Swapping to French licences now possible '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
shocky/Shutterstock
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 said the process can take as long as 12 months 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 rules of when foreign licence holders moving to France permanently need to exchange their licence for a French one without having to take a French driving test.
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 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 means that anyone moving to France with a licence from a non-EU country that has an exchange agreement with France should apply as soon as possible once settled here, eg. after validating a VLS-TS visa.
It is advisable for holders of UK licences first issued before 2021 to apply at least a year before the validity expires.
‘First issued’ refers to the date in column 10 on the back of a UK licence when the relevant driving rights were first acquired. The same timeframe is advisable for EU licences.
