Getting a French Driving Licence as a Foreigner — the Two Points Where People Get Stuck (2026)
📌 Key facts
- Check this first: if your existing licence can be exchanged, exchanging is almost always cheaper and faster. This article is for when that door is closed (no reciprocity agreement, deadline passed) or you have no licence at all
- Registration conditions for a foreigner: your stay must be legal, and on top of that you need either normal residence in France (185 days per calendar year) or student status for at least 6 months — the second route exists for international students
- Age: you can register from 16 (15 for accompanied driving), and hold a category B licence from 17
- Everything starts with the NEPH number. Without it no exam can be booked. Apply on the ANTS site or let your driving school do it
- ⚠️ The under-21 trap: born on or after 1 January 1988 and aged under 21 → ASSR2 or ASR is compulsory. Schooled abroad means no ASSR2 → take the ASR at a Greta (20 questions, 10/20 to pass)
- Code (theory): €30, 35 correct out of 40, result valid 5 years, sat at one of 5 approved operators
- Practical: 20 hours of tuition minimum (13 for automatic), a 32-minute test with at least 25 minutes of driving, 20 points or more and no eliminatory fault
- 2026 change ① — the CPF is effectively closed for category B since 20 February: job seekers or employees with third-party funding only
- 2026 change ② — exchanging a licence now costs money: €40 since 12 May (€20 in French Guiana)
Learning to drive in France is not unusual once you are behind the wheel. The real obstacle for a foreigner sits before that: at registration, and again at the paperwork stage if you are under 21. Neither is usually explained at a driving-school counter, for a simple reason — neither exists for a candidate born and schooled in France.
So this guide is built on the source texts rather than driving-school marketing pages: service-public.gouv.fr, the French highway code (code de la route) and the Ministry of Education's Éduscol pages. The registration rule in particular contains an alternative that works in students' favour and is rarely mentioned, so it is quoted here directly.
⚠ Disclaimer
This article is general information and has no legal force. How the rules apply depends on your nationality, your residence permit and your department. Always confirm with service-public.gouv.fr, the ANTS or the driving school you register with. Correct as of September 2026.
First: exchange, or a French licence?
If you already hold a licence from your home country, check whether you can exchange it before paying for anything. Starting from scratch when an exchange was available wastes a great deal of money and time.
| Your situation | Route |
|---|---|
| EU or EEA licence | You may drive without exchanging while it is valid (exchange only on loss, theft, damage, expiry or a new category) |
| Non-EU licence + reciprocity agreement + within the deadline | ✅ Exchange — €40 since 12 May 2026 |
| Non-EU licence + no reciprocity agreement | ⚠️ This article — French licence from scratch |
| Non-EU licence + deadline missed | ⚠️ This article |
| No licence at all | ⚠️ This article |
💡 Students are not on the clock
While you are in France on a student residence permit, you are under no obligation to exchange your original licence. The exchange deadline starts when your status changes after your studies. Exchange conditions, reciprocity agreements and the ANTS procedure are covered in our guide to exchanging a foreign licence.
Registration conditions — the first blocker
To sit the French driving exams you must show that your life is actually based in France. This is the first condition a foreign candidate runs into — and it is also where a separate door is open to students.
📖 What is "résidence normale" (normal residence)?
The concept is defined in article R221-1 of the code de la route: the place where a person usually lives, meaning for at least 185 days per calendar year, because of personal and occupational ties. For someone with no occupational ties, it is judged on personal ties showing close links between that person and the place where they live.
That test is awkward for an international student. Family and a home base often remain in the country of origin, and going home every holiday makes the 185-day count hard to claim with confidence. This is exactly why the rules provide an alternative condition.
The conditions applying to foreign candidates come from the arrêté du 20 avril 2012, which sets out how driving licences are established, issued and validated. The rule is this:
Foreign candidates must prove the existence of their normal residence or their status as a student for a period of at least six months on French territory.
Either one is enough. A foreign student holding a residence permit or long-stay visa matching their situation can therefore register on the basis that they have been pursuing studies in France for at least six months at the date of the application — without having to prove 185 days of residence.
💡 In practice
- International student → certificate of enrolment plus residence permit, using the "six months as a student" route
- Work or family permit → residence permit plus proof of address, using the "normal residence" route
- Exempt from a residence permit (EU nationals, for instance) → documents proving six months of presence in France (payslips, rent receipts and so on)
On top of that, legal stay (régularité du séjour) is required in every case. The service-public.gouv.fr page on the code exam (verified 27 April 2026) likewise asks foreign candidates for proof of legal stay or, where the person is exempt from holding a residence permit, proof of at least six months of presence in France (payslip, rent receipt and similar).
⚠️ Driving schools do not all give the same answer
These conditions are set by regulation and checked by the administration, not by the driving school. In practice they often get compressed into "you need a residence permit and six months of residence". If you are a student and you are told you have not lived in France long enough, point to the student-status route. Conversely, if your own situation is unclear, check the list of required documents on the ANTS procedure before paying any registration fee.
