Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

LIVING IN FRANCE

Préfecture v Mairie: French admin offices explained

Life in France involves many administrative processes, so you will want to get familiar with the most important administrative buildings you'll be visiting along the way.

Published: 23 March 2023 14:16 CET
Updated: 25 March 2023 08:37 CET
Préfecture v Mairie: French admin offices explained
(Photo by Jeff PACHOUD / AFP)

The préfecture

The préfecture is a French government building that plays an important part of life in France, particularly for foreigners as this is the building responsible for handing out administrative documents like residency permits. 

What is it? The préfecture is the administrative building for the département (county) and as such there are 96 préfectures across mainland France, and five in its overseas départements. Some areas also have sous-préfectures – exactly what functions they have responsibility for varies between areas.

The préfecture is under the control of the Préfet – the highest ranking local official in the département. This is a fonctionnaire (civil servant) role, so préfets are appointed rather than elected. Their job is defined as “ensuring the maintenance of order and security” in their area and coordinating government action at the local level.

What does it do? Probably the most important for role of the préfecture for foreigners is that they deal with residency permits – so getting, renewing or altering a titre de séjour would all be done via the préfecture. Likewise, préfectures also handle requests for French citizenship.

They are also responsible for numerous other aspects of local life that relate to public order or security such as driving rules, policing and security. If you want to start an association, then you would also get that registered at the préfecture.

Préfectures used to be in charge of driver’s licences and vehicle registration documents, but these process are now done online with the ANTS system.

READ MORE: ‘Be prepared to be patient’ – Registering your British car in France after Brexit

Préfectures in different places have different rules on whether you can visit on a walk-in basis or need to book an appointment in advance. Likewise, some préfectures have more admin processes available online than others – however all have a website that explain how you can contact them.

Paris – the French capital is is an exception when it comes to préfectures. In Paris, there is a ‘Préfecture de Police’ which heads up the security in the city of Paris and the inner suburbs of the city.

They also issue identity cards, residency permits and other administrative documents to Paris residents. Those who live in the Paris suburbs go to their local préfecture for residency permits or citizenship applications. 

The Mairie

The mairie – or town hall – is the other administrative building that you will likely become familiar with if you move to France as a foreigner. 

What is it? The mairie is the town hall, under the control of the mayor (maire). France has more than 36,000 mayors, from the big city mayors like Paris boss Anne Hidalgo who control huge budgets and a vast town hall full of staff to village mayors who might be responsible for a couple of hundred people.

The role of mayor of a French village or small commune is unique to France and foreigners often don’t realise how much power a local mayor wields. The mayor’s role makes him or her the head of the municipal council, the commune’s main magistrate and the judicial police officer.

They are also generally very knowledgeable about local rules and regulations and any permissions and permits you might need, so it’s a good idea to go along and introduce yourself if you’re moving into a small village . Most mayors are also local people so they will have an interest in keeping their village alive and thriving so can make valuable allies.

What does it do? Town halls are very important for la vie quotidienne (daily life) in France.

From certificates related to marriage and birth to death, this is where you would get any necessary documentation.

If you want to get married, then (owed to the fact that France is a secular country), only civil marriages are legally recognised. There’s nothing to stop you from having a religious ceremony, but this is one more thing that you will have to do at the mairie. The same goes for PACs (registering a civil partnership). Usually the person to perform the marriage or civil partnership will be the mayor, wearing their tricolore sash of office.

READ MORE: Wedding bells: What you need to know about getting married in France

Hunting and fishing licences are usually issued by the mairie, they also administer local taxes (although they don’t collect taxes – see below for the section on the tax office) and in some places offer adult education classes including French classes for foreigners.

The mairie is also very important when it comes to buying and building property in France. There are several administrative procedures and documents that will need signing, from zoning rules to your rights about change the exterior of the property, that will take you to the mairie at some point in the property ownership process in France.

In small villages you may find that the mairie doesn’t perform all the above administrative functions – in some areas for administrative convenience mairies delegate certain tasks to either another mairie in a larger place or a département-level office. But the mairie can always guide you in the right direction, so it’s usually still the easiest place to start. 

READ MORE: Tips for renovating French property: ‘Double your budget and make friends with the mayor’

The tax office

There are many Centres des finances publiques – tax offices – across France, and you can find the one nearest to you by going online and googling Centre des finances publiques plus the name of your commune to find your local office. If you are looking to either take a walk-in appointment or schedule one, then you should first check the opening hours, some offices – especially in small towns – are only open on certain days.

If you’re used to dealing with HMRC in the UK or the IRS in the US, you might be expecting a system only accessible by phone or online, but in France your local tax office is open for visits – and staff are generally friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.

Even quite small towns have a tax office, and they are open to the public on a walk-in basis. Visiting your local tax office can be a great way to get clarification on how to fill out a document, contest a tax bill, or just ask any general questions you might have.

Again, in small towns you may find that the local tax office doesn’t cover all areas of taxation and if you have a complicated query they may refer you to the office in a larger town.

READ MORE: 5 top tips for dealing with the French tax office

What about the courthouse?

Unless you are summoned to court in France or have an ongoing legal dispute, you likely will not need to spend much time at the courthouse. 

For reporting a crime, you can do so at the police station (tribunal) or the gendarmerie. If you are wondering about the difference, you can read more HERE.

