Validating your UK driving licence at the prefecture

[cassis]

I'm changing car insurance companies and the new

one (MMA) says they can't insure me until my UK licence is validated by

the prefecture. He said it's illegal to drive in France more than 12

months on a UK licence without getting it validated by the prefecture.

I'd never heard of this before and my old insurer never asked for this.

Is is a true legal requirement (as opposed to a quirk of this insurer)

and if so, is it a recent change in law or have I been driving in

illegal blissful ignorance for 6 years?

Phil

[Pickles]

We are with MMA and have been for some eight years. Our primary residence is in the UK. We've never had any mention of having to get our licences "validated" at the Prefecture.

What are they expecting to see as an output of this process?

Regards

Pickles

[cassis]

I checked on

http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F1757.xhtml

and it's clear that it's an MMA requirement, not a legal one.  I rang him back and after telling him what it says on the site, he admitted it was an MMA thing, not a law, and admitted my licence was legal (opposite to what he had claimed when I saw him an hour earlier). As you've never had the problem it may be a recent MMA rule for new policy holders.

Someone on another forum tells me I can ask our Préfecture for an Attestation headed "Enregistrement d'un Permis de Conduire de l'Union Européenne ou de l'Espace Économique Européen".  

This is presumably what he wants.

Apparently it carries details of the holder of the foreign (but EU) driving

licence and their

current address in France, with date and place of issue and "Catégories Valides" .

Sounds like it's basically a translation of the essential licnce info.

It has an "Information" section which states, amongst other things (in French):

"this document does not take the place of a French driving licence and

in no case are you authorised to drive using only this document.

The original of your foreign driving licence MUST be presented at any road check."

So you shouldn't carry it alone - you still need to present your original licence for the gendarmes if asked.

Actually sounds like a useful thing to have in case you're stopped by an ignorant gendarme etc.

[Chancer]

The companies in France certainly try their best to debarasse themselves of awkward things like customers dont they!

Still with 64.7 million obediant people willing to jump through whatever hoops they hold out and thank them politely for the priveledge they will have to try even harder [;-)]

[cassis]

I think you've got a valid point - a lot of French companies don't seem to want customers.  A couple of months back I went to a Renault dealer (actually for a Dacia) and was ready to buy - just needed a test drive to be sure.  I was told they couldn't do a test drive as they didn't have the necessary insurance!  They claimed that all their customers bought cars without a test drive.  I said they must be mad.  So I rang a Renault dealer in Le Mans, got a test drive the next day and bought the car there instead.  The second dealer said the first dealer was talking cobblers as all Renault franchises are covered by the same company insurance.

[AnOther]

Surely the simple answer to this crass nonsense is to tell MMA what to do with their insurance and go somewhere else ?

[cassis]

I would if it weren't 150€ cheaper than my current insurer and 100€ less than the nearest competitor for the same cover - I guess this is the price to pay!

[AnOther]

I look forward to hearing about the fun you are going to have at the prefecture obtaining said document then [:D]

[cassis]

I may not do idle chit-chat but after 6 years here my stubborn pigheadedness in an argument has developed considerably.

I'm going to set the ball rolling with a phone call to the prefecture at 8.30 on Monday and I've blocked the morning out in case it goes on a bit.

[cooperlola]

Beware of the Prefecture at Le Mans as they'll make you jump through even more hoops than MMA!  If you can use the Sous-prefec' at Mamers (I think you're actually in 72 aren't you?) then there is a lovely lady there called Mme Boulanger who is very clued up and well worth having on your side.

 

[Pickles]

Can you not just go through a different MMA agency?

Regards

Pickles

[cassis]

Hi Coops

I hadn't thought that Mamers would have the wherewithall but good idea - got to be worth a try, thanks.

Re helpfulness nice to know there's at least one more helpful person at Mamers sous-préfecture (the last time I went there the lady I saw was helpful too).  I've only had to deal with the prefecture vehicle offices at Le Mans once and the bloke was really helpful.  But I'm ready to believe there are plenty of jobsworths there, as there are most places.  God knows I used to work with enough of the species.

Mamers is a good tip - I'll try them first. [kiss]

[cassis]

[quote user="Pickles"]Can you not just go through a different MMA agency?

Regards

Pickles

[/quote]

Good idea also - there's another one at Fresnay-sur-Sarthe.  I'll get the necessary from the prefecture anyway and go there.

