That makes some sense as I just went for a direct replacement of all existing categories. Might reconsider that. I have no idea what most of them are let alone being able to drive them!
Which would be the non-HGV classes?
Anyone with a French license, which classes do you have by default?
@Mat_Davies this is the business part of my licence… I only am entitled to drive the basic stuff (cars and mopeds)
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I said that I would not continue with the HGV categories, so no medical. My french licence is for cat A and B, which allows a small trailer I believe.
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The only thing that I may want to drive would be car, car + trailer, transit van and perhaps a small minibus.
I wonder if these would be covered by A & B?
Is the style of driving licence a photo card like UK?
I’m a bit concerned about the apparent speed of response regarding the replacement licence. My partner and I filled in the website forms and attached stuff and got an acknowledgement from ANTS at the beginning of October. Since then, nothing. Is that unusual?
Here you go Mat,
Though the dates when I got my license are somehow wrong. I passed my car test in 1970 or 71.
Mine expires in 2035, probably after I will 
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The new style FR one is. The one I posted is the old style 3 fold pink laminated type which expires when I do… John’s is the new type.
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I didn’t have a specific bike licence, so the categories in french licence are the top two for little bikes (AM and A1), B and B1 and BE which allows cars, and minibus, with trailer of any weight if dated before 2013.
I filled in the forms online in August @AngelaR, heard nothing until I was asked about the cat C&D in Nov, after sending a signed ‘no thank you’ instead of the medical certificate the same day they asked I got the request to send the physical license about a week later, and got a ‘we’ve received your old license, you will receive your new license shortly’ text the day after I posted it, so it’s taken about 5 months to get from filling in the forms online to the stage where I am hoping the new license is imminent , if that is any help in terms of timeline. Of course that is just one of however many thousands they process so may or may not be representative of average times.
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I guess the trailer weight is limited by car you tow it with. Whatever the car spec says.
BTW, I changed car insurers (to Fabien) and notice the car with the towbar’s policy now mentions my trailer. I hope I wasn’t driving blithely illegally before.
Doesn’t sound good. Not compared to my experience anyway.
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For those interested, I received the new license this morning! Not quite as exciting as people receiving their CDS I appreciate, but once things got going they were very efficient, especially given you’d be very lucky to hear from DVLA from mid Dec to mid Jan much of the time!
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All’s well that end’s well.
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After 5 months waiting for your French licence you decide to criticise the DVLA!!! When I exchanged my French licence for a UK one the whole process took a little over a week not 5 months.
Not everything about the UK is shit!
Izzy x
To be fair I didn’t criticise the DVLA per se, but rather that my experiences with all UK government departments, and so my expectations with french ones too, are that even if open officially things slow to a crawl mid December and don’t get back up to full speed until at least the second week of January. I wasn’t suggesting DVLA are slow, like you I’ve always found them efficient, rather just that, well. it’s Christmas. Perhaps that wasn’t clear in my comment.
Fair enough, pretty similar to France in August! 
Izzy x
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IMO, the people that you register you car with were always stroppy. I don’t suppose being behind a screen rather than a counter has improved them any.
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@John_Scully, @graham, @JaneJones - applied last night to switch licence - quick and easy to make the application.
Now have to post off photo (as didn’t have an official digital one and according to the website the one nearest to us is just of the coast of Nigeria) - no joy today as all local Post offices were closed and I gave run out of preprinted lettre vert envelopes.
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Bummer Mat. We just popped into our local photo developer/printer he took a shot and uploaded it somewhere and gave us a reference number which we used on the website. There’s no option to do your own with the PC’s camera?