Foreign drivers can now switch to French licence 'at any time'
Authorities previously did not always accept licences that had more than six months left of validity
Licence swapping should now be easier, but long wait times are still likely
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Drivers living in France and legally using foreign driving licences can now apply to swap them for a French one at any time, it has been confirmed.
Officials also said it can take as long as 12 months to process applications in some cases, depending on the complexity of the dossier.
For example, they need to check that the person still has a valid right to drive in the issuing country and that this has not been cancelled, eg. related to health issues or driving offences.
They said this is not the same as the ‘validity’ dates shown on the physical card.
Note that this does not change the deadlines by which foreign licence holders moving to France permanently need to exchange their licence for a French one without having to take a French driving test.
It just means it is not necessary to put off applying for a swap.
Read more: Driving: When do you need to swap foreign licence for French licence?
All swap requests now processed
Officials at Nantes prefecture said they will now process all valid swap requests and drivers can apply at any time, even if the licence’s expiry date is “far off ”.
It follows reports that some applications made more than six months before expiry were not being accepted, leading to situations where some people were left unable to drive legally.
This related especially to people with UK licences first-issued before 2021 or with licences from EU countries, who typically are only obliged to exchange the licence once it is coming up for expiry (another common reason is incurring a driving offence penalty that would usually be punished by loss of points from a French licence). In contrast, people with other non-EU licences are asked to apply to swap in the year after settling in France (with a VLS-TS visa this starts when it is validated).
For the latter it is advisable to apply as soon as possible after they settle.
The new clarification means, notably, that people with pre-2021 UK licences or EU licences no longer have to worry that they should apply no sooner than six months before the licence expires.
Indeed, we consider that it is now advisable for them to apply at least a year before the validity expires to ensure they do not have any period when they are unable to drive.
In the case of UK licences, 'first issued’ refers to the date in column 10 on the back of a UK licence when the relevant driving rights were first acquired.
