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DRIVING

By country: How hard is it to swap your driving licence for a French one?

If you live permanently in France, sooner or later you may need to swap your driving licence for a French one - but where you learned to drive in the first place could dictate whether you have to take a French driving test. Here's a country-by-country breakdown of the rules.

Published: 12 November 2021 14:48 CET
Updated: 18 December 2021 08:38 CET
Close-up of an 'auto-ecole' sign on top of a vehicle used by a driving school in France
Some foreign drivers may need to retake their driving test in France. Photo: Georges Gobet / AFP

It’s important to note that driving licence rules are based on where the licence was issued, not your nationality. So for example French people who learned to drive and got their licence in the UK are also affected by post-Brexit rule changes regarding UK driving licences (more on those below).

Here are the basic rules for swapping your driving licence:

EU licences

These are relatively straightforward. Because of freedom of movement rules within the EU, full driving licences from Member States are considered equivalent to full French licences. EEA country licences have the same status.

Holders of an EU/EEA driver’s license are not required to exchange their foreign licence for a French one as long as they have not picked up any points on their licence through committing traffic offences such as speeding.

If you want to exchange a European driving license for a French one, however, you can by following this procedure.

UK and NI licences

There have been a lot of twists and turns on this issue since the 2016 Brexit referendum, with shifting official advice that left many in limbo and others stranded without a licence altogether. 

Eventually British and French authorities announced in June 2021 that a reciprocal agreement had been reached with that effectively allows people who live in France and hold a UK or NI licence that was issued before January 1st, 2021 to continue using them.

They only need to exchange when their photocard licence or actual licence runs out. You can apply to exchange your licence for a French one once you get within six months of the expiry date of either the licence or the photocard, whichever is first.

You may also be ordered to exchange your licence if you commit certain traffic offences.

Those whose licence was issued after January 1st, 2021 will need to exchange it for a French one within one year of moving to France. 

Full details on the rules and how to do the exchange can be found here here

READ ALSO Eight online services which make dealing with French bureaucracy easier

Non-European licences

Anyone who holds a non-European driving licence may drive in France for a year after their legal residence in France is confirmed on their original licence. After that, if they stay in France any longer, they should apply for a French driving licence.

This is where things get a little tricky. If the state that issued the non-European licence has signed a bilateral agreement with France, the exchange is relatively straightforward. It involves applying to the French driving licence agency and providing them with all the necessary information.

If, however, the driver passed their test in a country that does not have such an agreement in place, then they will have to take a French driving test before they can legally continue driving in France.

The French government has a list of countries that have a swap rule with France listed here (pdf) and on its Welcome to France website for people looking to move to the country.

You can find the online portal to make the swap here.

US and Canadian licences

Not all States or Provinces are the same.

The following US States have licence swap agreements with France. Drivers with licences from States not listed here will have to take a French driving test within a year of moving to France, or risk a court summons for driving without a valid licence.

  • Delaware*,  Maryland*, Ohio*, Pennsylvania**, Virginia*, South Carolina, Massachusetts,  New Hampshire, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin*, Arkansas*, Oklahoma*, Texas*, Colorado*, Florida**, Connecticut**

* Swap for Permis B licences in France, ** Swap for Permis A and/or B licences in France – see below for what this means

The following Canadian provinces have licence swap agreements with France. Drivers with licences issued from other provinces will have to pass a French driving test

  • Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland et Labrador, Québec, Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia

Only New Brunswick offers a straight like-for-like swap. All the others swap full Canadian licences for French B permits.

What else you need to know

First things first. Unlike numerous other nations including the UK, having points on your licence in France is a good thing. 

Full, clean French licences have 12 points, with motorists losing points if they are guilty of motoring offences.

Anyone who has been driving for more than three years, and who exchanges a full, clean licence in France will, therefore, receive a French licence with 12 points. 

Provisional French licences – issued to motorists who passed their tests within the past three years – are loaded with six points, rising to the full 12 after three years of ‘clean’ driving here.

Permis A, Permis B

The Permis A French licence is basically for motorbikes. Holders can ride two- or three-wheeled vehicles, with or without a sidecar.

The Permis B French driving licence allows holders to drive a vehicle with a maximum weight of 3.5 tonnes, which seats no more than nine people. This includes standard passenger cars, people carriers and minibuses.

What about driving in France on holiday?

If you’re just in France for a short period, such as for a holiday, you will usually be able to drive a vehicle using your usual driving licence.

