Thanks, Graham.
Sounds like the normal stuff, then. They might have also wanted the licenses themselves translated. We had to, even though ours were the official EU model, which seems barmy. No doubt, it keeps people in work (in the short-term) even though the long-term effects are possibly the opposite.
They required nothing from us other than what is required for a French person, neither of us being French and my OH having most of her documentation in four languages. Graham (hello!) since you are not an EU bod that is highly likely always to be the case, but we have stood our ground on that point in the past and not provided them. Périgueux gave good, clear on line instructions and application, we sent only what was required (photocpy of passport but no birth certificate, including the ubiquitous electricity bill which is by far the most import ID document in France) and cheques to the required amount. We were a month without licences, but the person my OH spoke to on the phone said that if either of us were controlled to tell the gendarmes to check with them, tralalala.
Peter
We also found that without an EU or French Driver's Licence, we had difficulty in obtaining Insurance on our car. AVIVA had to keep issuing separate "cover notes" and green cards every month until we received our full french licence. Another reason to obtain the french licence as early as possible. 15 years of licence and at no cost.
Graham
Peter
Our experience at Perigueux was not bad really. We required from recollection Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificate all translated into french (We had them translated in Oz before we left by a registered translator - cheaper than in France) and they were acceptable. Licences in Aust are issued under married name, but in France under your wife's maiden name - hence the need for the Marriage Certificate.
If you are going to be staying in France on a Long Stay Visa or a Carte Sejour, you will be required at sometime to provide copies of all of your Birth Certificates and marriage Certificates BUT THEY WILL NEED TO BE APOSTILLED (Stamped and sealed by the Dept of Foreign Affairs as genuine documents) In this case it is smarter to obtain the apostilled original documents while you are still in Aust rather than relying on the mail process from France - although it did work for us. Obtain your original full copies of your certificates and then send them with the appropriate request form to the Dept Foreign Affairs. If you are fortunate enough to have EU passports you will probably not require this step.
Simply Google "Apostille and Dept of Foreign Affairs"
Generally however, Perigueux staff are as helpful as anywhere, but they do have to follow procedures.
Périgueux for all of the Dordogne. You can start it online then send the application and old licence in, we both did without any problems whatsoever.
Great!
Thanks so much Peter.
Graham,
You have very useful information here, based on recent hard experience. As it happens, my brother lives just round the corner from the Canberra embassy, not that I think it would help to go round & ask what they thought they were up to!
Could you tell us how demanding the Perigueux Préfecture were in terms of official translations and so on. Ours, in Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain), went completely over the top. Not only did every non-French document have to be translated, by a court-recognized translator, but they wanted proof of marriage and even proof of my wife's maiden name. In that case, we managed to find an old (blue) passport which still showed it, and in both English & French. (Current UK passports don't show maiden names.) I also gave them some unofficial translations which they accepted, as, at €40 per page, translation costs seemed to be rivalling the GDP of some smaller countries.
I'm sure that Jo, in particular, but also many other anglophones in 24 would find it helpful to have this kind of info.
Tish,
I've double checked this and my original statement was wrong in the case of the person who exchanged a SA licence for a UK licence. (I've just posted an amendment.) In both your cases, their UK licences can be used in France until expiry, unless they are forced to change after committing some offence here. (The nationality of the licence holder has almost no impact on the licence rules. The only impact is for EEA citizens who don't hold EEA licences, who get an extra 6 months to exchange their non-EEA licenses, if they can.)
I think it might be a good idea for the person who exchanged her SA licence originally to exchange her UK licence for a French one if she's going to stay for a significant time in France. There could be difficulties in the exchange process if this doesn't take place for a while, so it might be better to do it sooner rather than later. As the exchange process is a major PITA, I wouldn't, however, rush to do it if I wasn't sure about staying here.
Reference: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1757
Conditions pour conduire avec un permis européene
Pour être valable en France, le permis de conduire doit remplir les 3 conditions suivantes :
Par ailleurs, le conducteur :
Si la personne remplit toutes ces conditions, elle peut conduire en France avec son permis aussi longtemps qu'il reste valable.
Si elle ne remplit pas toutes ces conditions, elle n'a pas le droit de conduire avec son permis en France. Elle doit :
Cas du permis européenne obtenu en échange d'un permis hors EEE
Le permis européen obtenu en échange d'un permis délivré par un pays non européen, avec lequel la France ne pratique pas l'échange réciproque des permis, ne peut être utilisé que durant un temps limité en France. Son titulaire ne peut conduire avec que pendant un an à partir de l'acquisition de sa résidence normale sur le territoire.
Un tel permis n'est pas échangeable et son titulaire, passé le délai précité, devra passer l'examen du permis de conduire français s'il veut continuer à conduire en France.
Correction to the above message concerning the first exception;
If you have an EEA/Swiss licence that was issued in exchange for a non EEA/Swiss licence, you can continue to drive using your EEA/Swiss licence without exchanging it as long as your original licence was issued by one of the states here. (In case of later problems, I'd suggest exchanging it within the first year, though this doesn't appear to be obligatory.)
