Using your French driving licence in Spain (EU rules)

One of the most common questions from French nationals settling in Spain: do you have to exchange your permis de conduire for the Spanish licence? Short answer: no, EU free movement covers you, but there are three concrete situations where exchange is convenient or where the DGT may ask for sworn translation. Here is the detail.

The general principle: automatic EU recognition

Spain recognises the French driving licence automatically under Directive 2006/126/EC on the European driving licence. You may drive in Spain on your French permis without exchanging it, throughout its validity, as long as:

• Your permis is in force (check the date de validité on the back of category B: nowadays 15 years renewable).
• You comply with Spanish road rules (limits, alcohol, mobile phones).
• Your permis is issued by the relevant French Préfecture (not Monaco, Andorra or Switzerland, which fall under a different regime).

In practice: a French national living in Calp or Altea can drive indefinitely on the French licence as long as it does not expire.

When exchange is worth it

Three reasons many French nationals do exchange voluntarily:

1. Replacement after loss or theft in Spain: if you lose your French permis while living in Spain, going through the French Préfecture for a replacement is slower (international shipment, 6-12 weeks) than requesting a duplicate at the DGT with a Spanish licence already issued.
2. Carrying over years of driving experience into the Spanish points-licence system: with the exchange, French seniority is recognised in the Spanish system. Useful if you plan to live here long term.
3. Approaching expiry: when your permis nears its end date, it is more convenient to exchange and issue a Spanish one directly than to handle the French renewal from Spain.

When the DGT asks for sworn translation

Even though the general rule is no translation of the French EU permis, three practical cases do require it:

1. Old pink paper permis (pre-2013). The DGT sometimes asks for a sworn translation into Spanish of the whole document to verify categories and dates that the European plastic format standardises.
2. Verification of sanctions or licence withdrawals in France: if you renew after a retrait de permis, the relevé d'information intégral is translated into Spanish.
3. Professional categories (C, D, E): in specific cases, the DGT asks for sworn translation of the French professional credential to recognise the category.

For the standard post-2013 European plastic card, no translation needed.

Exchange procedure (if you decide to do it)

1. Appointment at the provincial DGT for your area. In Alicante: offices in Alicante, Benidorm, Elche, Orihuela, Dénia and Torrevieja.
2. Application (the current form).
3. TIE or EU Registration Certificate in force.
4. French passport or CNI.
5. Original French permis and copy.
6. Spanish medical-psycho-technical certificate from an accredited centre.
7. Receipt for the fee.
8. One passport-size photograph.

Common mistakes

• Thinking exchange is mandatory. It is not for EU drivers.
• Renewing the French permis from Spain after it has expired: complicated; better to exchange directly with the DGT before that.
• Not having an EU Registration Certificate when applying for the exchange. The DGT will not process without a Spanish residence document.
• Driving on an expired permis trusting EU free movement. Expiry does matter.

In short

The French licence is valid as-is in Spain while in force: you are not obliged to exchange it and, in most cases, no sworn translation is needed. When translation does become necessary (old paper permis, sanctions record, professional categories), at Textualia we translate the permis de conduire and the relevé d'information intégral into Spanish to a closed turnaround in the format accepted by the DGT.