Driving licence entitlements

[Onion van man]

If I change my UK license for a French one would my LGV & PCV entitlements be transferred to the French license automatically ?

[Ron Avery]

Not sure about the LGV, that may transfer but certainly not the PCV.  If you keep your UK PCV which will be difficult to renew if you live in France, you can drive UK registered PCVs through France for friends or for UK companies doing work emenating from outside France, these UK registered vehicles cannot be used legally for PCV work for French companies in France.  The French PCV test is also completely different to the UK PCV and involves a stiff written test in French.  You will find LGV work hard to find with a UK license as most French companies will only accept a French license in agreement with the unions.

[Sunday Driver]

I think you will find that both C and D category entitlements are transferrable to a French licence. 

In order to obtain driving employment in France, you must complete the following mandatory training courses:

FIMO - initial basic training for new drivers, 135 hours over four weeks.  Exemption is possible if you provide evidence of driving experience from your previous UK employer.

FCOS - five yearly refresher course on road safety and transport matters, 24 hours over three days.

 

 

[Onion van man]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

I think you will find that both C and D category entitlements are transferrable to a French licence. 

In order to obtain driving employment in France, you must complete the following mandatory training courses:

FIMO - initial basic training for new drivers, 135 hours over four weeks.  Exemption is possible if you provide evidence of driving experience from your previous UK employer.

FCOS - five yearly refresher course on road safety and transport matters, 24 hours over three days.

 

 

[/quote]

Thats what I was hoping to hear. I just didn't want to lose the C and D entitlements. I have been driving Artics here in the UK for over 10 years and will probably still be working for a UK company.

[Sunday Driver]

If you are going to continue working for a UK company, then your UK licence will be valid for driving in France and you won't need to exchange it.

 

[woolybanana (ex tag)]

Nothing quite as big as artics. If I change my licence for a French one then can I tow the four wheeled car trailer or only the two wheeled one, or is it a difference between braked and non braked?

[Chief]

Be very careful if you involve the DVLA in thsi at any stage.  Several years ago they made some enormous cock-ups with licence renewals, that resulted in driving entitlements not appearing on re-issued licences.  Top and bottom of the saga was that people could not use the DVLA system to prove they were entitled to say a motorbike licence and had to retest.  Ecen copies of original certification would not be accepted as proof.  This was widely reported in the Motorcycle News as their story involved a courier who lost his new job, becuase when he produced his licence for his new employer, the entitlement was missing.

MCN advice at time, and still pertinent today, is to photocopy every sheet of your licences and retain just in case.

[Sunday Driver]

The DVLA do not get involved in foreign licence exchange formalities - it's the local prefecture who issue them. Clearly it makes sense to retain a copy of the original licence to check that the new French licence has been correctly issued.

 

[Onion van man]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

If you are going to continue working for a UK company, then your UK licence will be valid for driving in France and you won't need to exchange it.

 

[/quote]

I was thinking about if I decided to become a resident of France. The DVLA won't issue a license with a French address on it, So if I sold my house here I wouldn't have much option or would I ? I'm really not sure.

[Ron Avery]

"iI was thinking about if I decided to become a resident of France. The DVLA won't issue a license with a French address on it",  Correct

"So if I sold my house here I wouldn't have much option or would I ?" 

Yes you would, you DO NOT have to change it to a French one, (do a search there is a recent thread about this) , unless you are told to by the French Police following a fine etc however, a lot of French Haulage firms may not take you on with a UK License if you applied to work for a French based company.

[Sunday Driver]

Onion

If you move to France, the DVLA can't amend your UK licence to show a foreign address.  However, they advise that you only have to update the address if you are a UK resident and that if you are moving abroad, the licence remains valid even with the old UK address.

In France, it is not obligatory to notify a change of address for either a driving licence, identity card or passport.  All of these items are regarded as proof of identity only - not proof of address.

As Ron says, you're only obliged to exchange your licence under certain limited circumstances.

 

[bigears]

if as a french resident you retain your uk licence with a no longer valid home address and return to the uk on holiday, is it valid to use in the uk?

[Ron Avery]

"If as a french resident,  you retain your UK  licence with a no longer valid home address and return to the UK on holiday, is it valid to use in the UK?"
Of course it is.

[sclarke2208]

Thanks SD I knew I could rely on you to come up with an answer that I have been wrangling with via DVLC for the past 2 days!!  [:D] Another tick on the ever growing list of 'things to do' in the next 5 weeks.

roseysan