One Year, and Then the Licence Stops Being a Licence
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Luxembourg on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
147 exceptions recorded across 54 countries · none match Luxembourg to France · Driving and licence exchange
France sorts foreign licences by who issued them and then by how the issuer got them. A national licence properly issued by a member state of the Union or of the European Economic Area is recognised while it remains valid, and article R. 222-1 adds a clause for a state that **was** a member at the date of issue, which is how the code absorbed a departure without naming it. A licence from anywhere else is recognised only until one year after its holder acquires normal residence in France, and article R. 222-3 says what happens then in a single sentence: the licence is no longer recognised and its holder loses all right to drive a vehicle for which a licence is required. Not a fine - the right goes. Inside that year the licence may be exchanged for a French one without sitting the tests, on conditions fixed by a ministerial order this record has not read. There is one more trap, and it catches people who think they are safe: a European licence that was itself obtained in exchange for a licence from a state with no reciprocity agreement with France is recognised for one year and not for its validity.
At a glance
- An EU or EEA licence
- Recognised in France while it is valid
Article R. 222-1, which also covers a licence issued by a state that was a member at the date of issue.
- A licence from anywhere else
- Recognised until one year after normal residence is acquired
Article R. 222-3. The clock starts at residence, not at arrival and not at the licence's own expiry.
- What happens at the end of that year
- The licence is no longer recognised and the holder loses all right to drive
The code says perd tout droit de conduire. It is a loss of the right, not a penalty attached to using it.
- Exchange during the year
- Possible without sitting the examinations
On conditions fixed by order of the minister for road safety, after the opinion of the ministers of justice and foreign affairs. That order is not read here.
- A European licence obtained by exchange
- One year only, if the original state has no reciprocity agreement with France
Article R. 222-1, second paragraph. The holder of a Union licence can be in the one-year class without knowing it.
- When exchange becomes compulsory
- After an offence in France that restricts, suspends or withdraws the right to drive, or takes points
Article R. 222-2. Until that happens, exchanging an EU or EEA licence is a choice.
- Registering a foreign licence
- Optional, with the prefect of the department of residence
Article R. 222-1, third paragraph, for holders of the licences described in its first two paragraphs.
Requirements
- For an EU or EEA licence: that it is still valid
- For any other licence: exchange within one year of acquiring normal residence in France
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Luxembourg
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«Tout permis de conduire national régulièrement délivré par un Etat membre de l'Union européenne ou partie à l'accord sur l'Espace économique européen ou par un Etat qui était membre de l'Union européenne ou partie à l'accord sur l'Espace économique européen à la date de sa délivrance, est reconnu en France sous réserve d'être en cours de validité.»Our translation - not official
Any national driving licence duly issued by a member state of the European Union or a party to the agreement on the European Economic Area, or by a state that was a member of the European Union or a party to the agreement on the European Economic Area at the date of its issue, is recognised in France provided it is in force.
The clause about a state that was a member is doing real work and names nobody. The page prints this article as in force since 2021-08-12.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Dans le cas où ce permis a été délivré en échange d'un permis de conduire d'un Etat n'appartenant pas à l'Union européenne ou à l'Espace économique européen et avec lequel la France n'a pas conclu d'accord de réciprocité en ce domaine, il n'est reconnu que pendant un délai d'un an après l'acquisition de la résidence normale en France de son titulaire.»Our translation - not official
Where that licence was issued in exchange for a driving licence of a state not belonging to the European Union or to the European Economic Area and with which France has not concluded a reciprocity agreement in that field, it is recognised only for a period of one year after its holder acquires normal residence in France.
The trap. A Union licence is not automatically a Union licence for this purpose; what matters is what it was made from. The page prints this article as in force since 2021-08-12.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«L'échange d'un tel permis de conduire contre le permis français est obligatoire lorsque son titulaire a commis, sur le territoire français, une infraction au présent code ayant entraîné une mesure de restriction, de suspension, de retrait du droit de conduire ou de retrait de points.»Our translation - not official
Exchanging such a driving licence for the French licence is compulsory where its holder has committed, on French territory, an offence under this code leading to a measure restricting, suspending or withdrawing the right to drive or withdrawing points.
The page prints this article as in force since 2017-11-05.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Tout permis de conduire national, en cours de validité, délivré par un Etat ni membre de l'Union européenne, ni partie à l'accord sur l'Espace économique européen, peut être reconnu en France jusqu'à l'expiration d'un délai d'un an après l'acquisition de la résidence normale de son titulaire.»Our translation - not official
Any valid national driving licence issued by a state that is neither a member of the European Union nor a party to the agreement on the European Economic Area may be recognised in France until the expiry of a period of one year after its holder acquires normal residence.
The page prints this article as in force since 2017-11-05.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Au terme de ce délai, ce permis n'est plus reconnu et son titulaire perd tout droit de conduire un véhicule pour la conduite duquel le permis de conduire est exigé.»Our translation - not official
At the end of that period, that licence is no longer recognised and its holder loses all right to drive a vehicle for the driving of which a driving licence is required.
The sentence the whole record exists for. The page prints this article as in force since 2017-11-05.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
Which non-European states France exchanges licences with is in a ministerial order, not in the code, and that order is not read here. This record states the deadline and the consequence; it does not state whether a particular country is on the list.
Normal residence is the trigger and the code does not define it in this chapter. A reader who arrives, travels, and settles later should know that the year is measured from the settling.
Czechia's code says the same thing in the same shape - the licence stops authorising driving rather than attracting a fine - and gives three months rather than twelve. The consequence is the same and the window is a quarter as long.
- consolidatesCode de la route, chapter on foreign driving licences
Legifrance, Direction de l'information legale et administrative · consolidated to 2026-01-02
Known to be out of date. Legifrance refuses this project's fetcher at the code's own address and at the whole-code PDF download its page offers, and answers the extraction service at the section address without trouble. So the text quoted here is a section of the code rather than the whole of it, and the cut-off recorded is the in-force date the page prints against the article itself - which is the better of the two anyway, because a code has one consolidation date and an article has its own.
About this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source