It will be a french IDP not a UK one . If you are a French resident you can get them here from ANTS, but based on your UK licence.
And if we do hire a car then won’t be on French plates anyway.
Didn’t realise you could get an IDP in France for a UK licence. Interesting. Thanks for that info.
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Hello,
I am trying to fill in the forms - my UK licence shows I am eligible for Cat B, BE, C1, C1E, D1 and D1E!!! I only need cat B and BE. 2 questions
1- the form asks for the codes and gives space for 3 digits, some categories have several numbers - which should I choose (ie cat D1E has 01,101,119)
2 - should I just send a letter to ANTS with my application ststing that I only wish to use Cat B and BE?
Thank you in anticipation for any help
I put all my categories on the form. The wrote back (after about a year) to say my licence exchange was being processed and what cats they were willing to give me with a medical cert or without. I replied to say i would accept the “without med cert” cats which worked fine. So just do that? They will let you know what cats you can have minus doing a medical. Sure that will be enough for you?! Easier than trying to explain in advance?
Thank you Fingers crossed!
If you look on some of the other threads about driving licences you will see that Nantes has suspended licence exchange for the time being. So if none of the exceptions apply to you, you might as well hang on and save your self a stamp as most possible the application will be sent back.
See here
A UK friend sent me a message to say that her friend in France (for 28 years now) has just had her request “refused”
She’s now concerned that she’s been driving illegally for all that time; & that she may now be denied a licence…
Possible or another scare story ?
Very possibly, or some misinterpretation somewhere of the process so the application was rejected (for example because it didn’t conform to requirements), rather than being refused. Subtle, but important difference.
Reminds me of the urban myths of people having got drunk and had kidneys stolen.
That happened to me !
One too many…wake up…no kidneys !
I mean…what are the chances ?!
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Not really
quite possibly a simple misunderstanding… as we do not have any details of what request has been “refused”… all too vague for me to take on board.
Why on earth a “refusal” this year should reflect on the past 28 years… is beyond me…
I suspect more info and more calm is needed… 
many thanks , I missed that link. I must say I dont blame them - it must be a nightmare they have had foist upon them!
I think you’re right Stella.
Appears the “refusal” was having the file sent back…
not clear if any reason was given.
It’s reading this, & other threads, that makes me more & more aware of the fact that I know absolutely NOTHING about Brexit…nothing
@Codfanglers. Whoops, type…just the one kidney. For years it was a regular tale that a friend of friend had had one stolen. Told in all seriousness, and even that the friend had seen the scars on this other person! More dramatic than having a file sent back, but perhaps based on equally incomplete info…
As has been stated above, ALL applications to exchange UK Driving Licenses are NOT being processed and the documents returned with the letter shown. There are exceptions it says … if yours is expiring and been lost / stolen etc. Does it mean we’ll be driving illegally ? Perhaps technically yes but the French Gov seem to be saying it’s ok for a while til everyone knows what kind of UK Exit is going to be ( and when ).
I’m in the process of changing the registration of my UK car to French. I went along to my Assurance bureau ( Matmut ) yesterday and asked if they’d give me Car Insurance - given I have a UK licence - and they’ve called me this morning to say yes they will. If I can’t get insurance cover I think I’ll simply have to mothball the car until the licence situation gets sorted out !
… and to continue I thought it was ironic that this m
onth’s ‘Connexion’ has this on its front page … !
Andy…
Their reply does seem reasonable… as (so it appears) your licence is not out of date, lost, stolen, etc etc… They are saying it will remain legal for the foreseeable future…
Why not contact the email address they give at the bottom… so that you can register to be advised… how to go about things (as may be necessary) once UK actually does leave EU… ???
Already done that Stella … awaiting instructions for post-Brexit situation !
I have also applied for a French International Driving License ( through ANTS ) though it seems a bit bizarre since I don’t hold a normal Permis de Conduire. However we are just about still in the EU so I was allowed to apply. Would urge others to do the same, before the 29th, if they are in the same boat as me. Nothing to lose - just 2 stamps !
Got to be worth trying all the angles… 
We both applied at the same time to change our licenses, in september last year.
A month ago Jackie received an email about class C, get a medical or confirm she didn’t want it. Also, they noted she had sent a photocopy of the previous license - we had changed UK address on our licenses to a family member’s home. 2 weeks ago they asked her to send the UK driving license to them.
I have heard nothing about mine. It will need renewing before December this year. The daft thing is that for those of us currently resident here, i.e. the majority of applicants, nothing will change if the UK leaves “with a deal” or not. The only change in the 2 circumstances seems to be how long we will have to do this.
Maybe it would be much easier to find a working speed camera and get a couple of points. Licence exchange will be compulsory then. Does anyone know which offence gets the least points with shortest retention?
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