Donc…After a long search I have located and reserved a car in Pontivy.Snag is that I
Summary
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have a UK Brexit-compliant driving licence which expires in 2026 but apparently won’t
be acceptanle to French registration authorities.They require EU licence.In reality,licence exchange wouldn’t be processed in the foreseeable (see posts elsewhere) so am stuck twixt devil and deep blue sea.Am thinking buy car,accept responsibility for registration, slap in Carte Grise application,get temporary certificate and that they decide life’s too short / grant the application.If they reject, guess I’ll need to keep car off road until my licence exchange is processed.Any suggestions would be much appreciated.Btw I do tick all other boxes.This is the only obstacle…
This has to be a mistake, UK holiday home clients of ours bought a brand new car from their local Renault garage in Oct 2021 and had no problem registering it, both of them have UK driving licences.
It was my understanding that unless you are french resident you could not register a car in France ? Are these the same clients who have a CdS in spite of not being resident If so it seems they believe rules are for everyone else
I’m sure @anon90504988 will be able to sort things… but, I’m curious…
I feel we must be missing some detail(s)…
Do you have the UE Titre de Sejour??? (Withdrawal Agreement)… issued by France???
Where do you live permanently… France …or elsewhere ???
It’s …um… debatable and - looking back at old threads - has indeed been debated at length on the forum.
It should be registered at your primary address, if that isn’t in France it can’t be registered but many 2nd home owners have been successful in using their (secondary) French address and have not been picked up on it.
Also, IIUC, you need to register the vehicle using ANTS and you can’t do that if you are not tax resident (but it can be done on your behalf by someone else if you are not in the tax system).
Thanks Tim.Seems crazy but the dealer’s registration team have been in contact with registration authorities who have seemingly confirmed the position.I’ll endeavour to post the email in this thread.
This kind of problem was exactly to be expected by the failure of the authorities to have got this sorted out before Brexit.
Now for up to 10 years, over and over again individuals put in this position are going to encounter this problem and have to run around having conversations over and over again first to understand the problem, then to contradict whoever told them the UK licence they’ve been stuck with by the authorities doesn’t meet some rule or can’t be processed, go round and try to do it all again, etc. All because the authorities didn’t sort out a solution
Unless your UK licence is about to expire, or unless it was issued after 1.1.21, then it is valid in France. Does one of those apply?
If not it would appear that the post Brexit agreement has escaped the attention of the people who are telling you that you need an EU licence.
Grace a vous Sandcastle.My UK licence expires in 2026 which effectively stymies me from exchanging licence so am caught between two stools. I raised your point with the dealership whose response was that Brexit arrangement renders licence good for driving but not for registering I am emailing Mark Rimmer and hope he can hit on a solution which I will post here.
A UK licence is valid here but it needs to have been issued before the beginning of 2021. I am not sure whether this refers to the date the document was issued or the date you passed your test.
The simplest solution will be to incur a speeding fine as once you have received a avis de contravention you are obliged to exchange your licence.
If you pass a speed camera in an 80 zone at 86 (as shown on your GPS) you’ll receive an infraction notice for exceeding the limit by 1kph. This incurs a 45€ fine and 1 point on your (yet to be issued) licence. If you don’t incur any further infractions, the point quickly disappears - it’s after either 2 or 6 months.
that they decide life’s too short / grant the application.If they reject, guess I’ll need to keep car off road until my licence exchange is processed.Any suggestions would be much appreciated.Btw I do tick all other boxes.This is the only obstacle…
If so it seems they believe rules are for everyone else 
