Exchanging a US Driver’s License for a French One

Your US license stops counting one year after you become resident

A US license, like any non-EU/EEA license, is valid for driving in France for 1 year from the date you establish “normal residence” — not from your arrival date. That date is generally counted from your residence permit or récépissé, your lease signing, or your registration at the mairie. After that year, an unexchanged US license is no longer valid for driving in France, and continuing to drive on it is an offense.

What protects you is filing the exchange application before the one-year deadline, not having it processed by then. Once filed, the proof of application keeps you covered while the case runs, for as long as that document remains valid. The application itself must go in before the deadline in every case.

Until you submit, an International Driving Permit is still recommended alongside your US license, since it provides an official translation recognized by police and rental agencies.

Only licenses from some states can be exchanged

France exchanges a US license only if the issuing state is on the Ministry of the Interior’s official reciprocity list, published on securite-routiere.gouv.fr and mirrored on diplomatie.gouv.fr. The list is revised periodically by ministerial decree. The current list, “au 1er mai 2026”, names 18 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. Kansas and Kentucky do not appear on it.

Being on the list does not mean every class of license transfers. The classes below follow the official list:

• All classes: Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Carolina
• Classes A and B only: Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania
• Class B only (standard passenger car): Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin

The application is made online through ANTS

The whole application is now submitted online on the ANTS portal (permisdeconduire.ants.gouv.fr). Prefectures no longer take these files at the counter; the ANTS online procedure is the only channel. Gather the documents first, then follow the steps in order.

1. 1Run the service-public.gouv.fr simulator to confirm your state and license class are exchangeable
2. 2Create your application on the ANTS portal and upload the documents listed below
3. 3Pay the €40 fiscal stamp (timbre fiscal électronique) online via impots.gouv.fr/timbres
4. 4Mail your original US license by registered post with acknowledgment of receipt (lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception) to the processing center, and keep the tracking receipt: it is your only proof the process is underway
5. 5Keep the attestation de dépôt sécurisé (ADS) you receive — it lets you keep driving while your case is pending

What goes in the file

The file is mostly scans. The translation and the medical certificate are the two items that depend on your case, so settle both before you start.

• Scans of your valid US license, front and back
• Proof of residence less than 3 months old
• Your passport or titre de séjour
• A digital photo in ANTS format
• A sworn translation of the license — some prefectures accept a license in English without one, and policy varies
• A medical certificate, which may be required depending on your age and license category — confirm the current requirement for your case

The fee and the wait

The exchange was fee-free until the 2026 finance law created a €40 stamp duty for it. Service-public.gouv.fr states that it applies from May 12, 2026 — a later date than the 1 May 2026 on which the reciprocity list took effect. A sworn translation, if you need one, adds €40–100.

The official ANTS estimate for processing is roughly 3–6 months. A May 2026 notice from the Loire-Atlantique prefecture says processing can take up to 12 months; exchanges are handled centrally in Nantes rather than by local prefectures. Once your file is validated you get an SMS, and delivery of the French license itself takes about 15 days from that point.

If your state is not on the list

There is no exchange route. To keep driving in France after your first year of residence you must pass the French driving test — both the theory exam (Code de la route) and the practical exam.

• Theory exam: about €30
• Practical exam: about €32–50, depending on the prefecture
• Preparation: roughly €1,200 studying on your own as a candidat libre, up to €3,800 for a full driving-school package, depending on location and hours needed
• A minimum of 20 hours of lessons is required in most areas if you go through a driving school