READ MORE: What to do if you are arrested in France

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

LIVING IN FRANCE

5 things Brits in France need to know about swapping driving licences

Now that the dust has settled from the somewhat chaotic post-Brexit period, the system for swapping a UK driving licence for a French one seems to be running fairly smoothly. There are, however, some things that UK licence holders need to know.

Published: 3 May 2024 17:20 CEST
5 things Brits in France need to know about swapping driving licences

This article is aimed at holders of a UK or Northern Ireland driving licence who are living in France – tourists, visitors and second-home owners can continue to drive in France on a UK licence and do not need an international driving permit.

British students who are studying in France on a student visa can continue to drive on their UK licence during their studies – if however they settle in France afterwards, they need to follow the below process for swapping their licence. 

1 You’re special

Well, maybe special is over-stating it, but the system for holders of UK and NI licence holders is different to that of other non-EU nationals, and also different to the system for EU licence holders.

The reason for this is that a pragmatic post-Brexit agreement was (finally) reached between France and the UK, in order to avoid the chaos that was triggered when thousands of Brits in France all tried to swap their driving licences at once.

Unlike almost all other post-Brexit agreements, this one applies both to people who moved to France before the end of Brexit transition period in 2021 and those who have moved here since. 

The below terms apply to everyone who has a UK or NI licence, regardless of their nationality or when they moved to France. 

2 But you still have to swap

It was technically always the case that Brits who were living in France should have swapped their licence for a French one, just as other EU licence holders do now, but in reality many people lived here for years or decades without ever exchanging their licence and there was little or no enforcement of the rule.

That has now changed and you must swap according to the following timetable;

If your UK licence was issued after January 1st, 2021 – you must swap within one year of moving to France.

If your UK licence was issued before January 1st 2021 – you only swap when you meet one of the following conditions;

  • The licence itself or the photocard is within six months of its expiry date. For more people the photocard expiry will come around first, but UK licences also require renewal when the holder reaches the age of 70
  • Your licence has been lost or stolen
  • You have been ordered to exchange your licence by a gendarme after committing a driving offence

For people who are exchanging because the licence is about to expire, it is important that you don’t start the process until your licence is within six months of the expiry date – early applications will simply be rejected.

3 It might not be as much of a nightmare as you think 

Unlike the old days when licence swaps were done by préfectures, the whole process has now moved online and is run through a single, central system.

The online portal for requesting a swap is known as ANTS and you can find it HERE.

If you haven’t used it before you will need to create an online account, or if you already have online accounts for French government services such as Ameli or tax declarations you can login by clicking on the France Connect button.

Once logged in, select Je demande l’échange ou l’enregistrement de mon permis de conduire étranger (I request the exchange or registration of a foreign driving licence) and fill in the details requested on the form such as name, address etc.

You might be pleasantly surprised by the fact the form itself is relatively straightforward (as French admin forms go), asking basic questions such as your personal details and the details of your driving licence.

You will have to upload supporting documents, but these are likely to be things that you already have to hand including

  • Proof of ID (passport or carte de séjour)
  • Proof of address (a recent utility bill or attestation from your utility provider)
  • If your driver’s licence is in a different name to your passport, you will need to supply your full birth certificate

You will also need to supply a photo – you can either use the internet-enabled Photomaton booths – find your nearest here – to create a digital photo with the required security code, or you can use the normal photo booths to print out a physical photo and send it by post after you have made your application. 

Once completed, you can use the ANTS site to track the progress of your application and upload any other documents that are requested.

4 But don’t leave it too late 

If you’re applying because your licence is about to expire then you cannot apply until you are within six months of the expiry date.

But it’s a good idea not to leave it until the last minute as the whole process does take time – things have improved massively since the dark days of 2020 and 2021 when people were waiting for years and their licences expired while they waited.

But it still takes time – the current average for a straightforward application with no extra documents required seems to be between four and five months, although processing times can vary, especially over holiday periods.

It’s therefore a good idea to make the application fairly soon after you enter that magic six-month window.

Once you make the application you should get an automated response acknowledging receipt – this is usually sent by SMS and/or email, it’s a good idea to check your spam folder if you don’t get the email.

Don’t panic if you don’t then hear anything for the next few weeks or even months, this appears to be normal. If your application is complete and there are no outstanding queries or other documents required, the next step will be a request to send in your old UK licence.

You send this by post (recorded delivery with a signature is strongly recommended) and at the same time you can download an Attestation de Depot de Permis de Conduire (certificate of deposit of driving licence) – you can use this to prove your continued entitled to drive in the period between sending in your old licence and receiving your new one.

Your French licence is then sent by registered post, and the window between posting the old licence and receiving the new one is usually not more than a month, you 

5 Help is out there 

If your application runs into problems or you have an untypical situation or find the ANTS website hard to use, don’t panic – help is available.

The Facebook group Driving in France – French Licence Applications is a good place to start with comprehensive guides and knowledgeable admins who are quick to respond to questions.

You can also chat to others in your situation and get updates on how long processing times seem to be.

If you have problems using the online system, your local France Services office may be able to help.

You can also head to The Local’s reader questions section, or email us at [email protected] if you have questions.

Digital licences

You might have heard about France’s new digital driving licence – unfortunately this is only available to people who have French citizenship (including dual nationals).

SHOW COMMENTS