Up-plating In France?

[HKF]

You could try calling Fiat Assistance. There should be a 08000 number on stickers in the side windows or somewhere in your paperwork. It takes you straight through Milan and are very helpful. I had a problem with a incorrect engine capacity on a V5. They called me from Milan everyday with an update then 5 days later I received a letter from Fiat UK to send to DVLA. All free. Then Benimar would be a good call.

Great! Thank you for that. I'll give them a call

 

[elamessa]

That is absolutely NOT true under the Withdrawal Agreement.

"This principle of recognition remains valid for holders of UK driving licences issued before 1 January 2021, who do not therefore need to exchange their licence for a French licence, regardless of their nationality."

UK and France reach post-Brexit agreement on driving licences

UK licence holders living in France and French licence holders living in the UK whose licence was issued before 1 January 2021 may continue driving on their original valid driving licence.

uk.ambafrance.org

Yep I agree, but it mentions nothing about breaking French driving laws. I know, been there and done that.
I'm out of here now..

 

[HKF]

Yep I agree, but it mentions nothing about breaking French driving laws. I know, been there and done that.
I'm out of here now..

So, do you have a link to the relevant legislation, please? I'd be very interested in that, so that I don't get caught out Thanks

 

[elamessa]

So, do you have a link to the relevant legislation, please? I'd be very interested in that, so that I don't get caught out Thanks

This is the official 'code de la route', in french unfortunately, and is quite a long read.

Basically if you commit a traffic offence in your UK registered vehicle and stopped by the local police or Gendarmerie then you will likely get an on the spot fine. If however you are stopped in your French registered vehicle you will not only get a fine but points off your licence, French licences start with 12 points on them, but as you haven't got a French licence you will be informed officialy to change your UK licence.

So basically don't commit any traffic offences.

 

[Boldly]

Thought to have a valid UK license you needed to change to your new address. Don't think DVLA accept a French one so as soon as you become France resident is it no longer valid?

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[gus-lopez]

Thought to have a valid UK license you needed to change to your new address. Don't think DVLA accept a French one so as soon as you become France resident is it no longer valid?

No the nonsensical thing is if you do not have a new ,"UK " address then the old one is acceptable. Ludicrous.

 

[jongood]

Thank you. Unfortunately, I don't speak French and, apparently, the ANTS website spends more time down than up

As a former French House owner and a regular visitor I can say how much more you will get out of the French if you learn the language, even starting in French will gain you brownie points.

 

[Verteuil Man]

Ah, Br***t. The gift that is forever giving.

 

[HKF]

This is the official 'code de la route', in french unfortunately, and is quite a long read.

Basically if you commit a traffic offence in your UK registered vehicle and stopped by the local police or Gendarmerie then you will likely get an on the spot fine. If however you are stopped in your French registered vehicle you will not only get a fine but points off your licence, French licences start with 12 points on them, but as you haven't got a French licence you will be informed officialy to change your UK licence.

So basically don't commit any traffic offences.

Thank you. However, I cannot be made to change my UK licence, though, because of the WA. Are you saying you were made to change your licence?

 

[HKF]

Thought to have a valid UK license you needed to change to your new address. Don't think DVLA accept a French one so as soon as you become France resident is it no longer valid?

No, there is no need to change your address on a UK licence once you become French resident, providing that you moved here before Brexit. It was all part of the Withdrawal Agreement.

"In practice, UK licence holders living in France and French licence holders living in the United Kingdom may continue driving on their original valid licence. It is not necessary for them to apply to exchange it for the licence of their country of residence, except when the validity date on their original licence expires or the licence is lost or stolen."

UK and France reach post-Brexit agreement on driving licences

UK licence holders living in France and French licence holders living in the UK whose licence was issued before 1 January 2021 may continue driving on their original valid driving licence.

uk.ambafrance.org

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[HKF]

As a former French House owner and a regular visitor I can say how much more you will get out of the French if you learn the language, even starting in French will gain you brownie points.

Thanks but I find most people are very accommodating after I say my learned phrase in French explaining why I don't speak French.

 

[HKF]

This is the official 'code de la route', in french unfortunately, and is quite a long read.

Basically if you commit a traffic offence in your UK registered vehicle and stopped by the local police or Gendarmerie then you will likely get an on the spot fine. If however you are stopped in your French registered vehicle you will not only get a fine but points off your licence, French licences start with 12 points on them, but as you haven't got a French licence you will be informed officialy to change your UK licence.

So basically don't commit any traffic offences.

Further to this, here is the text from the UK government website;

"If your UK driving licence was first issued before 1 January 2021

Your licence is recognised in France for as long as it is valid. Paper licences are usually valid until you are 70. For plastic photocard licences, the expiry date is on the front.

If your UK licence has expired, or has less than 6 months’ validity remaining, you must exchange it for a French licence. You do not need to take a driving test.

