French driving licence: mobile app lets you keep original at home
You currently need a French ID card to do this but cartes de séjour are set to be added this year
Police can require drivers to show their identity cards, driving licences and cartes grises
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Drivers in France can now carry a valid electronic copy of their driving licence and identity card via an official government mobile app.
The France Identité app lets drivers regroup their identity cards and driving licences in one secure location as part of a wider push to simplify checks.
The app has worked for digital copies of French identity cards since 2021.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced the national rollout of the app for driving licences on February 14 after successful limited trials in Rhône, Hauts-de-Seine and Eure-et-Loir.
“This solution will let people keep their identity data safe behind a high level of security,” said Mr Darmanin.
“The integration of driving licences into the France Identité app is essential to simplify driving habits”.
The move to simplify habits by digitising documents also includes the phasing out of car insurance stickers, which are to be replaced by an electronic register from April.
There are also plans to create an electronic carte grise in 2024, however details on this have not been finalised.
The authorities point out that the app is voluntary and that there are no plans for it to replace physical driving licences or identity cards.
How does the France Identité app work?
At present it only works for holders of French identity cards and French driving licences, which must have been printed after 2021 in the ‘credit card’ format (rather than the old paper format).
Other identity papers, including cartes de séjour and passports are not currently accepted, neither are foreign driving licences. However, there are plans to include cartes de séjour on the app later in 2024.
The app, which is free to download, requires a smartphone with Android 8 or iOS 16.
To upload your French driving licence into the app you must connect to Mes Points Permis and download your rélévé d’information restreint (RIR) document.
Next, allow the app to photograph and scan your identity card using your smartphone’s NFC Tag reader.
You can then scan the QR code from the RIR document to upload a digital copy of your driving licence to the app.
Read more:
Can I register a new car in France with a foreign licence?
Do police officers need reason to stop and control drivers in France?