******* REPLACEMENT PARA. *******
The first exception to this applies to EEA/Swiss licences that were themselves issued in exchange for a non-EEA/Swiss licence. Depending on the state that issued the previous licence, these may not even be exchangeable and you would need to pass the French tests, though you can drive on your existing licence for a year. For most issuing states, they are exchangeable for a French licence until expiry of the EEA/Swiss licence. To avoid problems later, however, it might be desirable to exchange for a French licence within the first 12 months. The issuing states that are acceptable for licence exchange are listed here. Note in particular that licences issued by many US states aren't acceptable, and that sometimes some licence categories are excluded.
Hi Jo
My wife and I (both aussies) exchanged our licences 2 years ago and with Belves being in the Dordogne, you would need to use the Prefecture at Perigueux (details are provided in a comment below). We live in Port Sainte Foy et Ponchapt also in the Dordogne and used the same prefecture.
The process is that your Aust licence is not taken from you until the prefecture issues you with a new French licence at which time they will take your Aust one. No major problems in obtaining the licence and they are actually quite helpful.
The biggest issue is that they require a copy of your driving record to see if there are any encumbrences (cancellations, points or disqualifications) on it. While you can generally obtain this online from your State Motor registry (RTA in NSW), the Prefecture insists that it comes to them and addressed to them from the Aust issuing authority. They write to the French Embassy in Canberra instructing them to follow up with the local issuing authority. The problems for us started when the embassy just ignored the request from the Prefecture and we had to pester the RTA directly from here in France to get them to send the information direct to the Prefecture. Our licence exchange took nearly 9 months but finally it came through (even though I gave them exactly the same driving record that I had downloaded online.
Best advice in my opinion would be to see your licence issuing authority before you leave and get them to provide you with an sealed copy of your driving record but addressed to the Prefecture in Perigueux. You can then hand it to them when you make your application in person.
Let me know if you need any help. Great to see more aussies in France.......you will enjoy it. Belves is about an hour and a half from our place.
Cheers
Graham
Thanks very much Peter, I appreciate you taking the time to clear this up
'If you have a normal UK licence' does that apply to everyone or just British citizens? One person I know is a South African who lived and passed her test in the UK, so she can use it and exchange it when it expires?
and the other one exchanged her SA licence for a UK one, so she only has a year to exchange it, is that correct?
No, that procedure only applies for EEA licences. For Australian licence, they should stamp it that it's not valid in France and give it back to you, as EU licence is only valid in Australia for limited period. This is the reverse of the procedure, which happens if you change a foreign licence in Australia.
Jo, A further point I've noticed.
The only categories of vehicles that can be transferred from an Oz licence to a French licence are A & B, which are motorcycles and cars respectively. (Clearly, you have to already have the category on your licence for it to be transferred.) Any rights you already have to drive heavier vehicles shouldn't be transferred, though mistakes do sometimes happen.
Tish, The 18 months exchange period for British (or other EEA) citizens only applies to those holding non-EU licences, e.g. Australian.
If you have a normal UK licence & passed your UK test whilst living in the UK, that can be exchanged up until the time it expires, but not later than that. (You can be forced to exchange your licence earlier, but only if you commit a driving offence in France.)
Tish, No, you don't normally have to take the French tests unless you let your licence/photocard expire before exchanging it
If, whatever your nationality, you hold a current licence issued by an EEA state (or Switzerland) there is no time limit for the licence exchange, with two major exceptions (see below). As the licence to be exchanged must still be valid, I'd suggest starting on the procedure no later than 6 months before the expiry of the existing photocard (or licence, for those still with old paper licences), which for seniors might be the day before their 70th birthday.
The first exception to this applies to EEA/Swiss licences that were themselves issued in exchange for a non-EEA/Swiss licence. Depending on the state that issued the previous licence, these may not even be exchangeable and you would need to pass the French tests, though you can drive on your existing licence for a year. For most, they are exchangeable, but the exchange must take place in your first year in France (or 18 months, if you're European but not French). The issuing states that are acceptable for licence exchange are listed here. Note in particular that licences issued by many US states aren't acceptable, and that sometimes some licence categories are excluded.
The second exception covers the case where some people indulged in driving licence tourism. (I recall a time many years ago when quite a few Germans were coming to the UK to get a UK licence as it was a lot cheaper than in Germany.) The rule in France is that you must have been normally resident in the country where & when you passed your driving test, and some Préfectures require you to prove it. This French rule would probably make such individuals take the French test.
There are some other exceptions, but these generally involve offences involving withdrawal of the right to drive.
I don't but since asking my question I've discovered British citizens have 18 months to exchange it.
I'm presuming that if you drive in France with a UK licence until it expires but go over that 18 month limit you'll have to pass the French theory and practical.
Thanks Peter! Sorry I obviously need coffee
because an exchange of the licence is no longer possible having lived in France for more than a year.
From where did you get that information?
Thanks John,
It's all very confusing as her husband is South African and he had to change his SA licence within a year.
I think what has happened is the communication at the Préfecture might have been unclear and has left them thinking there is no time limit to exchange the wife's licence when in fact it's actually 18 months
Yes, until the UK licence expires (photo included because the counterpart of the licence has been done away with since June this year) or you commit a traffic offence.
What is not clear to me is do you then have to pass the theory and practical test? because an exchange of the licence is no longer possible having lived in France for more than a year.