French Driver's License

French Driver's License

~~~
Spoiler alert: My appointment was yesterday - skipping to the punch line, I got my license!
~~~

Somewhere in the flurry of things to do for getting settled in France, I knew we had to deal with getting a French driver's license.

Since we were in New Mexico at the time, and it is not one of the few states that has an exchange agreement with France, we had a choice: (1) don't drive in France (2) spend about $1000 and 6-8 months taking a driving course and then the tests (which most people do not pass the first time), or (3) find a way to get a license from one of the "friendly" states.

Well, obviously, #1 is out of the question. I can't see suddenly never driving again when I am fully capable. #2 seems like a crazy thing to do unless there is no other option. So, option #3 - we were essentially homeless for several months anyway, spending time with various family members before lift-off; we took advantage of that fact by changing addresses! We lived with family, and exchanged our licenses.

Once in France, someone official had said that I had to wait 6 months before exchanging licenses, and it had to be done within my first year here. That took some pressure off at first, of course, and it was very much needed! But I had much more anxiety later!

August rolled around, and it was time to start the process. I found the website with the instructions and list of documents required. I heard many conflicting first-person stories about what documents were really needed, and whether any or all had to be officially translated. Then we tried to get appointments... Oh, what a crazy world! We heard all sorts of horror stories and tricks to use. We checked every Monday morning for new openings. After several weeks of no luck, we saw one! But it was pretty clear that someone had cancelled because of a transportation strike - we couldn't take a chance either. Finally, we tried Sunday night at midnight! And we got our appointments! By 12:30 a.m., only a few slots were open on Thursday and Friday, 3 weeks out, at the end of October.

Well, so we had some time to breathe. Fortunately, we double-checked the requirements on the official website. Yes, they had changed - as of early September, I needed to provide more documents, and my license definitely had to be officially translated. I asked around, and those who have gone before have been told they need *everything* translated! Well, given the high cost, I decided to use the official list and see what they say... The good news about the rule-change is that Rick doesn't need an appointment; he can simply mail his request (actually, he has no choice, but this is still better). We also decided to see how my appointment goes before he sends his in. Oddly enough, there is now nothing about waiting before requesting an exchange - we probably could have done it earlier.

My expectations for late October were low. I went in thinking: If I get a great big nod and leave with my new non-probationary license, I will be ecstatic. More likely, they will want more documents (I'm taking everything I have), more translations (I'll have to make another appointment, 3-4 weeks later), and at the end, I'll probably have a probationary** license. None of those are the end of the world, but each possibility has it's necessary adjustment.

Still, it never hurts to be prepared. Rick helped me put together and practice a "role-play" - a possible dialogue in French, covering all the objections we could foresee, and how to handle them.

Getting there: I tried out the bus (#102, 1 hour from Sète, meandering through 4 towns, to the edge of Montpellier), followed by the tram and a walk to the préfecture in Montpellier. This experiment meant leaving before 10 a.m. for my 2:15 appointment. I took the train back, and will probably not use the bus again :-\ I did have plenty of time to look around and so knew exactly where to go when the time came. This was fortunate, because I'd only ever seen the front of the préfecture before, and so didn't know that the entrance is around the side (the "front" looked locked!)

Préfecture "Front"

Préfecture Entrance

The appointment: I killed some time, then went to the seats by the one window dedicated to license exchanges. The person ahead of me left about 5 minutes late, I went to the window, and we started. It was very straightforward; she asked for the various items, and when the time was right, I asked for her advice about what to fill in for the date when I first got my license. I explained that I had been driving for nearly 40 years, but that the states do not keep those records that long. But, I did have an older license that I got more than 3 years ago. Well, happy days! She asked for a copy, I showed her the "date of deliverance," she noted it, and added it to my pile. It didn't matter that it was from a non-exchange state and wasn't translated. I still couldn't see what date she put on my form (I'm pretty sure she left it blank), but at the end, I asked if my license was "probatoire," and she said "pas du tout !" That is to say, my license is absolutely not probationary :-)

The other wrinkle that I expected also came up. My list from the official website (I fortunately had a copy with me) specifically asked for a translation of my current license. It also asked for an official statement (with no mention of translation) of my current status (that is, my driving record showing that I still had the right to drive; that it hadn't been revoked). But, of course, this statement is in English. So, when she asked if I had a translation of my record, I said "er, no, the list (pointing to the spot) didn't ask for that." Oh, la la! (she didn't actually say that, but she sort of sighed). Then, she showed me her list, that had the same entry, but with a note requiring a translation. I didn't even get to use my argument; she simply added a note to her list (which became part of my dossier), and said that if there was a problem, someone would call me about it.

Everything else was smooth sailing! I'm glad I had copies of my ID and visa, although, I think she would have made a copy if I had only had the originals (as stated on my list LOL). She asked if I was married, but didn't ask for a marriage certificate. I asked if both names would appear on my license, and she said yes. She printed out a temporary license, added my photo, signed and stamped it, and we were done! Since the temporary license is good for 4 months (and we had added another 5 minutes to the lag in her appointments), I didn't ask how long the wait would be for the actual license...

Et, merci, Madame, pour votre conseil ! Bonne journée, au revoir !

~~~
costs:
New USA license - $45
USA driving record - $21
Official translation*** driver's license - 42€
Train, bus, and tram tickets - 9€
New French license - 0€

Plus miscellaneous costs of keeping my dossier up to date: periodic birth and marriage certificates, paper, ink, stamps

~~~
** In France, new drivers get a probationary license. Information about what this means is pretty scarce - I haven't found a single place where it's all laid out. What I have found: you get 6 points instead of 12 (various traffic violations remove points, and you can't drive without points), you have to drive something like 10 kph under the speed limit, you have a big "A" sticker on your car, and your legal limit for blood alcohol is miniscule.
I also assume that costs for insurance and car rentals are significantly higher.

*** I used AlphaTrad