Thank you for a spanking good suggestion. [B]

[Poppy]

We had the same problems with our Bank, Grouperama and MMA , went around the corner of the street to AXA, got a cheaper quote then did a bit bartering and got another 150 Euros off. Funny old world isn't it.

[misplacedperson]

HAGGLING!! [:@]

Unles you swapped a couple of goats for your car insurance policy, in which case you did indeed barter for it.

[Poppy]

I said it was a funny old world. I don't usually  haggle/barter it is all foreign to me I am a very honest person and normally just accept what will be etc. Don't know what happened but we seem to have what I can descibe as good value. Long story but just one day into purchase breakdown cover was called upon and service was more than excellent

[Les]

See.

http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexteArticle.do;jsessionid=226F4459F54960A785567FD5CEE5C266.tpdjo16v_3?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006894075&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000005627531&dateTexte=20100724

[cassis]

Hi derf

Yes, I saw that yesterday when I was doing a trawl for more info, but thank you for the link.

Like it says, it's not a legal requirement, but a matter of choice for holders of foreign EC licences to get their licence validated by the prefecture.  MMA, however, insist on it (or at least this particular agency interprets their company policy this way).

All the best

Phil

[AnOther]

It would be interesting to know precisely what purpose this 'validation' procedure is meant to serve ?

UK photo licences conform to the EU model and in fact that was the entire and sole reason for their introduction [blink]

 

[AnOther]

Double post - AGAIN !

[cooperlola]

Phil, you have pm.

[Chancer]

[quote user="AnOther"]

It would be interesting to know precisely what purpose this 'validation' procedure is meant to serve ?

UK photo licences conform to the EU model and in fact that was the entire and sole reason for their introduction [blink]

[/quote]

Thats easy, it creates yet more paperwork and creates more hoops to jump through for what could and should be a simple commercial transaction, more paperwork equals job protection equals more staff and foncs with overflowing in trays saying  "je suis completement debordé"

Its for the same reason that if you are diligent enough to actually gather and send off all of the attestations and translations of n'importe-quoi that are requested of you your dossier will not be progressed, when you enquire why you will be told that their is "une piece manquante".

My neighbour has been trying to (re) mortgage his property close to a year pay off his ex wife following his divorce, he once asked me to witness that the incredibly complicated set of papers that he was ending to the bank, some of which related to his apprenticeship 35 years ago was identical to the photocopied set that he had kept for his own records.

He wasnt as daft as I thought he was as 6 weeks later when he once again chased the bank he was told, - you guessed it piece manquante [:D]

[Sunday Driver]

Perhaps the French are creating a database of foreign licenceholders to save them having to chase up all those who think they can get away with speeding offences. Rather than mess around demanding they exchange their licence then having to chase them when they just ignore the demand, it'd be far simpler just to maintain a 'virtual' points loss record and when the total gets to twelve, send the gendarmes round to just lift their licence. Simple to implement - a word to the insurers to insist on licence registration before issuing the insurance certificate. 

Just another other non-governmental 'initative' like the ones that have recently appeared on the scene:

Insurance certificates now only being issued against foreign registered cars for short periods pending legal registration.....

CT inspections only available to owners of the cars on production of the certificate of conformity necessary for legal registration....

Perhaps the recent introduction of additional eco taxes on vehicles has focused the authorities attention on immigrant tax cheats running around in unregistered/untraceable cars.....

 

[elamessa]

+1 on that SD.[;-)]

[cassis]

Update in case anybody else wants/has to do this:

1. Sous-préfectures are not equipped to undertake this validation procedure
2. Best to go to the Préfecture of the department where you live - I went to Alençon Préfecture in the adjoining department as it's the closest and they did it, but onlyreluctantly
3. The form to complete is CERFA #11247*02 - same form as for swapping for a French licence, but tick Box #4

4. You need an ID photo (possibly only if your UK licence doesn't have one - not sure)

5. You need to sign the form (so had to go back and do same again for OH)
6. They do not process it on the spot, so go armed with a SAE unless you plan to return in person
7. I got the documents back in the post 3 days later

Having taken a dislike to the MMA bloke at Alençon I went to MMA in Fresnay-sur-Sarthe.  Chalk and cheese, really nice lady there.  She didn't want the stupid documents from the Préfecture but I made her take photocopies and put them in our file 'juste au cas où'.

Phil