Age conditions are the same regardless of nationality: you can register from 16, start accompanied driving (AAC) at 15, and hold a category B licence from 17.
The NEPH and the documents
Everything starts with the NEPH (numéro d'enregistrement préfectoral harmonisé). It is issued once at your first registration and follows your file for life. Without a NEPH, no exam can be registered.
Two ways to get it:
- Through the driving school — the usual route; they apply when you enrol
- Directly on the ANTS — for independent candidates or anyone who prefers to handle it themselves, at permisdeconduire.ants.gouv.fr
Once processed, you receive the AIPC (attestation d'inscription au permis de conduire), which carries your NEPH.
| Document | Note |
|---|---|
| Proof of identity | Passport, etc. |
| Proof of legal stay | Residence permit, VLS-TS… required for foreigners |
| Proof of address | Less than 6 months old |
| Photo and signature | ePhoto code from an approved booth or photographer, or the paper form |
| ASSR2 or ASR | First licence, born on or after 1 January 1988 and under 21 — see below |
| If registering as a student | Certificate of enrolment and proof of 6 months of study |
Under 21? The ASR — the second blocker
This one only catches people schooled outside France, which is why it gets its own section.
Anyone born on or after 1 January 1988 and aged under 21 must hold the ASSR2 (school road-safety certificate) or the ASR (road-safety certificate) for a first licence to be issued. Past 21, the requirement falls away.
The catch is that the ASSR2 is taken at a French collège. If you were schooled abroad you simply cannot have it. A separate route therefore exists for candidates over 16 who are no longer in school.
💡 The fix: the ASR at a Greta
Running the ASR is entrusted, across the whole country, to the Greta — the groupings of state schools responsible for adult vocational training. Candidates over 16 who are no longer in school sit it there. The test has 20 multiple-choice questions illustrated with video or images, and you need at least 10 out of 20 for the certificate to be issued. Contact the Greta for your academic region to find a session.
The ASR is a condition for the issue of the licence. It is far safer to get it at registration than to pass the practical test and then find a document missing from your file.
The code — €30, 40 questions
What everyone calls "the code" is officially the ETG (épreuve théorique générale commune). It covers categories B1, B and BE as well as the C and D groups.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Exam fee | €30 — covers registration and issue of the result certificate |
| Questions | 40 multiple choice |
| Pass mark | 35 correct answers or more |
| Where | 5 approved operators — La Poste, SGS, Dekra, Pearson VUE, Bureau Veritas |
| Validity of the pass | 5 years in which to take the practical test |
| Bring on the day | Convocation + proof of identity (stay-related documents possible for foreigners) |
Note that €30 is the exam alone. Driving-school code lessons are charged separately at whatever price the school sets. You can perfectly well prepare the code on your own and pay only the exam fee, so asking for the code to be priced separately from the package often changes the quote significantly.
💡 If your French is still a stretch
The code exam is, in practice, also a reading-comprehension test. The wording is long and leans on negatives, so it is common to know the rule and still misread the sentence. If you are learning French alongside, build a code-specific vocabulary list early (céder le passage, chaussée, s'engager, à l'approche de…). It pays off.
The practical — 20 hours and 32 minutes
The practical side splits into tuition and the test. Tuition has legal minimums.
| Option | Legal minimum tuition |
|---|---|
| Manual gearbox | 20 hours — at least 15 on open roads (10 if a simulator is used) |
| Automatic gearbox | 13 hours — at least 10 on open roads (7 if a simulator is used) |
| Automatic to manual conversion | 7 hours |
⚠️ 20 hours is a legal minimum, not an average
Driving-school packages are nearly all priced on 20 hours. Few candidates actually pass on 20 hours, and extra hours are billed individually. When comparing schools, ask less about the package price and more about the price per additional hour and the cost of re-sitting the test. That is where budgets diverge.
The test itself runs as follows:
- 32 minutes in total, including at least 25 minutes of actual driving (with roughly 5 minutes driving independently)
- 2 manoeuvres — braking to stop precisely, and a reversing manoeuvre
- Checks on technical points inside and outside the car, followed by a road-safety question
- To pass: 20 points or more and no eliminatory fault
An eliminatory fault fails you regardless of your score — crossing a solid white line is one example.
If you pass, you start on a probationary licence and must display the "A" disc on the back of the car.
Cost and funding — what changed in 2026
The only genuinely fixed figure is the €30 code exam. Driving-school services are sold at freely set prices that vary widely by city and school. Rather than reasoning from an "average price", get at least three quotes in your area.
