Hi all, upon doing some googling about moving to France I came across this site and figured I would join. My husband and I are Americans currently living in Germany on US Army orders (we are civilians) I am an EU citizen, he is not. We are just beginning to scout and plan a move to France. We are looking for hopefully a small house with lots of land as we have horses. Unfortunately we don’t come from a state with DL reciprocity so focusing on how to get around that currently. I am able to work in the EU and I THINK it will be easier to get residency in France for me? Anyway, I look forward to hopefully having some informative chats and being able to reciprocate with info to newbies in the future. 
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Welcome.
If you’re an EU citizen you have freedom of movement, and can bring spouse with you. A slow process but relatively straightforward.
Driving licence less so. Can you get german ones before you leave? France is a bit complicated for States that don’t have the reciprocal agreement. Perhaps Germany is easier?
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Welcome to SF Heather!
Lots of good info if you search through previous threads - lots of questions (including the driving licence one) have been asked before. 
If you are an EU citizen you have the automatic right to live and work in any EU country so that bit’s easy!
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Thanks Jane!
Unfortunately Germany is about the same for DLs. Not sure my German is good enough but depending on our timeline I’m going to look into it.
Thanks Chris! I’m excited to dig around the threads for info
It should be easy enough to find out if your driving licence was issued in a state that has a can be exchanged for a French Permis de Conduire.
Hi David, we are from CA so it’s not an option for us. Looking into possibly using a family members address in a state that does have the reciprocity.
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I had a friend who too her driving test in Germany while working with the British Forces there. She said it was fairly straightforward. Her German was basic.
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Really? That’s interesting, thanks! I’ll definitely look into it!
Our German DL’s are acceptable here, and we don’t have to exchange them for French ones unless we do something naughty or when they run out in a few years’ time.
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But can she get a German DL on exchange, that’s possibly the tricky part.
From what I remember getting a German DL in the 70’s…
Mandatory - written test, driving test, certificate of First Aid training, eyetest
Would suggest enroling at a ‘Fahrschule’ to get a couple of hours driving lessons to prepare you for the driving test. Get the coursebook for the written test. Go to a red cross first aid course for the certificate. Any optician can do an eyetest (double check if this is still a requirement)
The driving school will set up the driving & written test for you.
If you are a complete beginner a DL will cost anything between 3000-4000€… you should spend considerably less as you have a license already.
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I did a bit of theory while I was at uni there in the 80s and there was at that time a set of sheets with 500 odd questions on each one, you’d get a Fragebogen at random and were allowed 3 mistakes as far as I remember. I ended up not doing a German driving test because while I was a student there I wasn’t old enough.
German & French Dls are not the easiest to get 
I was lucky - my dad tought me driving, various older brothers of friends and ‘boyfriends’
did too. My weakness was parking - paralell parking nearly cost me the driving test.
Nothing like getting a Canadian license - 20 multiple choice questions and 10 minutes around a parking lot.
Didn’t need one in the USA - Manhattan was way too expensive to own a car.
This is pretty comprehensive information on DL exchange. Unfortunately California is NOT on the list. You’ll need to either do the tests for a German DL or get a US license in a State that has a reciprocal agreement.
Us too Heather! Planning on relocating to France from Scotland this year And my wife has an EU passport. We need to get some serious advice but so far have been led to believe that the EU passport will simplify our move.
This site looks great too with a lot of helpful discussions and contributors.
Very excited to be at this stage of our lives.
Hope all goes well with your own move
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Welcome MPB - lots of useful advice here, and if a search doesn’t turn up useful answers then there are many people ready and willing to offer advice. Your wife’s EU passport should simplify being able to stay, but do make sure you get the various permits required to do so.
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Thanks A_M.
Early days as we still have our property in Scotland but hope to get it on the market within the next 3-4 weeks.
Following a number of property inspections a couple of weeks ago around Bergerac we are confident there is something out there for us.
And we will probably use a relocation company to keep us right.
Exciting times!
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