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Everyday procedures such as the driving licence (2/2)
One goal of the sheet: to know the essential procedures to settle and reside within the law. Other goals: to understand how to get or exchange a licence in France, and how to insure a car.
Key points of the sheet
- Several schemes can help pay for the licence. For example, the 1 € a day licence for 15-25 year-olds, aid from France Travail depending on the situation and the Personal Training Account.
- To know if your foreign licence is valid in France, go to the prefecture (préfecture) or to service-public.fr.
- If you stay less than 1 year and your licence is recognised and exchangeable, you can drive with it for 1 year at most. For a non-European licence, the year starts for example when the first residence permit (titre de séjour) becomes valid.
- If you stay more than 1 year and your licence is recognised and exchangeable, do the exchange as soon as possible.
- If your licence is not exchangeable, or not exchanged after 1 year, you must take the French driving test to keep driving.
Words to know
- 1 € a day driving licence (permis à 1 € par jour)
- It is a scheme to help 15-25 year-olds pay for the licence.
- Personal Training Account (Compte Personnel de Formation)
- It can pay for all or part of the driving licence.
- France Travail (public employment service)
- It can give aid for the licence, depending on the situation.
- prefecture (préfecture)
- You can ask there if your foreign licence is valid and exchangeable.
- certificate of extended processing (API) (attestation de prolongation d'instruction (API))
- The date you get it can mark the start of the year of validity of a non-European licence.
- long-stay visa (visa long séjour)
- The date the OFII validates it can mark the start of the year of validity of a non-European licence.
Test yourself: 3 questions
Which age group is the 1 € a day licence for?
In French, the language of the exam: Le permis à 1 € par jour est pour quel âge ?
The sheet says the 1 € a day licence is for 15-25 year-olds.
Where can you find out if your foreign licence is valid in France?
In French, the language of the exam: Où savoir si votre permis étranger est valable en France ?
To know if your licence is valid, you go to the prefecture or to service-public.fr.
From which date, for example, is a non-European licence valid for 1 year?
In French, the language of the exam: Un permis non européen est valable 1 an à partir de quelle date, par exemple ?
A non-European licence is valid for one year, for example from the start of validity of the first residence permit in France.
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Source
Sheet “Les démarches du quotidien comme le permis de conduire (2/2)” of the French Ministry of the Interior: formation-civique.interieur.gouv.fr. Content published under the Etalab Open Licence 2.0. This page is a plain-language adaptation made by Hexaciv, which is not an official site: if in doubt, the ministry's text is the one that counts.
Ministry sheet read on 23 October 2026, still identical on 25 October 2026.