Several major changes to driving licences in the EU are set to come into effect in the coming years, as the bloc looks to modernise and regulate the documents.
The changes are expected to be officially approved by the EU parliament in the coming weeks with member states then having four years to introduce them.
This means most are likely to come into force by 2029.
Read more: Driving licences: New rules on medicals, UK exchanges and renewals in France
Below, we review some key questions we have received about the changes.
What will digital licences and other tech changes entail?
All driving licences issued by EU Member States must be digital by 2030 – slightly later than other rules.
A digital version of the licence will be the default with a physical version available on request.
These digital licences will be hosted on secure smartphone applications, with the aim of reducing the number of drivers who forget or lose their licence.
A planned ‘digital EU Wallet’ is also being planned to host the licences.
Licence renewals will also be updated to become a digital process across the bloc.
These options are already available in France meaning relatively little will change.
Currently, French citizens can host their driving licence through the official France Identité application, although as of March 2025 the application is limited to those with the ‘credit-card style’ plastic national ID cards issued after 2021.
It is likely France will need to widen the criteria of who can access the France Identité app to conform to the EU rules, or provide the ability for documents to be hosted digitally elsewhere.
Licence renewals are already undertaken online in France using the France Titres (formerly ANTS, Agence Nationale des Titres Sécurisés) service.
The renewal timing may change when digital licences are in place.
The validity period of driving licences will increase across the bloc to 15 years (the current time period in France), but member states will be able to reduce this to 10 years in cases where licences can be used as a form of national ID if they wish.
French driving licences are an accepted official form of ID in the country, however it is unlikely the government will use this as justification to reduce validity times.
How will digital licences be checked?
Police officers and other authorities with the power to check licences will do so by scanning the digital document.
This will not lead to any real change in France as police currently have the ability to do this for digital driving licences on the France Identité application.
Checks for vehicle insurance were digitised in France in 2024.
Read more: How to check that your car is listed in France’s new digital insurance database
What will rules change for current UK licence holders?
Britons who received their UK licence before January 2021 do not have to exchange it when moving to France due to agreements made during Brexit negotiations.
The licence remains valid until the date of expiry, or under certain circumstances such as where they would lose points off of a French licence for an offence or if the document is lost.
They then have to exchange it for a French licence.
UK drivers who first obtained their licence after this date must follow the same rules set out for other non-EU drivers, and exchange it within 12 months of moving to the bloc.
Read more: Driving: When do you need to swap foreign licence for French licence?
There is nothing in the new rules that will affect the licence exchange arrangements, above.
However, the legislation will mean all EU countries will recognise a licence from another EU country even if it originated from a non-EU country (for example a UK licence exchanged for a French licence).
Previously, exchanged licences were not always recognised by all EU countries, as regulations on exchange were up to each country in the form of bilateral agreements.
What about American and Canadian licences?
The EU – as a sole entity – will decide on a country-by-country basis which non-EU licences can be exchanged for an EU one, and therefore be accepted in all Member States.
Whereas it is expected that UK licences will be approved for exchange – as driving tests are similar and several bilateral agreements between the UK and EU Member States are already in place – this is not certain with other countries.
There are potential difficulties for the US and Canada in that reciprocal licence exchanges are currently based on individual agreements between countries and states/provinces in the US/Canada.
Read more: Why are only some US states’ driving licences exchangeable for a French one?
The EU will undoubtedly want to ensure that any country to which it provides this wider recognition of exchanged licences in turn gives EU citizens the right to easily exchange their driving licence in that country.
It is unclear if the bloc will attempt to renegotiate country-wide exchanges with the US and Canada, allow reciprocal exchanges to continue with states that already allow them, or simply end all reciprocal agreements in the light of the new rules.
In cases where licences cannot be exchanged, people moving to France must take a French driving test to obtain a French licence.
Are medical-free licence renewals guaranteed?
The EU says that before being issued with their first licence a driver should pass a medical check, including eyesight and cardiovascular condition. This could be via the completion of a self-assessment form.
Introducing medicals for elderly people renewing licences has been recommended by the EU but is not set to become mandatory although several EU countries already require this.
Drivers aged 65 and above may be subject to more frequent licence renewals (down from 10/15 years to every five), but this will again be up to each member state to implement as they wish.
However, such policy ideas are often poorly received in France and it is unlikely the current government – or that of the new president in 2027 – will risk angering driving federations by introducing such a move.
