France Identité: add your driving licence to your smartphone in France

Not everyone is aware of this option.

To be clear from the outset: in France, it is now possible to drive without carrying the paper version of your driving licence. For several months, this essential document has been available in a digital format directly on your smartphone.

As Le Journal du Geek explains, the driving licence was added to the France Identité app last year. So, if you are stopped by the police, you can simply show your phone to prove you hold a valid licence. You can add both the old pink licence (the previous version) and the newer one.

Adding your driving licence to France Identité

Doing this is straightforward, although you must first have added your new-format identity card to the service. Our colleagues also set out the steps, one by one:

• Download the France Identité app
• First add your digital identity card
• Go to the Mes Points Permis website. On this site, download a certificate of entitlement to drive
• Use the France Identité app to scan the certificate’s QR code to add the document

What happens during a roadside check (NFC)

When you are checked, you simply select “present your driving licence”, give your consent, and then show it to an officer. The officer will then use NFC technology to scan it and confirm it is authentic. For this to work, your smartphone must be running at least Android 11 or iOS 16.

The pink licence will soon no longer be valid

It is also worth noting-just as mentioned earlier-that the pink driving licence is still valid for now. However, this will change, as you will need to switch to the “bank card” format from 2033. From that date, the old document will no longer be accepted by the authorities, so you should apply within six years. We hope this article helps you make your day-to-day admin a little simpler.

Have you chosen this new digital version of the driving licence? If so, what do you think of it? Tell us in the comments.