the accuse de reception for the November application or is it for the more recent re-application.
Having not yet received an accuse de reception for our licences sent in early April, we are thinking of sending fresh applications.  What do you think?
Pretty cheesed off with the whole set up I'm afraid, but any info/suggestions gratefully received!

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[quote user="slowfox05"]  I cannot understand how a public service is able to get away with  such inefficiency.

[/quote]

Macron wants to get rid of civil servants. The civil servants disagree, so according to rumours they are simply frustrating the system. It will not help them, but that takes time to sink in.

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Jako ......

I don’t think that this is the ‘Nantes Civilservaints’ who are messing things up especially. The Permis de Conduire & Carte Grise process has been centralised at Nantes and they have every interest in trying to make things work! It is however a complete shambles.

The problem seems to be (and I’ll admit that I’m speculating here) a mix of software problems, lack of training, insufficient staff, massive backlog engendered by pissed off former departmentale personnel. Pick any one or two of those.

As far as I can gather, this is a National scandal. I was very lucky to get my PdC back within 5 months of it hitting Nantes, but 10 months after my original application.

The only solace I can offer is that people like the gendarmerie will be well aware of the problems - you just have to hope that if stopped for a controle, they don't get too bolshy !!

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I emailed CERT yesterday by following this link and this morning received the following.

"Bonjour,

La demande

d’échange

de permis à bien été enregistrée le 04/04/2018.

Le délai de traitement est de 7 mois environ mais peu s’avérer

plus long dans certain cas.

Nous traitons actuellement les

dossiers reçus début décembre.

Bien cordialement

NF, CERT"

So, we're in the system and simply have to be patient; I think geological time advances faster than the fonctionnaires at CERT!

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I can hardly believe this thread - 7 months to get a french license!
We were lucky , like Nomoss, to change ours before the new system started. I think it was in 2008. I tried to keep my paper license for use in the UK and just handed in the card, but they sent me home for it . But all done in an afternoon.
I wonder if it has anything to do with stopping driving license for life? That was debated a few years ago but was defeated.
I'm still using my french license here in the UK. It's supposed to be valid for 3 years.

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[quote user="Patf"]
I can hardly believe this thread - 7 months to get a french license!
We were lucky , like Nomoss, to change ours before the new system started. I think it was in 2008. I tried to keep my paper license for use in the UK and just handed in the card, but they sent me home for it . But all done in an afternoon.
I wonder if it has anything to do with stopping driving license for life? That was debated a few years ago but was defeated.
I'm still using my french license here in the UK. It's supposed to be valid for 3 years.

[/quote]

https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence/y/a-resident-of-great-britain/full-car-and-or-motorcycle/european-union-or-european-economic-area

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You need to change to a French licence when your old UK one runs out or you reach the age of 70.  You wait, your time will come when you too will have to change your licence and furthermore find it extremely difficult to hire a car[:P]

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I thought that if one has a motoring offence, that they were obliged to change their licence.

Good that people haven't, and I never did.

I had to change my uk licence to a french one quite early on, and as I had passed my test in the UK had to change my licence back to a UK licence quite quickly after I moved back.

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