Changing UK driving licence to French licence

[lemans]

Our insurance company has asked to exchange our UK driving licences to French ones. Can anyone supply me with any information regarding the procedure involved? I have searched through the forum but have not yet found any relvant information.

Many thanks,

lemans

[Rob Roy]

Why have they done this? I've never heard of it before.

[Patf]

Usually you don't need to change until you have earned some penalty points. But if you want to , this is what our prefecture requests:

Form cerfa Demande de Deliverance de Permis de Conduire

2 identical recent photos

attestation from Mairie of minimum 6 months residence

original UK driving license

photocopy passport

photocopy birth certificate;

Possibly a fee.

First go to the appropriate office at your Prefecture to get the form and check that these are the documents they want as it varies. Ask about a fee.

[Clair]

There are so many threads and posts on this matter, I am surprised you didn't find any info...

Here's one: http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1062718/ShowPost.aspx

PS: There is no legal obligation to change your UK licence for a French one.

See here for legislation: http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/

[Ron Avery]

"Our insurance company has asked to exchange our UK driving licences to French ones."

Why.  Its totally unnecessary and this has been discussed many many times on here,  start here: http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/905764/ShowPost.aspx

[lemans]

As our our present licences are UK not EU, apparently les Gendarmes are not too happy here in Sarthe with these licences.

Many thanks for all your useful replies.

lemans

[Ron Avery]

Hang on you said that your insurance company wanted them changed, not the Gendarmes, so which is it? 

Your licenses are EU, the UK is part of the EU.  You will have to change your license if instructed to by the Gendarmes but only if you have committed a traffic offence where points have to be added to your license.  If you want to change them go ahead you have to go the sous -  Prefecture, or Prefecture in some departments and fill in forms, give 4  photos in and a SAE, but as many will say, totally unnecessary whether the Gendarmes round your way like or not.

[Suze01]

If you do change it over make sure that they put all the categories on your UK licence onto your French one because they won't do it otherwise.  I am doing this retrospectively as I changed mine over 5 years ago but have a very friendly lady at the prefecture who has helped me through the process.

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="lemans"]

As our our present licences are UK not EU, apparently les Gendarmes are not too happy here in Sarthe with these licences.

[/quote]

If your licences are indeed old UK ones (not the "new" pink or photocard ones), then you must indeed change them, as I understand it. There must be some green licences about still (I remember that I had to go to the AA - of all people - for a permit to drive in France when I had a green licence).

Proceed as mentioned above....

[Ron Avery]

All UK licenses are still paper Nick, except with the new ones you get a photocard, but that is not the license.  You have to show both bits in the UK, the paper bit shows your points,  but in France, many Gendarmes don't know there is a paper bit so get confused when a paper UK one is produced.  However its still an EU icense and perfectly valid to use in France.  The official line is :

Driving licence

A valid driving licence issued in an EU country is valid throughout the EU.

In some countries, in addition to carrying a valid driving licence, you will need to have your vehicle registration document with you.

Other scenarios:

1) You already possess a driving licence issued by a Member State.
You are no longer required to exchange it if your "normal residence" is in a Member State other than that which issued your licence. But you may ask to exchange it if you wish.

2) You already possess a driving licence issued by a Member State, but it is about to expire
You must renew it by applying to the appropriate authorities of the Member State in which you are normally resident.

[Weegie]

[quote user="Ron Avery"]2) You already possess a driving licence issued by a Member State, but it is about to expire

You must renew it by applying to the appropriate authorities of the Member State in which you are normally resident.

[/quote]

If I may, well covered before but a driving licence can only be renewed by the "appropriate authorities of the Member State" which issued it. Which means that the holders of an UK driving licence can only have it renewed by the DVLA not by the State where you are normally resident. 

The DVLA will not renew with an address outside the UK.  If you cannot provide an address in UK then that would suggest exchanging it before it expires.

[cooperlola]

Lemans, the Sarthois gendarmes have not been at all worried about my UK issued (pink) driving license (nor my o/h's when they relieved him of 90€ last year [;-)]), and neither is my insurance company (MAAF Le Mans).  I do carry around a copy of the legislation which says that a French license is not necessary, but I have never needed this.  I suspect your insurance company is not aware of the rules and wants an easy life.

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="Ron Avery"]

All UK licenses are still paper Nick, except with the new ones you get a photocard, but that is not the license.  You have to show both bits in the UK, the paper bit shows your points,  but in France, many Gendarmes don't know there is a paper bit so get confused when a paper UK one is produced.  However its still an EU icense and perfectly valid to use in France.  The official line is :

A valid driving licence issued in an EU country is valid throughout the EU.

[/quote]

The emphasis here is on valid aren't the older (green) driving licences not valid for the EU? Pink one-part and 2-part licences have only been issued for about 15 years (?) There must be lots of older licences about, no? Isn't this what the OP is referring to?

[sid]

Ron

From memory you had to exchange your green licence for a pink one if you wnated to drive outside the UK, so I guess the green ones are EU valid.

Sid

[Chancer]

Mine is green and very old, (renewed at address change in 1984 I believe) it expires 20029  and I have no intention of changing it just to line a governments coffers every 10 years.

.It is very faded and torn (not to mention with loads of out of date endorsements) and has a very small EU logo hidden away somewhere, but it still has a green tinge, not pink.

[Ron Avery]

I don't think we know Nick, do we?  The one I am referring to is the light green paper license with the pink ID card, together perfectly legal to use in France.

