It’s been an on-again, off-again plan, but from May 2026 a fee will be applied to anyone who needs to swap their foreign driving licence for a French one.
Foreigners living in France who need to swap their driving licence for a French one will, from May, be required to pay a €40 ‘administration fee’ in order to get their new licence.
This idea was originally introduced as an amendment to the 2026 budget, designed to raise a bit of much-needed extra revenue for the cash-strapped government. However as part of the deal-making to get the 2026 Budget passed, the amendment was withdrawn, so the idea appeared to have died.
However, it has now reappeared as part of the final text of the Budget, and will come into effect from May, along with increased fees for residency cards and citizenship applications.
Here’s what changes;
When
The law covering all the new fees comes into effect on May 1st.
However, as May 1st is a public holiday, followed this year by a weekend, the driving licence exchange fee applies to all applications made on or after May 4th, 2026.
It applies to both EU and non-EU licences.
People who have already applied for a swap and are waiting for their request to be processed are not affected.
Who
This applies to anyone applying to swap their foreign driving licence for a French one.
A licence swap is required for most non-EU driving licence holders within their first year of residency in France, although there is a different situation for anyone who has a UK or NI driving licence.
Meanwhile, people who have an EU driving licence are not normally required to swap, with certain exceptions.
Find the full explanation for who needs to swap and when HERE.
The fee applies only for people doing a simple licence swap – this applies to people whose country (or state/province in the case of the USA and Canada) has a bilateral agreement with France. Those who have a licence issued by a non-swap state or country must take a French driving test. Find the list of swap countries/states HERE.
How
The process for swapping the licence remains the same, it is done via the government’s ANTS website (recently renamed France Titres).
From May 4th, people making the swap will be required to add a €40 timbre fiscal (or €20 for people who live in French Guyana) to their application.
READ ALSO: Step-by-step: How to swap your driving licence for a French one✎