You may, perhaps, also need an International Driving Permit – check with driving authorities in your home country to see if you need one to drive in France. Drivers with European licences and British licence-holders are exempt from the International Driving Permit requirement.

Member comments

  2. Briefly I applied when there was a “window of opportunity” in about December 2020 (when there was no requirement your UK licence had more than 6 months left). My application was rejected due to a change in French Ants rules as I had more than 6 months left. A further application within the 6 months period was made in July 2021. This was rejected for no apparent reason. As a result of a letter to Ants requesting reason for rejection I received a reply last week listing the motifs I had not met. Strangely, and this tells us alot about the quality of the Ants staff, the important motif of a UK licence expiring within 6 months was NOT listed ! It seems they make up the rules as they go along. So I have wasted 1 year now with yet another application in process which is being “examined” with due diligence ? I am not at all optimistic I will have my French Permis by the expiry of my licence early next year. You can imagine my stress and annoyance

  3. I am in a similar situation to Hugh. I applied early only to have it rejected as too soon. I applied again 6 months before my British licence was due to expire and I’m still waiting. Meanwhile my British licence has expired so I am unable to drive. When I rang up I was told it could take up to 1 year to receive my French one. My partner is in a similar position so in month’s time, neither of us will be able to drive, even though we have fulfilled all the French requirements.

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For members

TAXES

Explained: France’s exit tax

Planning on leaving France? You may, depending on your circumstances, be charged the 'exit tax'.

Published: 11 April 2024 11:28 CEST
Explained: France's exit tax

Like some other European countries, France does have an exit tax for those (French or foreign) who are leaving the country. It’s known by the English name l’Exit tax.

However, it won’t affect most people.

Only those who have been tax resident for a minimum six years of the 10 years immediately before they permanently move out of the country are liable to pay an exit tax – if, that is, they own property, titles or rights worth a minimum of €800,000, or that represent 50 percent of a company’s social profits.

If that affects you, the best advice is to seek expert individual financial advice before moving out of France for good. The relevant page on the French government’s impot.gouv.fr website says it is possible to defer payments, and some relief is available.

Because of the relatively high figures involved, this tax is irrelevant for most people. That said, however, you will still have to inform tax authorities that you are moving out of the country because you may still have income, property and capital gains taxes to pay.

Income tax

You must inform the tax office that you are moving and give them your new address so that your tax declarations can be transferred to your new address.

You are liable for tax on everything you earned in France prior to your departure as well as on any French earnings that are taxable in France under international tax treaties that you earned after your departure.

The year of your departure, you declare your previous year’s earnings as normal – declarations in spring 2024 are for earnings in 2023.

A year later, you will have to declare any earnings taxable in France from January 1st up to the date of your departure, and any French-sourced income taxable source until December 31st of the year of your departure.

If you continue to have any French-sourced income – such as from renting out a French property – you will have to declare that income annually, using the non-residents declaration form.

Property taxes

You will have property taxes to pay if you own a French property on January 1st of any given year – whether it is occupied or not. 

Property tax bills come out in the autumn, but they refer to the situation on January 1st of that year, so even if you sell your property you will usually have the pay a final property tax bill the following year.

Moreover, if you receive income from property in France or have rights related to that property (such as shared ownership or stock in property companies), as well as any additional revenue connected to the property, during the year you leave France, you will be required to pay taxes on these earnings.

If any property assets in France exceed €1.3 million on January 1st of a given year, you may also have to pay the wealth tax (IFI).

READ ALSO What is France’s wealth tax and who pays it?

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Capital gains tax 

If you sell your French property or share of a French property, you may be liable for capital gains tax at a rate of 19 percent. It will also be subject to social security contributions at the overall rate of 17.2 percent.

Capital gains tax varies depending on how long you have owned the property and whether it was a second home or your main residence.

READ ALSO How much capital gains tax will I have to pay if I sell my French property?

The good news is, if you move to another EU country, or any country that has a specific tax agreement with France, you may be exempt from capital gains tax for non-resident sellers on the sale of a property that was your principal residence in France.

If you move elsewhere, you may be able to claim exemption on capital gains tax up to €150,000. As always, you should seek expert financial advice.

Tell Social Security

Inform social security that you are leaving France permanently – and return your carte vitale if you have one. If you do not, you may be liable for any benefits you receive to which you are no longer entitled.

More mundane tasks involve informing utility and water companies, your internet provider, if you have one, the phone company, your insurance companies, banks – and La Poste, who will be able to forward your mail for up to 12 months, for a fee…

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