shqiptarëtAlbanian or Kosovo driving licence in France
In France, a licence from outside the EU/EEA is valid for only 1 year after you become resident. To keep driving you must exchange it for a French licence, if your country is on the official exchange list. Otherwise you must pass the French driving test.
This is general information from the official French pages below, not legal advice. For your own case, contact France Titres (ANTS).
- Kosovo licence
- Yes, exchangeable, all categories, under the Interior Ministry's official list (updated 1 May 2026).
- Albanian licence
- Albania is not on the official list of 1 May 2026. Service-public.fr says that when a licence cannot be exchanged, you must pass the driving test in France.
- Deadline
- Apply within 1 year of the date your first residence permit is handed to you (or of the online validation of a VLS-TS long-stay visa). Renewing a permit does not restart the clock.
- Fee
- Electronic tax stamp (timbre fiscal) of €40 (€20 in French Guiana).
- Where to apply
- Online, with France Titres (ANTS).
Steps
- Check the list
Use the official service-public.fr simulator or the Interior Ministry list. - Get a statement of driving entitlement
From the authority that issued the licence, under 6 months old, translated by an authorised translator in France. - Prepare the documents
A colour image of both sides of the licence; its translation (if made abroad it must be legalised or apostilled; in France, by an authorised translator or the issuing country's embassy); ID; proof of address under 6 months; your residence permit or OFII sticker; your digital photo-and-signature code; the tax stamp. - Apply online with ANTS
The stamp can be paid at the end of the online application. - Send the original licence when asked
At the end you are asked for the original by registered post. You can then download a certificate (ADS), valid 4 months, which lets you drive until the French licence arrives.
Be careful
- Electronic or digital licences are not exchanged; you need a physical licence.
- The licence must be valid and obtained by theory and practical tests while you lived in the issuing country.
- While you wait, you can drive, because you keep your licence. Processing can take several months.
- A motorcycle A licence cannot be obtained by exchange; you get A2.
Students
- With a student residence permit you can drive on your own licence for as long as the permit lasts; there is no exchange during that time.
The French test (when the licence cannot be exchanged)
- Register through a driving school, or yourself online with ANTS as a free candidate.
- As a foreign national you need at least 6 months' residence in France and a valid residence permit.
- The theory test (code de la route) costs €30; you pay again after each failure.
- Driving school fees vary from school to school.
The statement of driving entitlement
- Albania: the DPSHTRR issues a "Vërtetim për Leje Drejtimi (për jashtë vendit)" (licence certificate for abroad), 500 lekë. Bring your ID and the licence.
- Licences issued before 24.01.2017: apply at the DRSHTRR that issued it. After that date: at any DRSHTRR.
- Ready the same day in Tirana, or after 3 working days elsewhere.
- Kosovo: under Ministry of Internal Affairs Administrative Instruction No. 07/2023 (Article 24), you apply at the Department for Document Provision (driving licence sector), and also at QPD centres and consulates. The reply is given electronically or on paper.
- France wants the statement under 6 months old and translated by an authorised translator in France.
Kosovo citizens: the Kosovo licence is on the official French list for all categories (1 May 2026). France: the essentials
Sources
- Service-Public.fr: Exchanging a licence obtained outside the EU/EEA (F1460)
- Ministère de l'Intérieur: reciprocity list, non-EU/EEA licences, 1 May 2026 (PDF, via France Diplomatie)
- Service-Public.fr: simulator, is a non-EU licence exchangeable
- France Titres (ANTS): driving licence services
- Service-Public.fr: Registering for the driving test (F2828)
- DPSHTRR (Albania): Driving licence certificates
- Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo: Administrative Instruction No. 07/2023 on driving licences (PDF)