Driving in France with a foreigners driving license (short stay, studies)
Verified 01 July 2021 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
You can drive in France with your state license no European for a short stay or during your studies subject to conditions.
Short stay
If you come to France for a short stay (for a holiday, for example), you can drive with your license no European .
The foreigners driving license must meet the following 2 conditions:
- Be valid
- Be written in French or be accompanied by an official translation or an international driving license (except for the British license)
If you wish to obtain the translation in France, you must contact a certified translator.
Please note
if you settle in France, you must request the exchange of your license for a French license (except a British license issued before 2021).
Studies
If you are non-European and hold a student residence permit, you can drive with your foreigner license during all your studies in France.
You benefit from these provisions even if you obtain your driving license in your country of origin, during a stay during your studies in France.
Your license must meet the following conditions:
- Be valid
- To have been issued by the country where you were your normal residence before entering France
- Be written in French or be accompanied by a official translation in French
You must meet the following conditions:
- Have the minimum age to drive in France vehicles of the equivalent category of your license
- Follow any medical prescriptions noted on your license (glasses required, etc.)
- If your nationality is different from the country of issue of the permit (for example, Moroccan with an Algerian permit), have obtained your permit for a period during which your normal residence was in that country
- Not to have been punished in your country (or in the country of issue of the license if different) by a suspension, restriction or cancelation of your right to drive
- Not to have been penalized in France, before having obtained a driving license in another State, by a cancelation or invalidation of your right to drive
FYI
a foreigners student who holds a driving license does not benefit from these rules, even if he or she is also a national of the country in which the license was issued. The foreigners driving license is recognized in France for 1 year. During this period, he may request the exchange of the license.
At the end of your studies, if you get a residence permit other than students, you must exchange your foreigners driving license for a French driving license to continue driving in France.
You must request the exchange of your driving license upon exchange of your residence permit and at the latest in the year following the date of issue of your new residence permit.
If your driver's license is not exchangeable, you must pass the examination of the french driving license to continue driving in France.
- Highway Code: Articles R222-1 to R222-8Definition of normal residence in France and recognition of foreigners driving licenses (Articles R222-1 last paragraph and R222-3)
- Order of 12 January 2012 laying down the conditions for the recognition and exchange of driving licenses issued by States outside the European Economic AreaArticles 1 to 4 and 9 to 10
- Circular of 3 August 2012 on the conditions for recognition and exchange of driving licenses issued by non-EEA countries (PDF - 272.8 KB)
FAQ
- What residence permits do you need to stay in France for more than 3 months?
- Return from expatriation: how to get your French driver's license restored?
- Can you drive in France with a foreigners license?
- Can you drive in France with an expired foreigners license?
- What fine is a foreigner likely to incur in the event of a road traffic offense in France?
- Driving in France with a license issued in Europe (EEA)Service-Public.fr
- Exchange of driving licenses obtained outside the EEA (installation in France)Service-Public.fr
- Exchange of a driving license obtained in Europe (EEA)Service-Public.fr
- Countries with reciprocal exchange of driving licenses with France (PDF - 357.2 KB)Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
- Brexit, where are we?Prime Minister