John - not true! As has already been stated, quite a few times now......a points related motoring offence committed in France, by a French resident will require you to exchange your EC photo licence for a French one - it's the law. Links already provided.
Secondly, and for the sake of clarification (!), a French resident cannot also be the holder of a valid UK driving licence showing a UK address. Links already provided.
I'm at a loss as to why these two relatively simple laws seem to be so hard for some to understand. It feels a bit like kids sticking their fingers in their ears and going 'nah, nah, nah, nah, nah....'
Why such resistance to changing a simple driving licence to reflect the place you are resident. No big deal.
Now look at the French regulations, if you have a valid EC photo licence there is no need to exchange it until it expires.
It’s is certainly not illegal for British expats to have a UK photo driving licence until it expires. At that point you would need a French licence. If you move within the UK you have to change the address on your licence, strangely, if you move out of the UK, it is perfectly legal with your previous address. You cannot have a ‘foreign’ address on a UK licence and you cannot renew one if you are resident abroad.
Anthony, it does before the European Parliament immediately after the summer break but will take a few weeks to get through the system. In theory it could be law by the end of the year but predictions are for early next year with a couple of months for countries to prepare. However, once the signature ink is dry you can slap it on desks since it will be law and any préfecture wishing to say otherwise will be accumulating 'E-fines' for non-compliance. We have never had any problems but for those who do, let battle commence.
I have read through this post and am left with an overriding question - why on earth would a French resident want to hold on to a driving licence issued by the UK? Looks like the UK government have similar thoughts -
https://www.gov.uk/change-address-driving-licence
The above link, updated by the new UK legislation introduced this month, makes it pretty clear that, in order to change the address on your UK licence you need to be a resident of Great Britain and that If you’re moving abroad (or have moved!), you can’t register your new address on your British driving licence and you should contact the driving licence authority in your new country of residence.
It's also worth noting that having the wrong information of your UK driving licence can result in a hefty fine (currently £1000) and surrender of your licence - as you would be in breach of the Road Traffic 1988 Section 99 subsections 4 & 5.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/99#section-99-5
Then there's the small matter of car insurance. A French resident, with French car insurance and a potentially invalid UK issued driving licence.....hummmmmmm.....can of worms ?
My licence is valid until I am 82, there is nothing to even suggest mandatory health checks, but then if I am still around at that age I hope I am not still scourging the roads anyway.
What happens if it is not the right address in the right country is that the DVLA in Swansea contacts France (or other EU country), you get a dirty letter telling you to change or face a stiff fine and a limited amount of time after which your driving licence is invalidated. But then, in fact if you are resident in the UK and change address you are, strictly speaking, supposed to inform the DVLA, which I think is reasonable. That protects other people in the case of accidents when the person responsible hops it in terms of taking action and insurance cover. Bear in mind evasion is punishable everywhere and has always been an administrative nightmare. That is in large part why since last year a fine or penalty issued here in France can now be collected or acted on in other EU member states including the UK.
PS
When I exchanged my UK licence, not all the categories licensed on the UK licence were automatically transferred and I had to tick box which I wanted carried over. Some of these were contingent on a medical certificate after medical check-up, for example light vans, towing a caravan and carriers of more than 5 people, which had to be sent with the application. Some of these medical certificates require check-ups every two years. I elected not to bother as I am happy just being able to drive a car.
Also. French driving licences are lifelong, UK ones expire age 70. When I got my French licence, it noted this. I believe it is necessary to renew the French licence at age 70 for former UK holders, but as this is a little way off for me I have not investigated, but it may be just a medical check-up.
Not all driving licences turned in are in EU languages, so for instance a US licence in English only would probably require translation. So too the few UK old book versions, so far back I cannot remember when I turned it in. By the middle of next year none of the documents that are sometimes asked for translated should need to be since the change in EU law is on the agenda for this autumn and should be completed by next spring at latest. Then any department of whoever demanding them will be 'renegade' and can be justifiably told where to go.