Items worth itemising in every quote:
- the number of hours included and the price per additional hour
- whether code lessons are separated from the €30 exam fee
- the cost of the car and accompaniment on test day, and of a re-sit
- cancellation and refund terms (important if you may return home)
Funding: what is realistic for an international student
⚠️ The CPF was heavily restricted on 20 February 2026
Under the 2026 finance law, using the CPF (personal training account) to prepare a light-group licence (A1, A2, B1, B) is reserved for two groups: ① job seekers registered with France Travail, and ② employees receiving third-party funding (employer top-up, regional aid, Opco and similar). Heavy-group licences are unaffected.
On top of that, CPF rights accrue through salaried work in France, so an international student generally has little or no balance. Between the two, the CPF should not be counted on. The measure applies immediately: ineligible applications are cancelled after submission and the rights restored.
The permis à 1 euro par jour, by contrast, is worth a look if you meet the conditions. Behind the name is an interest-free loan on which the state pays the interest — it is not a grant, it is borrowed money.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Age | Between 15 and 25 on the date the contract is signed |
| Licences covered | B, A1, A2 |
| Loan amount | €600, €800, €1,000 or €1,200 for a first registration |
| Extra tuition after a failure | €300 |
| Repayment | Instalments of €30 maximum per month |
| Conditions | Contract with a labelled driving school under state agreement + approval by the lender |
💡 Where international students actually hit a wall
The scheme sets no nationality condition, but because it is a loan the bank has to approve your file. Lenders typically look at whether the residence permit covers the repayment period, plus income and any guarantor. A student whose permit is renewed yearly may be refused at this stage. Ask the bank about the permit-duration condition before building the file. If you do not have an account yet, see our guide to opening a French bank account.
Other options include the FAJ (youth support fund, ages 18–25, via the mission locale), town and region grants, and social microcredit. Local aid differs completely from one place to another, so the fastest move is to ask your town hall (mairie) directly.
Also note: exchanging a licence has cost money since May 2026
Not directly related to taking the French licence, but part of the same year's changes: since 12 May 2026, exchanging a European or foreign licence for a French one carries a €40 stamp duty (€20 in French Guiana). The legal basis is article 128 of law no. 2026-103 of 19 February 2026 (the 2026 finance law), and payment is made online from 12 May. The start date was first announced as 4 May and then postponed to 12 May.
Frequently asked questions
Q1. Can an international student take the driving licence in France?
Yes — and there is a route built for students. The default rule is normal residence (at least 185 days per calendar year), but a foreign student holding a residence permit or long-stay visa matching their situation can register by showing they have been studying in France for at least six months at the date of the application. That matters because students usually keep their ties at home. The requirement for a legal stay still applies.
Q2. How much is the code and what is the pass mark?
€30, covering registration and the result certificate. You need 35 correct out of 40. You sit it at one of the five approved operators (La Poste, SGS, Dekra, Pearson VUE, Bureau Veritas). The pass is then valid for 5 years. On the day, bring your convocation and proof of identity.
Q3. I am under 21 and have no ASSR2
Which is normal if you were schooled abroad. You take the ASR instead. The requirement covers people born on or after 1 January 1988 and aged under 21, for a first licence. Candidates over 16 who are no longer in school sit the ASR at a Greta: 20 questions, 10/20 to pass. After 21 the requirement disappears.
Q4. Can I use my CPF?
Only with difficulty since 20 February 2026. For the light group, including category B, the CPF is reserved for job seekers registered with France Travail and employees with third-party funding. Furthermore, CPF rights come from salaried work in France, so international students rarely have a usable balance. Build your budget without the CPF.
Q5. Is taking the automatic-only licence a mistake?
It cuts the minimum tuition to 13 hours, so both cost and time go down. The trade-off is a licence restricted to automatic cars. To drive a manual later you must complete 7 hours of conversion training. French cars and rental fleets are still largely manual, so decide based on what you will actually drive.
Q6. What happens to my French licence if I move home?
The French licence itself stays valid. Whether it is recognised in your home country depends on that country's rules, and the conditions for exchanging a French licence vary from one state to another. If you expect to move back, check your home country's rules in advance. It is also worth checking the driving school's cancellation terms before signing.
In short
- Exchange first where it is possible — the French licence is the route for when it is not
- Registration for a foreigner: legal stay + (185-day normal residence or 6 months of student status)
- Students have the "six months of study" route and need not prove 185 days
- Under 21 and schooled outside France → get the ASR at a Greta early
- Code: €30, 35 correct out of 40, valid 5 years
- Practical: 20 hours minimum (13 automatic), 32-minute test, 20 points and no eliminatory fault
- 2026: CPF restricted on 20 February, licence exchange €40 from 12 May
For the exact document list matching your own visa situation, build your checklist in 60 seconds on Settli.
This article is general information. Confirm your own case on service-public.gouv.fr, the ANTS or with your driving school.
Sources: service-public.gouv.fr F2828 · F2825 · F33694 · F13609 · F16511, code de la route R221-1, arrêté du 20 avril 2012, Éduscol (ASR), moncompteformation.gouv.fr (20/02/2026), law no. 2026-103 of 19 February 2026 art. 128
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