Hello all. I managed to lose my wallet in February with all my cards (and €500) in! My UK licence was among those cards. Initially the gendarmes were not even interested because they said that they only dealt with stolen items now. I said the wallet may have been stolen, i don’t know - i just don’t have it anymore. I was harried in and out and the gave me a Declaration de Perte.
I read that I now had to apply for a french one under the Brexit Withdrawal agreement conditions, so I went onto ANTS website and went through the process unploading all the forms etc. I received and downloaded the justicatiff de depot de demande. Several months later I received a text and email asking me to review my application. It turns out that the gendarmes failed to give me the relevant Declaration de Perte - mine covered my Carte de Serjour and nothing else was written on it. I should have checked really at the time, the writing on the form was pretty bad anyway, and since i reiterated all that was lost i assumed they’d done it correctly. The notes on ANTS said I needed a relevant declaration de perte stating it was a UK licence. So I found a CERFA form online (for permis de conduire) filled it out and sent it in. 4 months later I received another text/mail from ANTS and this time they said that the form sent in needed to be signed and stamped by the ‘a relevant official body/person’ - very non specific. I’m not sure after 7/8 months i could even go back to the gendarmerie and ask them to fill the Declaration to Perte out for me. I asked my Mairie. She didn’t know for sure but was willing to fill out, sign and stamp a new Declaration for me. This i duly sent off last week. Apart from this being a long protracted bureaucratic nightmare, I need to know whether i can drive a car still in the UK with a justicatiff de depot de demande ? My parents are both in their 80’s and i need to get back and see them more often - I prefer to drive over, and even if i flew, i’d need to hire a car in the Uk and I doubt that bit of paper from ANTS would allow this. I can’t find any information about this, and emailing ANTS is pointless.
Thanks in advance, Jon
If you had lost your licence as UK resident it would be ok for you to drive in UK as still have a valid licence. Which any police person can check. So would there be any difference?
Maybe download a DVLA check code statement as additional surety?
But what plates will the car you are driving have?
Hi Jane, thank you for taking the time to reply - much appreciated! My car is on French plates. I actually thought i’d lost just my licence 2/3 years ago (i’d miss-laid it) and in my panic I applied for a replacement UK one. When i received that i was surprised to see that they’d given me another 10 yr one. I just assumed you’d get the remainder left off the old licence.
Anyway, my licence i’d miss-laid was due to expire in 2023. I forgot all about this not knowing the rules on driving licence exchange and when i read up after losing my new licence (and everything else ) i realised that i’d inadvertantly bent the rules. I carried on with the ANTS process and the paperwork from DVLA states the period the lost licence covers, so ANTS should know this but haven’t mentioned anything. So I’m not entirely sure if i have a valid uk licence really. I assume i should have because I’ve not had it taken off me for bad driving or anything. And nothing has yet been transfered to a French licence yet. On DVLA it will show that I have a valid UK licence till 2033. Of course I don’t want to ask DVLA incase they decide to charge me with something, and asking ANTS is useless. My Mairie don’t know…
TBH I’d be practical and look into whether DVLA can replace the licence you’ve lost again especially if you will be spending time at parents place in Uk
KISS until you get any comment back or any request for further info and not till then - a licence may just arrive chez parents instead after your request is submitted
I’ll probably get shot for this, but…
Have you thought about just applying for a replacement UK licence using your parents address?
Just noticed your post Karen, we pragmatists need to stick together 
I’m intrigued… what are you thinking they might charge you with ???
If push comes to shove… better surely not to drive… that way you know you are legal… 
Thanks, but i don’t think getting a reissued UK one would be a good idea really. For one it’s breaking UK law, not that that bothers me so much being a French resident, but if for some reason my French licence application failed and i have to reapply, the document i’d have to download from the DVLA would show that I’d got a reissue in 2024 as well as 2022, both falling foul of the french permis de conduire exchange conditions. I don’t know, but would they make me do a French driving test then because they deem me dishonest etc? It’s probably not worth the risk. Especially since I live in the mountains and need a car not only for work, but also for every day stuff like food shopping.
Does anyone know where i might find out what the scope of a ‘justicatiff de depot de demande’ is? where it can be used? I very much doubt foreign car hire companies would accept it.
Thanks
I don’t know - but it clearly states on the reapplication website that it’s breaking the law to do so. It seemed so wishy washy that i applied for the reissue anyway previously! It’s the french aspect that worries me.
And I have to drive - i live out in the sticks and also need to work as a self employed elctrician. Or do you mean in the UK? I kind of need to be able to drive there too, if i leave it too long both by parents might not be around - as i said, they’re in their 80’s
I’m no expert on this stuff, far from it, but isn’t it when you license expires that you need to have a French replacement, not when you’ve lost a valid one.
the previous license is registered at my mums. If i were to apply again and later my ANTS application fails (and i try again), it would certainly be picked up by ANTS that i’d twice applied for a replacement UK licence when I was supposed to go for a french one. I’d be digging a hole for myself😂
Hi John, (for a uk licence holder) you need to apply for a french licence 6 months before yours is due to expire, or if it’s lost, stolen or you get points
I think you miss my point (which maybe incorrect) you need to get a French license when your UK license expires, not disappears. The expiry date on your replacement license will be the same as on your original, won’t it?
Yes i know, but you are also supposed to apply for a French licence if you lose your UK one regardless of the expiry date on it. And strictly speaking my 10 years was up in April 2023, so I was supposed to apply for my french one not before something like october 2022.
Technically or, more accurately, by law you need to apply for a French licence if your UK licence is lost or stolen.
Nonetheless, I’d be minded to take the pragmatic view and beg forgiveness if necessary.
Ha ha, well that might have to be an option soon… My mother keeps dropping big hints! In February It’ll be a year since i applied for the Permis de Conduire, I’m not sure what happens to the bit of paper (ANTS gave me) after that. As the French would say - the ANTS system is a bordel!
A man after my own heart, as they say 
I agree. Bear in mind that by applying for a new or replacement UK licence you are stating you are a UK resident. Despite Brexit there is information exchange between countries so further down the road if you apply for a new CdS or even nationality this could pop out of the woodwork…
I would just check with my insurer that ok to drive without physical licence and go for it.
Thank you Jane - that’s a good point. My bank insures me and i’m just about to buy a new car. I’ll ask.
I really don’t want to fill my bureaucratic world with lies and deceipt… things eventually get joined up and can come back to bite you… there’s always an online ‘papertrail’ to trip you up.
We were advised on here by our expert friend in the past 2 weeks or so that the 6 months is now increased to 12 months ahead of expiry you can apply to swap.
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