The driving license is becoming paperless but only 1 in 4 French people can obtain it

The digital driving license has been available to all motorists since February 14. But in reality, many cannot yet claim it.

The digital revolution is more than ever underway. It particularly affects motorists since the announcement, on February 14, 2024, of the dematerialization of the driving license. After an experiment carried out in a few departments (Rhône, Hauts-de-Seine and Eure-et-Loir), the digital driving license will be able to be generalized to all drivers who have successfully passed their road test, whether it is Forty years ago or just a few days ago. However, to transform your old piece of pink paper or your most recent laminated license (appeared in 2013) into digital format, you must already have a document that many French people do not have, at least not yet.

The first step to take to obtain your dematerialized driving license is to install the France Identity application on your Android smartphone or iPhone. But to benefit from all the services of the application, downloadable free of charge via Google Play and the App Store, you must first scan your CNI on France Identity. Problem is, only electronic identity cards, issued by the French administration since summer 2021, allow this. Without this, it is impossible to access the different tabs of France Idabilité, including the "Portefeuille", designed to host dematerialized identity documents such as...the driving license.

Today, around 25% of French people – roughly 17 million – have an electronic identity card, also called CNIe. In other words, the remaining 75% cannot have access to all the features of France Identity. Among these, motorists are therefore unable to take the necessary steps to obtain their digital driving license. As you have understood, to open all the doors of France Identity and convert your physical documents into a digital version, it is essential to have the famous electronic identity card, more secure than the old one and designed to facilitate the procedures official administrative authorities.

How can we get it? You can carry out your procedures in any municipality in France provided that the town hall is equipped with a fingerprint collection device. You must first make an appointment with the administrative center of the municipality of your choice which will give you a list of documents to provide according to your personal situation. You can already find this list on the official website of the French administration (https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F21090). Once the file has been submitted, the manufacturing time depends on the location and period of the request. It takes several weeks and, as the summer holidays approach, delays may increase. Renewal of the identity card is free.