You can only exchange your licence if it is due to expire within 6 months. If you do not have a valid reason to request an exchange, your application will not be processed."

Driving in Europe: UK licence holders living in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland

Driving licence exchange and rules for drivers living in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.

www.gov.uk

 

[HKF]

Thought to have a valid UK license you needed to change to your new address. Don't think DVLA accept a French one so as soon as you become France resident is it no longer valid?

Here's the information for you. If you're a French resident with a UK driving licence, it's perfect;y fine to have a UK address on it. here's the text;

"UK* Licence - Address

If you are unable to exchange your licence due to the current criteria, or you are waiting for a your French application to be processed, your UK/Irish licence is valid in France regardless of the address, providing your licence (column 11) is still valid or you are not yet 70 with the original paper licence (not photocard counterpart)

French licences do not have an address on them, therefore the address is irrelevant It is not a condition to exchange your licence.

It is only an offence not to change your address if you are a UK or Irish resident it’s NOT an offence if you have moved away from the UK."

Driving Licences | RIFT

RIFT - Remain In France Together - Help for UK Citizens in France - Cartes de Sejour - Citizens' Rights - How to Remain in France post-Brexit

www.remaininfrance.fr

 

[HKF]

elamessa Here's the official French site dealing with UK driving licences and the text, effective from Monday, June 28, 2021. The terms took some ironing out after Brexit!

"In concrete terms, British license holders living in France and French license holders living in the United Kingdom can continue to drive with their original valid licence. It is useless for them to ask for the exchange against the permit of the country of residence, except when the date of validity of the original permit has expired or in the event of loss or theft of this permit."

The reason for the highlighted part is that any licence not lost or stolen will be rejected during the application process, unless there is less than 6 month left until expiry. I hope this helps.

English link

Accord post-Brexit sur la reconnaissance mutuelle 
des permis de conduire britanniques et français

Communiqué de presse du 25 juin sur la reconnaissance mutuelle 
des permis de conduire britanniques et français.

www-interieur-gouv-fr.translate.goog

French link

Accord post-Brexit sur la reconnaissance mutuelle 
des permis de conduire britanniques et français

Communiqué de presse du 25 juin sur la reconnaissance mutuelle 
des permis de conduire britanniques et français.

www.interieur.gouv.fr

 

[Widge]

This is not true. We moved here before Brexit and have Withdrawal Agreement Residence Permits (WARP). Under the terms of the agreement, we are allowed to continue using our UK licences until they expire. Once they expire, we can apply for a French licence which will have exactly the same categories as we have now, including C1. That was part of the agreement and people applying for WARP residency were specifically advised to keep their UK licences for this very reason.

A lot of people complain that they lost their C1, I think most of it was down to not understanding the procedure.

A C1 requires a medical certificate from a registered Doctor that needs to be renewed every 5 years until 60, then every 2 years until 75 then every year. It was a long time since i did mine but unless you ticked all the correct boxes and (if i remember correctly) provide the medical certificate, you will get issued a standard licence.

I gained as my original C1 was not a full one as I got mine as a freebe when i got my licence back in the old days.
7.5t + trailer of up to 750kg, now it is a full one 7.5t + trailer total weight not exceeding 12t, not that it is valid anymore as my medical is out of date, i dont need it and I would now have to do the medical every 2 years, but I dont loose the category but would need to redo the medical.

l also gained a 125cc motorbike licence.

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[Widge]

No the nonsensical thing is if you do not have a new ,"UK " address then the old one is acceptable. Ludicrous.

Connection ran an article on licences when i first arrived 2006 saying that a UK license was fine for french residents. I wrote to them questioning this, as it clearly says on the licence that it was an offence to have an invalid address. (We used my brothers address so it was still a contactable adresses), also when i came to renew the uk licence it clearly stated in red that it was an offence with a heavy fine or imprisonment to provide an invalid address.

After 2 months connecton posted my letter with a reply saying that they had contacted the DVLA who said, technicaly yes but you are very unlikely to get prosecuted for it!!!!

 

[HKF]

Connection ran an article on licences when i first arrived 2006 saying that a UK license was fine for french residents. I wrote to them questioning this, as it clearly says on the licence that it was an offence to have an invalid address. (We used my brothers address so it was still a contactable adresses), also when i came to renew the uk licence it clearly stated in red that it was an offence with a heavy fine or imprisonment to provide an invalid address.

After 2 months connecton posted my letter with a reply saying that they had contacted the DVLA who said, technicaly yes but you are very unlikely to get prosecuted for it!!!!

It's only an offence to have an incorrect address if you live in the UK. If you're French resident, it's not illegal. See my post #43 above.

 

[elamessa]

I will say it again as some people will not listen. Commit a traffic offence in your French registered MH and you will have to change your uk licence for a french one.
Good luck with the Gendarmerie.

