Who Can Drive Your Car in France? Insurance and Licences for Expats

Imagine the scenario: the family arrives for a holiday, your teenager passes their driving test, or your partner offers to drive home, so you hand over the car keys. After all, the car is insured, so everything is fine. Or is it?

Quite possibly everything is absolutely in order, but to be 100 per cent sure, you need to consider two separate questions: is the person legally allowed to drive in France, and what does your insurance contract cover when they do? Failing to ascertain the answers to these two basic questions could result in an expensive mistake.

Is the car insured for the person at the wheel?

The car may well be insured, but you need to check who can drive it. French car insurance generally covers the vehicle itself, which makes lending your car possible. However, the statement “the car is insured” doesn’t mean that absolutely anyone can take the wheel with exactly the same level of cover. You need to look at what is called the prêt de volant (lending your vehicle) provisions in your policy. Some contracts allow occasional borrowing freely; others restrict it to certain people, many exclude novice drivers, or they might set a higher franchise, which is the excess you pay following a claim.

If somebody is driving your car regularly, tell your insurer. A partner doing the daily school run is obviously a different proposition from a visiting sister popping to the supermarket once, and will be treated as such in the event of a claim. If you are unsure what your contract says, an English-speaking broker such as Fab French Insurance can read it with you and explain the prêt de volant clause in plain English.

The US licence: that one-year deadline matters

For Americans settling in France, a US licence is generally recognised for one year after acquiring normal residence. For someone arriving on a VLS-TS, the relevant clock normally starts ticking when the visa is validated; with a first residence permit, it starts when that permit is handed over. Special rules apply to foreign students.

Whether you can exchange your licence or not depends on the US state that issued it and whether that state has a reciprocal agreement with France. The licence category is also important. If you know that you are planning a move to France, it is a very sensible idea to check your home state’s agreement policy beforehand and, if it doesn’t have one, it is well worth the effort of obtaining a licence from a state that does. Our guides on exchanging a US licence in France and on what to do if your state has no agreement cover that step by step. If your licence is exchangeable, apply within the deadline. Otherwise, you will need to pass a French driving test.

An international driving permit does not extend the one-year entitlement, and neither does a trip back to America reset the clock.

What happens after the year is up?

Here is where things become complicated. An unrecognised licence means you cannot lawfully continue driving on it; however, stating that “your insurance automatically becomes void” is too sweeping a statement.

Article R211-10 of the French Insurance Code (Code des assurances) contains a specific protective clause: where the licence was declared to the insurer when the contract was taken out or renewed, the insurer cannot invoke the permitted-licence exclusion simply because the licence has become invalid owing to the holder’s place or length of residence. This only applies to compulsory liability cover. It does not mean that you are driving legally, nor does it guarantee payment for any damage to your own car or your own injuries.

Victims are also protected under Article R211-13, but where there is a legitimate exclusion, the insurer can choose to pay them and then claim reimbursement from the person responsible. So it is absolutely essential to make sure that your entitlement to drive is in order, and to ask your insurer to confirm your cover in writing.

Can an overseas visitor borrow your car?

If you have a family member or friend visiting from the US, their position is different from that of a person who has moved permanently to France. During a short visit, a valid US licence can be used, provided it is accompanied by an international driving permit or an official French translation. The international permit accompanies the original licence; it does not replace it. British licences are exempt from this translation or international-permit requirement for short visits.

But do check your policy. Does it allow this particular category of visitor to drive, that is, are young or novice drivers excluded? Is there an additional excess? Just because someone is a family member does not automatically mean that they can drive your vehicle, and having insurance on a car back home does not change matters where your French policy is concerned.

Teenagers and new drivers

In France, anyone who has obtained the French category B licence can drive independently from the age of 17, but again, your insurance must allow them to drive your car. Ask your insurer about adding them as a secondary driver if they will use it regularly. “Young driver” is also an insurance term rather than simply an age bracket. An older person with a recently acquired licence, or without adequate insurance history, may face a novice-driver surcharge too. If your teenager is actually the main user, it’s important to be honest and declare that, rather than listing yourself as the main driver in order to obtain a lower premium.

For learners, conduite accompagnée can start from 15 through the formal AAC scheme. It requires the appropriate training (passing the code de la route exam and a certain number of hours with an approved driving instructor), an eligible accompanying driver and the insurer’s prior written agreement. Unlike in many other countries, merely sitting beside your child whilst they drive doesn’t make “practice” driving legal.

Before you hand over the keys

Check the licence, the categories of permitted drivers and the excess. It is much better to have the conversation, and to clarify the exact position in case of an accident, before someone accidentally reverses into a wall. If the worst does happen, what to do after a car accident in France walks through the constat, the insurer and your bonus, and car insurance in France without a driving history explains how to get a policy in the first place. If you are still choosing a car, buying and registering a car in France covers the carte grise and the contrôle technique.

Fabien Pelissier is the managing director of Fab French Insurance, an English-speaking insurance broker based in France that he founded in 2015. He previously sat on the boards of URSSAF Aquitaine and CPAM Pays Basque.