I’ve been following this thread. Being from NY.
I was looking down the path of theory/road tests in France.
But, I just figured out an alternative.
I have a brother in Maryland.
Once my house finds a buyer, i’ll have a month till closing. Enough time to drive to Md, get a utility Bill from my brother and apply for a Maryland drivers license.
Perfectly legal option.
Md gives me 60 days to turn in my NY license plates, so i’ll have enough time to ready and leave for France.
Once in France, i’ll wait the 3 months and then exchange my Maryland license for a nice French license.
A bit of a hassle, but sounds much easier than taking the French tests with a hired interpreter 
Thank you!
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If you have the option to change it for a reciprocal licence then yes absolutely do it.
Not sure where you are referring to the 3 months before applying.
My recommendation is to apply as soon as you are eligible, once you have validated your visa as applications are taking 6-8 months minimum and you don’t want to be held up by being asked for an updated residence permit at the end as happens to many.
You absolutely need your history from your previous licence and even though short, your new licence as well.
If you’re on FB join my group Driving in France - French Licence Application when you’re in France and you’ll have access to the support and documentation to help you make your application.
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Great! I have my driving records from NY and from a previous Florida license. Can I assume these records need to be translated into French?
My DMV person told me my record was boring! Nothing bad
Sorry. No on facebook. Oh well.
Thank you again!
Bill
Only your new licence and DMV record requires translations.
Your previous history is just to show how long you’ve held a licence and doesn’t need translations, but if you don’t have evidence of when you passed your test you need to write an attestation.
When you’re here, message me and remind me and I’ll let you have a copy of the document to help you make your application.
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I am from British Columbia and went through all that. Even with the reciprocal agreement, it was a tiring process. About 6 or 7 visits to the Prefecture in the north of Paris with some visits involving a wait of 4 hours!
They gave a list of 10 ‘justificatifs’ (documents or evidence) to submit. One ( a ‘certificat de scolarité’) didn’t even exist for BC and I had a hell of a time getting them to accept that the paperwork in other jurisdictions does not exactly mirror that of France.
At one point, I had satisfied the whole official list so the next clerk just added one to the paper I had; he just said “il faut” (‘you must’, or ‘it is necessary’).
When I finally got it approved (four months), I had to surrender my nice credit card-like BC licence for a piece of partially laminated pink construction paper with images of vehicles including tractors on it! People laugh when they see it; looks like a school art project. The new ones apparently look professional. And I hear that responsibility has now been transferred to ANTS?
As hard as it could be, it will still be easier and cheaper than going through the process of getting a French licence from scratch.
Start the process early on. Try to get the list now so you can accumulate any documents from the US (possibly your road record, for example). They’re harder to get when overseas!
Good luck.
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I’m confused by this, a certificat de scolarité is simply proof of current enrolment in some form of recognised education. You’re only asked for one if you are a schoolchild or a student.
This thread has been very informative and I learned a lot, which I have a few questions about.
- Several people here have said there is a list of 10 documents that are needed to exchange a US drivers license for a French one, with some reporting an 11th being added by hand. On other sites I only see lists of 7 or 8 required documents. Is there somewhere that has a full list of the 10 (or 11) required documents?
- In the list of reciprocal states, it says “Toutes” under categories for South Carolina and a few other states. Additionally, other sites list documents required for exchanging a heavy category license. Does that mean that it is possible to exchange a South Carolina Class A CDL (US Class A - for heavy trucks up to 80,000lbs) for the equivalent French Class C or Class D drivers license?
- If the answer to the above question is yes, is it then realistically possible to get a job driving a heavy truck in France with the converted license? Or would there be additional barriers? (Other than a work permit and French language skills.)
Thank you very much in advance.
They asked for this to prove I was resident in BC at the time I got my drivers licence- when I was 16, in 1981! Even if it existed, I doubt I would have still had it.
In lieue of this, they asked for tax forms. No, I didn’t submit a tax return when I was 16 and again, I wouldn’t have had a copy now, three continents later.
It was all unnecessary as it said that one has to be resident to qualify for a drivers licence so there should be no need to prove residency at that time. But an official list being written in stone…
There being 10 justificatifs is just my memory from a decade ago but the list may also have changed. Drivers licences are now administered by a different bureau (ANTS?)
I realise that you would not have this answer but French people like @vero, or @kim might, and it is just out of interest but do Quebecois, being from a Francophone Canadian Province, have an easier time of it regarding licences or anything else for that matter?
