Driving in France with a foreign licence: the one-year deadline
Moving to France with a licence issued outside the European Union? One date matters more than any other: the date you settled here. Here is the rule, the conditions for exchange and what to expect in your situation.
Rule checked on service-public.fr on 1 June 2026.
The rule
- A licence issued by a non-European country is valid for 1 year from the date you acquire normal residence in France.
- To keep driving beyond that, exchanging it for a French licence is mandatory.
- Once that period ends, the foreign licence is no longer recognised: its holder loses the right to drive in France.
- Exceptions to know: a British licence issued before 2021 follows other rules, and foreign students fall under a specific regime.
Work out your deadline
Enter the date you settled in France: we work out the one-year deadline.
The calculation runs in your browser: no date is sent or stored. The settlement date remains an estimate; the notion of normal residence has its own rules.
Conditions for the exchange
They are cumulative: if a single one is missing, the exchange is refused. They include:
- the licence was lawfully issued by the country where you had your normal residence;
- that country has a reciprocity agreement with France for licence exchange;
- the licence is valid and was obtained before you settled in France;
- the application is filed within one year of acquiring normal residence.
Depending on your situation
Your licence can be exchanged
Apply for the exchange without waiting for the end of the year: you will get a French licence without retaking the test. But a new licence does not change your reflexes. That is exactly what our programmes work on, on the routes you actually drive.
Your licence cannot be exchanged
After one year, you will need to obtain the French licence by passing the test. We do not prepare for the test: we are not a driving school. RG LEARN can, however, help you understand French road rules, without being the official exam.
You are not sure
The official simulator on service-public.fr lists the countries whose licences can be exchanged. It is the first thing to check.
For HR teams
An employee who arrives with a non-European licence has one year. After that, without an exchange, they are no longer allowed to drive in France. Building this deadline into onboarding avoids discovering it too late, and it is also the right moment to prepare their driving adaptation.
Information from service-public.fr (sheet F1460, checked on 1 June 2026) and a ministerial answer published by the French National Assembly. It does not replace the official sheet, which is authoritative for your situation. See the official sheet and simulator