I’m a member of @Kim’s fantastic Driving in France - French license application FB group. Thanks to her superb guidance I’ve recently received the request to send off my UK driving licence to be swapped for a French licence. My concern is whether I can drive in the UK pending receipt of my French license, as I now have to briefly, and unexpectedly, return to the UK. Kim’s wonderful team take a well deserved rest over the weekend, hence posting my question here.
I put the question to Copilot, Microsoft’s AI tool and this is what I received. My question is - is this correct?! (My underlying UK licence is valid till 2033 and my photocard is valid till January 2026).
“I am a UK citizen living in France. On request, I have submitted my valid UK driving license to the French authorities to be exchanged for a French driving license. Whilst I await my French license, am I permitted to drive in the UK?”
Copilot’s Response:-
"Yes, you are generally permitted to drive in the UK while your French driving licence exchange is being processed—as long as your original UK licence remains valid and you meet certain conditions.
Here’s how it works:
Driving in the UK While Awaiting French Licence
Your UK licence remains valid until the French authorities officially exchange it. During this interim period, you are still considered to hold a UK licence.
You can legally drive in the UK as long as:
Your UK licence has not expired or been revoked.
You are visiting the UK temporarily (not taking up residence again).
You continue to meet the UK’s medical and legal requirements for driving.
Important Considerations
If you’ve physically surrendered your UK licence to the French authorities, you may not have it in hand to present to UK police or insurers. In that case:
Keep a copy of your licence and any official correspondence confirming the exchange process."
I have a photocopy of my UK licence, an attestation in French confirming the swap is in progress, a copy.of the British Embassy’s press release announcing the UK/France driving licence deal and my previous expired UK photo card.
I would have thought the advice is good because there is no requirement in the UK, unlike in France, for you to physically take your licence with you when you drive. If stopped and asked to produce it by a police officer, they will give you a ‘producer’, which is a demand to produce it at a police station of your choice within 5 days.
Of course if you do not receive your new licence within that time, or are no longer in the country, I can see how that might be a problem.
My info may be old and superceded but I would have thought it would have been well known if a change had taken place.
If you’ve got a photocopy of both sides of your licence, and the french attestation you should be fine. As additional info, you could also take a copy of your DVLA check code.
Hi George, I get notified of questions here, so don’t worry I’m happy to answer.
Unfortunately not, the attestation is only valid in France, plus within the next couple of days your UK licence will be cancelled so you will have no valid physical or copy of your licence.
Hi Kim, thank you so much, as always ,for your response (even if it’s not the answer I hoped to see!!).
The request to submit my UK DL was received yesterday, and posted to CERT the same day. I guess I’ll be fairly lucky to receive my French license before 7 September when I need to briefly return to the UK to visit my ailing, elderly Mum.
Incidentally, this was the application where my middle name has changed through usage from my birth certificate. You advised sending them an attestation sur l’honneur which I did (plus a copy of my UK passport showing the updated middle name), in the original application to try and head off future requests for more information, deed poll certificates, and avoid delays etc. It would appear to have worked, so thank you again.
I don’t know the answer but my suspicion is that, with modern systems, they can check the status of your licence and insurance right there and then so it’s no longer as necessary as it once was. I remember recieving many HORT1 forms in my youth and a quick Google suggests that they still exist but are rarely used.
They were certainly called producers where I lived when I was young, managed to accumulate quite a stack of them . @George1 You may well get your french licence before you need to go. I cant remember exactly how long it took mine to arrive after I sent the UK one, but it was weeks rather than months.
Are you sure, has it changed? Roundabout 1960 ish I came back to my old Vanguard to find a policeman peering through the hole in the rotting wing. He gave me a producer which I assumed was for a week but, when I got there on the 7th day I got booked because it was for 5 days.
From personal experience, can I confirm what @kim and @mark said? It wasn’t return of post for my French licence but it was definitely no more than 2 weeks. I’d be staggered if you weren’t ok!
Driving in the UK While Awaiting French Licence
Important Considerations
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