Unlike the UK, French bureaucracy is not centralised and is handled on a departmental basis, therefore there is no consistency with interpretation and application of rules.
You will get nowhere, except annoying the local fonctionnaires, by fighting it and telling them other departments do it differently.
In Dept 24 no translation was required, one visit to get forms, one visit to return them, hand in UK licence, get attestation and then the new licence arrived within two weeks. Easy. Others in other departments have more difficulty. It is the way it is.
It is the case you need not have a French licence, but the UK photo-card licences expire every ten years and need updating with a new photo. When I checked, the DVLA would not accept a non-UK address on the licence nor would they mail a renewed licence to an address outside the UK.
The problem as I see it, is what happens when the UK photo-card has expired if stopped by a Gendarme, or if involved in an accident where does that leave you regarding insurance?
I tried at the time to get answers to these questions, even contacting an advisory service for EU citizens in Brussels but nobody could tell me.
You could renew with a UK address and have a renewal delivered to it if it is of a friend or family member, but remember you are obliged to carry a licence with you here and if stopped by Gendarmes whilst your UK licence is not in your posession you may have difficulty.
Furthermore, under UK law it is illegal to have an address on your licence not the one that is your usual address. I wonder then what happens when non-resident UK licence holders drive in the UK with a UK licence not showing their correct address, if stopped by police?
So much for European ‘union’!
You might consider contacting DVLA and see if their policy regarding addressed and renewals has changed or not.
Good luck.
In the link you posted it says this:
2 photocopies couleur recto-verso du permis de conduire à échanger (et, si nécessaire, sa traduction officielle)
I guess this means that each Prefecture can decide whether it's necessary.
Right, my OH lost one point on her UK licence, which was not possible, so they made her change so that she got her French licence with a point knocked off. The official letter she got was uncompromising. When she turned in her Swiss licence for the UK one 10 years ago, her two 'endorsements' were not transferred, so changing a licence seems to be a way of tidying up if necessary.
That is being introduced everywhere now, it would be at 70 for the truck anyway.
No, you're correct, Simon, once you commit an offence you have to exchange your licence - I didn't for a number of years/offences and ended up with a gendarme knocking on my door...!
Not according to Service-Public.fr -
http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F1758.xhtml#N1008E
Maybe you can point us to some overriding EU legislation?
my Welsh husband had to get a french licence after being caught by the gendarmerie in France; he did his french licence in 64, I typed a translation of his licence and no problem; the downside is that every 5 years he has to have a medical exam with a specific doctor for the small truck part of the licence,
No translation needed here in Finistere either. No change needed either until your old Brit one expires.
I have a French licence. I 'traded in' without translations or anything else apart from a photocopy of my passport and one utility bill for this address. I did it all by post, my OH did her one at the same time, we sent them in a single envelope even, then once informed we went to the préfecture to give the the UK photocards (plus the paper ones that they kept then but can now bin) in exchange for the French ones. It was quick and simple and I am absolutely not sure how people get themselves into all these situations where translations of licence and certificate of entitlement need to be paid for. The EU photocard is multilingual, therefore there is no justification in any translation whatsoever. Also the details on the gouv.fr website say it is a seamless exchange and leads me to suspect that the licence department makes up rules as it goes along against national policy.
I am sure that I might sound stupid and as if 'I haven't understood', but what happened to the Free Movement of Persons, one of the 'Pillars' of the EU Treaty? It is Article 45 of the Treaty. "Free movement of persons. Freedom of movement and residence for persons in the EU is the cornerstone of Union citizenship, which was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992. Its practical implementation in EU law, however, has not been straightforward." I agree! In such situations, one can always apply to the Administrative Court. Every region has one, I am in the Centre, so mine is in Orléans. Like the English, the French know very little about EU law.
There is new EU legislation pending or about to come out that suggests that translations of some public documents are no longer needed (and are a costly waste for citizens). I will root it out for you ... give me a day or two?