 

[HKF]

I will say it again as some people will not listen. Commit a traffic offence in your French registered MH and you will have to change your uk licence for a french one.
Good luck with the Gendarmerie.

It's not because I'm not listening. It's because you haven't provided any proof that this actually happens

 

[elamessa]

See post 32.

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[HKF]

See post 32.

There's no proof there that it happens. Just your say so. I'm not saying you're lying, just that there's nothing official to prove it.

On the flip side, I've given official evidence that the French system will not exchange a UK licence unless it is lost, stolen or has less than 6 months to expiry - see post #44.

 

[elamessa]

OK. I'm out of here.

 

[HKF]

OK. I'm out of here.

That's a shame. i had thought you'd be able to prove that this actually happens but obviously you can't

 

[Widge]

No the nonsensical thing is if you do not have a new ,"UK " address then the old one is acceptable. Ludicrous.

Connection ran an article on licences when i first arrived 2006 saying that a UK license was fine for french residents. I wrote to them questioning this, as it clearly says on the licence that it was an offence to have an invalid address. (We used my brothers address so it was still a contactable adresses), also when i came to renew the uk licence it clearly stated in red that it was an offence with a heavy fine or imprisonment to provide an invalid address.

After 2 months connecton posted my letter with a reply saying that theyhad contacted the DVLA who said, technicaly yes but you are very unlikely to get prosecuted for it!!!!

It's not because I'm not listening. It's because you haven't provided any proof that this actually happens

I know several people who have had to do this over the years, if you live in another country expect to have to follow their laws, another thing to take note of is if you are stopped over the limit, your ban starts there and then for 3 months and your licence will confiscated, during that time it will go to court, it will then be decided whether this will be extended. The good thing about that is most people probably want to get it over and done with, rather than wait until it goes to court.

 

[Widge]

It's only an offence to have an incorrect address if you live in the UK. If you're French resident, it's not illegal. See my post #43 above.

I am not contridicting your post, I am just saying back in 2006, i could not find anything that clarified the situation and contacted connection for clarification, as they had just run an article on the subject.

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[HKF]

I am not contridicting your post, I am just saying back in 2006, i could not find anything that clarified the situation and contacted connection for clarification, as they had just run an article on the subject.

My reply was to elamessa , not you

 

[HKF]

Connection ran an article on licences when i first arrived 2006 saying that a UK license was fine for french residents. I wrote to them questioning this, as it clearly says on the licence that it was an offence to have an invalid address. (We used my brothers address so it was still a contactable adresses), also when i came to renew the uk licence it clearly stated in red that it was an offence with a heavy fine or imprisonment to provide an invalid address.

After 2 months connecton posted my letter with a reply saying that theyhad contacted the DVLA who said, technicaly yes but you are very unlikely to get prosecuted for it!!!!

I know several people who have had to do this over the years, if you live in another country expect to have to follow their laws, another thing to take note of is if you are stopped over the limit, your ban starts there and then for 3 months and your licence will confiscated, during that time it will go to court, it will then be decided whether this will be extended. The good thing about that is most people probably want to get it over and done with, rather than wait until it goes to court.

My reply was to elamessa , not you

 

[Nyvern]

If you can translate, does this help?Vous avez un permis de conduire britannique

Modifier
vous avez choisi
Permis délivré avant 2021

Modifier
Vous n'avez pas besoin de demander l'échange de votre permis britannique contre un permis français.

Votre permis britannique est reconnu en France tant qu'il est en cours de validité.

L'échange de votre permis britannique délivré avant 2021 contre un permis français est obligatoire uniquement dans les cas suivants :

La validité de votre permis a pris fin
Vous demandez une nouvelle catégorie du permis (extension)
Vous commettez en France une infraction au code de la route entraînant une perte de points, une restriction, une suspension, ou une annulation de votre permis
Votre permis a été volé
Vous avez perdu votre permis
Votre permis est détérioré

 

[Verteuil Man]

Translation

 

[HKF]

If you can translate, does this help?Vous avez un permis de conduire britannique

Modifier
vous avez choisi
Permis délivré avant 2021

Modifier
Vous n'avez pas besoin de demander l'échange de votre permis britannique contre un permis français.

Votre permis britannique est reconnu en France tant qu'il est en cours de validité.

L'échange de votre permis britannique délivré avant 2021 contre un permis français est obligatoire uniquement dans les cas suivants :

La validité de votre permis a pris fin
Vous demandez une nouvelle catégorie du permis (extension)
Vous commettez en France une infraction au code de la route entraînant une perte de points, une restriction, une suspension, ou une annulation de votre permis
Votre permis a été volé
Vous avez perdu votre permis
Votre permis est détérioré

Can you give me the link where this came from, please? Thank you

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