Driving in France

You can exchange your driving licence if you meet all of the following conditions:

• The country where you hold your driving licence must have signed an exchange agreement with France. A list of these countries can be found on this website.
• The driving licence must be valid and issued by a country in which you ordinarily resided, i.e. where you were staying for at least six months per year. 
• If you are not a citizen of the European Union, you must have a document authorising you to stay in France, known as a residence permit or “titre de séjour”. 

To find out whether this applies to you, you can run a check on this website.

The deadlines will vary depending on your nationality:

• If you are a citizen of a member state of the European Union, you must apply for an exchange between the 6th and 18th month following your arrival in France.
• If you are a citizen of a country outside of the European Union, you must apply within one year after the start date of the validity of your first residence permit or “titre de séjour”.

In order to apply for a driving licence exchange, you will need the following documents:

• an identity document, such as your identity card or passport
• a document proving your address, known as a “justificatif de domicile” or proof of residence, which is less than six months old, such as a rent receipt, a gas or electricity bill or a certificate of accommodation
• a full copy of your birth certificate
• your driving licence.

If your documents are not in French, they must first be translated by a sworn translator or “traducteur assermenté”:

• Translation costs 30–80 euros per page on average.
• You can search online or ask the embassy of your country in France for a list of “traducteurs assermentés” in your language. If you are a political refugee in France, you must not contact the authorities of your home country. Instead, you can contact an organisation offering free services called an “association” specialised in the rights of refugees.

You will also need a photo that meets the required standards. It is recommended that you have one taken by an accredited photographer who will give you an e-photo code.

The procedures are then carried out online on this website by following the steps below:

• Create an account, log in to your profile and choose the reason for your request.
• Fill in the form with the requested information and upload a photo and your signature.
• Upload the other documents requested before confirming your request.

To get started, contact a company specialised in preparing people for the driving test, known as an “auto-école”, or driving school, near you. You can search for one online; for example, on Google Maps, which will allow you to check the reviews it has received. 

The driving school will inform you of the steps to take and the documents to provide. 

They will provide you with a quote detailing the rates for: 

• Theory test preparation courses, if you want to take them. You can also choose to sit the test without doing the preparation course, but it is not recommended.
• The driving courses that you will need to take depending on your level:
  • If you already have a foreign licence, you may not need to take any driving lessons. This depends, among other things, on the country that issued it to you.
  • If you have never driven before, you will usually need to take 20–30 hours of driving lessons before taking the test.

If you do not speak French well, ask them what steps you need to take to be assisted by an interpreter during the tests.

Financial help is available to obtain a licence under certain conditions. You can run a check on this website to work out whether you can benefit from it.