Welcome to the forum DrVlikhell, my experience is perhaps well out of date but when I came here to live in 1999, as a truck driver and was told that I must change to a French HGV licence, even though it was not obligatory for car drivers from the UK, there was certainly no reqirement for any French language skills. However, my French was not bad at the time as evidenced by the fact that I started driving for a local firm straight away and had no problem with all my instructions arriving by phone in the cab.
It was very tedious back then. However, now you are asked the question on when you passed your test and unlike you being asked for a school report or the likes from back then, you can now just write an attestation stating the date you passed as you are unable to provide this evidence and that you will accept the earliest start date that you can evidence with your driving records.
10 years is more than sufficient.
The start date is an EU thing so therefore it is asked but now not the same issue as it was for you.
- Several people here have said there is a list of 10 documents that are needed to exchange a US drivers license for a French one, with some reporting an 11th being added by hand. On other sites I only see lists of 7 or 8 required documents. Is there somewhere that has a full list of the 10 (or 11) required documents?
Domicile - utility bill (there are other docs depending on situation)
Medical depending on whether heavy categories are exchangeable.
Licence
Licence translation
Birth cert
Passport with visa stamp or CdS
Driving record
Driving record translation
Extra docs - OFII validation showing date you entered as officially arrived (known through experience)
ephoto code
- In the list of reciprocal states, it says “Toutes” under categories for South Carolina and a few other states. Additionally, other sites list documents required for exchanging a heavy category license. Does that mean that it is possible to exchange a South Carolina Class A CDL (US Class A - for heavy trucks up to 80,000lbs) for the equivalent French Class C or Class D drivers license?
Yes with a medical.
- If the answer to the above question is yes, is it then realistically possible to get a job driving a heavy truck in France with the converted license? Or would there be additional barriers? (Other than a work permit and French language skills.)
You would be required to do a FIMO course and hold a CPC card.
These are the basics.
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Has that changed for experienced HGV drivers? Those with 10 years experience or more. When I came I only had to take an FCOS course, much cheaper and much less time consuming (2 days as opposed to a couple of weeks I think), but that was not a requirement to getting the licence which was handed over the counter at the local Sub/prefecture in exchange for my UK one.
I didn’t do the course for a couple of years as nobody told me about it. I was stopped in a Ministry check one Friday night and asked for it. On seeing my uncomprehending surprise he merely advised me to tell the boss about it. Saturday morning in the office there were panic stations and on Monday I started the 2 day course with 3 others from the firm. It was a real hoot, the first item on the agenda both days was where will we take our 2 hour lunch break. Very civilised, you can see why I have never once considered going back to England. 
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I can only speak with regard to UK licences but yes you are correct.
Where a driver already holds a UK CPC then they can take a 5 day Formation Continous Obligatoire (FCO) to obtain the French equivalent of the CPC. In France this is a Carte de Qualification de Conducteurs (CQC)
A driver not eligible to attend FCO will need to do the full training, Formation Initial Minimum Obligatoire (FIMO) An internet search will identify training providers and explain the difference.
It used to be asked for as proof of living in the country at the time of passing your test. Not so much now.
Thank you so much! That is extremely helpful. I’ll be printing that and putting it in the folder of required document lists.
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I’ve read through all the posts on this very helpful thread but haven’t found my own random case, so I’ll ask. Hopefully I haven’t missed information that was already posted. I’m 20 and have both French and US citizenship. I don’t have a driver’s license but I’ll be taking the test in Texas in a few days. I’d hoped to convert that license to a French one when I get back to Paris. Will I need to wait before I can convert it, to accumulate a driving record in Texas? I’m pretty sure the rule that allows you to drive for a year on a US license in France won’t apply to me, but I’d like to be able to drive both places.
Hello @Kate75, are you returning to France or moving to France?
You have 12 months from official arrival in France to submit your application to exchange as you are French.
If you are already a resident in France then you are unlikely to be able to exchange your licence as it must have been obtained before you arrived, therefore you would need to take your test in France.
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Thanks @kim that’s very helpful. I’m currently studying in the Netherlands but was able to prove sufficient residency in Texas (30 days) to get my license there last week. I’m back in the Netherlands now, waiting for my permanent license to be mailed to my Texas address. What kind of proof of residence in Texas will France ask for when converting my license? I have a utility bill and my Texas voter registration, as well as my US passport. I’ve lived in several countries, but was in France for 3 years from age 15 to 18. I haven’t lived there the past 2 years but since I don’t work and have no income, I haven’t done anything to change my fiscal residence to the Netherlands. I am registered with the city hall where I live though, which is required by the Dutch govt.
Just do your permis in France, learn the code, book a test session en indépendant, bingo.