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Road traffic control: what penalties should be imposed in the event of driving without a license?
Verified 20 August 2021 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Act prohibited by law and punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment of less than 10 years
A punishment that can be added to a main prison sentence or a fine. Examples: deprivation of civil rights (voting rights and eligibility...), obligation of care, withdrawal of driving license.
The penalty of paying a sum to the Treasury. The total amount is the result of the judge fixing a daily contribution for a certain number of days.
Amount to be paid within a specified period following certain traffic offenses and without going through a court. The amount may be reduced or increased depending on the date of payment.
Magistrate at the head of the public prosecutor's office (or public prosecutor's office). It is the recipient of complaints and reports. It conducts investigations, prosecutions and enforces the law.
Decreased
Increased
Abandonment by the tax authorities of all or part of the taxes or fines due to them
An amount equivalent to a fine, which must be paid to the public purse before a person can challenge his guilt for certain offenses
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden
What applies to you ?
If you are checked and cannot present your driving license, the consequences are different if you have a driving license or do not have one.
You have the license
If you have the license but can't present it immediately, you could be fined up to €38.
In general, it is a flat-rate fine of €11.
You must present your driving license in a 5-day period at a police station or gendarmerie.
Failure to do so may result in a fine of up to €750.
In the 2 cases, there is no point removal.
You don't have a license
If you are driving without a driver's license, this is a offense.
The same applies if you drive a vehicle for which you do not have the corresponding license.
Example :
- You drive a big-car motorcycle when you only have a B license
- You drive when your driver's license has been revoked after a BAC conviction
This offense is punishable by one year imprisonment and €15,000 of fine.
The additional penalties the following are also planned:
- Confiscation of vehicle
- Sentence of work of general interest
- Sentence of fine days
- Prohibition on driving certain vehicles for up to 5 years
- Obligation to perform, at your expense, a road safety awareness course
One procedure flat-rate fine may be used for this offense if the following 3 conditions are met :
- You are committing this offense for 1era time
- You're an adult
- If you have committed several offenses, all of them are punishable by a lump sum fine
In this case, after the vehicle has been intercepted, the law enforcement authorities may record the offense by electronic report (PVe).
You will receive at home a notice of violation, a notice explaining how to pay the lump sum fine and a request for exemption form.
If these conditions are not met, a report shall be drawn up and sent to the public prosecutor. It decides on the continuation of the judicial proceedings.
In any case, your vehicle may be immobilized.
The flat-rate fine is minus or increased according to the time limit within which the payment is made.
The period shall run from the date on which the notice of infringement or the notice of increased fine is sent.
Payment period according to the method of payment | Flat-rate fine | Amount payable | |
|---|---|---|---|
Check or cash | Telepayment (Internet or telephone) or dematerialized stamp | ||
15 days | 30 days | Minorée | €640 |
45 days | 60 days | Normal | €800 |
Beyond 45 days | Beyond 60 days | Increased | €1,600 |
If you do not pay the lump sum fine within 45 days (60 days in case of payment by teleprocedure), you receive a notice inviting you to pay the amount plus the fine.
You must pay the increased fine within 30 days following the dispatch of the notice (within 45 days in case of payment by teleprocedure).
However, if you pay the increased fine within 30 days, its amount is reduced by 20%.
At the end of the period allowed to pay the increased fine, the Public Treasury initiates legal proceedings to obtain its payment.
The Treasury Accounting Officer shall inform the public prosecutor of his gait.
If you have difficulty paying a flat-rate fine plus, you can request a payment delay or a gracious delivery.
You must send your request to public accountant.
Your request must be reasoned : Explain why you need time to pay or discount.
If he or she considers the request to be justified, the public treasury accountant may grant you either a payment period, or a gracious delivery partial or total (if necessary by applying a 20 % reduction).
Who shall I contact
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By remote payment
If the remote payment reference appears on the payment card, you can pay the fine remotely.
Payment can be made at a distance via the internet or by telephonee.
Pay your fine online at fines.gouv.fr
Who shall I contact
Call center to pay your fine by phone
By telephone
0811 10 10 10
24 hours a day.
(0.05 €/min + price of a normal call)
By mail
You can pay the fine by check made payable to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (or to the General Directorate of Public Finance, as indicated on the payment card).
It must be accompanied by the payment card.
On the spot
You can pay the fine at the counter of a public finance center.
Payment can be in cash, by check or by credit card.
Cash payment is limited to €300.
You may not contest a lump sum fine plus (complaint procedure) if you have requested a delay in payment or a gracious delivery.
Deadlines
You must meet the following deadlines to challenge the fine:
- Fine flat rate : 45 days from the date of dispatch of the notice of infringement
- Fine increased flat-rate : 30 days from the date of dispatch of the notice of flat-rate fine increased.
Application (flat-rate fine) or complaint (flat-rate fine plus)
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Online
The challenge can be made directly on the website of theANTAI: titleContent.
Refer to the Notice of Lump Sum or Increased Lump Sum Penalty for instructions on how to proceed.
By mail
You must complete the form attached to the notice you received:
- Query Form exemption in the event of a fine flat rate
- Claim Form in the event of a fine increased flat-rate
The form explains how to fill it out and what supporting documents are to be attached depending on the reason for your challenge.
Send these documents by letter RAR: titleContent the service for handling fixed fines in tort (AFD). His address is on the notice.
Payment of a deposit
You must pay a consignment if you dispute the reality of the offense:
- €800 for a flat-rate fine
- €1,600 for a flat-rate fine plus
The procedure for paying the deposit is the same as the procedure for paying the fine, but use the consignment card attached to the dispute form, not the payment card.
However, you have no deposit payable if you can produce one of the following documents:
- Copy of your valid driving license
- Copy of the receipt of the complaint for the offense of identity theft
Treatment of the challenge
The Delinquent Flat Fines Processing (AFD) service can handle your challenge in the following way.
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If no deposit is payable
The AFD processing department can make one of the following 2 decisions:
- Waive all proceedings and dismiss the offense.
- Refuse your challenge. You must then pay the fine or regularize your application.
In the 2 cases, you are informed by mail of the decision.
If a deposit is payable
The AFD processing department can make one of the following 2 decisions:
- Declare your challenge inadmissible
This is the case if your request is not substantiated or if it was not made with the form attached to the notice.
Your deposit amounts to having paid the fine. - Forward procedure to public prosecutor of the court of your domicile.
The prosecutor can dismiss the case or sue you in court correctional court.
In the 2 cases, you are informed by mail of the decision and the remedies available to you.
You are using a false or forged license
If you are using a forged license or a forged license, you could face a 5-year prison sentence and a fine of €75,000.
You may also additional penalties following:
- Confiscation of vehicle
- Sentence of work of general interest
- Sentence of fine days
- Prohibition on driving certain vehicles for up to 5 years
- Obligation to perform, at your expense, a road safety awareness course
- Withdrawal of civil, civil and family rights. This withdrawal entails ineligibility in particular.
- Inadmissibility for foreigners including the European Union, definitive or up to 10 years.
Driving without a license (Article L221-2), with a false or falsified license (Article L221-2-1)
Obligations of the driver in the event of a roadside inspection
Flat-rate fine procedure applicable to certain offenses
Flat-rate fine procedure for certain offenses
Procedure for a flat-rate fine for an offense
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Online service
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