[lemans]

Thanks again for all your helpful comments. Here are the facts:

I have a pink photo licence and the piece of paper too.

I have not yet been stopped by the Gendarmarie of La Sarthe (touch wood), it's merely friends that have told me how displeased the Gendarmes were when they presented their pink photo licences.

Sounds to me like the combination of AXA and my friends have led me to believe I must change my licence. However, from reading your comments, I don't think I'll bother!

lemans de la Sarthe

[Sunday Driver]

It's nothing to do with the preferences of the local gendarmerie. It's all in the code de la route....

Art R222-1

Tout permis de conduire national délivré à une personne ayant sa résidence normale en France par un Etat membre de la Communauté européenne ou d'un autre Etat partie à l'accord sur l'Espace économique européen, en cours de validité dans cet Etat, est reconnu en France sous réserve que son titulaire satisfasse aux conditions définies par arrêté du ministre chargé des transports, après avis du ministre de l'intérieur et du ministre chargé des affaires étrangères. Ces conditions sont relatives à la durée de validité, au contrôle médical, aux mentions indispensables à la gestion du permis de conduire ainsi qu'aux mesures restrictives qui affectent ce permis.

 

[Tony F Dordogne]

Just come back from the Mairie via the Gendarme station, asked in both about changing my permis de conduire.  Gendarmes looked at my pink plastic version, said well, it has a long time to run but it would be a good idea if you did change it, live in France for more than 6 months etc etc.

Went to the Mairie, saw Marie-Lys and she showed me a print out from the Consiel General's web site which says - clearly - that we don't need to change our licences.  But she also had the list put here a few days ago, in French, dated 2003, which says I can change. Interestingly, I'm the second Brit into the office this past few weeks with the same query.  I was told that a facture from EDF etc would be ok but I said I need to have the attestation as  without it I could be a maison secondaire owner - which seemed to be the appropriate response.

Back next Wednesday to pick up the attestation I think!

 

[Deimos]

There must be a lot of variation in Sarthe Gendarms as all the ones around me are very very laid back and a good laugh.  I did ask one about lighting on my boat trailer ages ago (as it is nigh on impossible for it to comply with the French lighting requirements) and he looked at it and said it looked "really good", and he seemed totally unconcerned (or unaware) of the regulations and thus was not in the slightest concerned about it conforming.

And then some sunny afternoons they have a wander around and you can tell they are all but asking for a cold beer.  Never yet come across a Gendarme who gets too worked up about thing.

Ian

[Weegie]

Tony,

I changed my licence three years ago at the Préfecture at Périgueux and there was no requirement for an attestation.  The usual factures, EDF etc were sufficient.  The Sous-Préfecture at Nontron provided a paper, in English,  starting "Welcome to France" and then detailing the requirements for exchange of driving licence, namely:

I quote:

"- Passport

-  two passport photographs

- your existing driving licence (both parts if it is a photo licence),

- a utility bill (France Télécom, EDF) with your French address,

- a stamped self-addressed envelope

The standard French licence allows you to drive vehicles in categories A and B ; small motorcycles and cars.  If you have other categories you want to keep you will need to have medical which costs €24,40.  Additionally you will need to provide a third passport photograph.

Once the application is complete you will be issued with an attestation which you should carry with you when you drive.  Your licence will be delivered by post in a few weeks.  Your old licence will be returned to the DVLA.

Keep a photocopy of your old British licence.  Should you wish to add categories from your old British licence to your new French one, it is sufficient to pass the medical and have the extra categories added.  There may be a charge for this."

Although this has been well covered before, particularly by Sunday Driver, I have copied it out in full because it answers the question re attestation as also the question of the older form of British licence.

[AnOther]

I wonder, when exchanging to a French licence (voluntarily or otherwise), do the French actually return the surrendered UK licence to the DVLA ?

What about any UK points you may have, do they take any note of those or deduct same from the 12 (or maybe less if you've been naughty [;-)]) one starts off with ?

[Weegie]

Ernie

They send the licence back to DVLA (See my post above with quote from Sous-Préfecture).  Can't say what would happen with points but as the systems are different.......?

[Motorhead]

I checked up on mine with DVLA. They could tell me that it had been exchanged for a foreign licence but couldn't say which country.

Points disappear in the changeover, really is like a licence laundry.

Interesting that Weedgie's info says that the categories that are subject to a medical can be transferred at a later date. When I changed over it took me all my time to keep my bike category and so I never missed the other disappearing categories until a later date. Nowadays I wouldn't mind being able to tow a bigger than 750kg trailer but the sous prefecture says non even though I have a photocopy of my old UK licence (certified by local mairie). Looks like a trip to the proper prefecture to see if they know any better.

Can anyone quote me chapter and verse on the French regs on this?

[Weegie]

Motorhead, Although it doesn't continue into retrospective additions of categories I would suggest that the text here is sufficient to cover doing so.  You are entitled to exchange your licence for equivalent groups.  There is nothing to say it must all be done at once.  I would think that the Préfecture would be the place to go.

 [url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle.do;jsessionid=F1B0C0454B820FB0798908E4236C3B8B.tpdjo13v_2?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006841395&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006074228&dateTexte=20080130]Code de la Route - Exchanging Driving Licence[/url]

I am aware of someone who is doing just that in the Dordogne.  I don't know how far on it is but will endeavour to find out and post the result.