- The dematerialized driving license will arrive in your smartphone from 2024
- A first experiment is starting in three departments
- How it works ?
You will soon be able to present your driving license on your smartphone. According information from the Parisian, A first experiment is planned in three departments before a national deployment from 2024.
What is the dematerialized driving license? How it works ? How to get it? Here is everything you need to know in 4 questions.
What is the dematerialized driving license?
The dematerialized driving license is a digital version of the paper driver’s licence. It is a secure file, stored in a dedicated mobile application, which contains the same information as the physical document: identity of the holder, categories obtained, date of validity, etc.
The dematerialized driving license will be recognized as proof of identity and ability to drive. It may be presented to the police during a roadside check, but also to vehicle rental companies or insurers. It will also be possible to check your points balance online.
The dematerialized driving license will be optional and free. Drivers who wish to do so will be able to continue to use their paper driving licence, which will remain valid. You will need a compatible smartphone and an internet connection to access the dematerialized driving license.
What are the advantages of the dematerialized driving license?
The smartphone driving license has several advantages over the paper driving licence. First, it allows simplify administrative procedures in the event of loss, theft or damage to the driving licence. In case of loss or theft, all you have to do is download the digital file again on your smartphone, without having to go to the prefecture or pay a tax stamp.
The dematerialized license also reduces the risk of fraud and tampering of the driver’s license. The digital file will be encrypted and protected by a code or fingerprint. It will also be updated regularly with data from the national driving license file.
Finally, this license in digital format allows France to align itself with European and international standards. The electronic driving license will comply with the harmonized model proposed by the European Commission, which aims to facilitate the movement of drivers within the European Union and to improve road safety. It will also be compatible with the international license, which allows driving in certain countries outside the European Union.
“This dematerialized permit will never replace the physical version but will complement it in order to simplify the lives of citizens who are fond of digital administrative procedures”, explains Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior and Overseas. And to add:
It’s like a certified true copy of an administrative document that will be both useful in the fight against the scourge of identity theft but also to facilitate obtaining, for example, a power of attorney.
How to obtain the dematerialized driving license?
To access the driver’s license on a smartphone, all you have to do is go through the France Identity application, developed by the National Agency for Secure Titles (ANTS), which will also integrate the digital identity card.
No need to have a recent license (the good old cardboard version also works) but it will be imperative to have registered the CNIe (electronic national identity card) in the app beforehand, the driving license not being proof of identification in the eyes of the law.
When will we be able to use the driving license on a smartphone?
According to information from Le Parisien, the driving license on smartphone will arrive at the beginning of 2024 i.e. a few weeks after the France Identity application was made available. But from the third quarter of 2023, citizens of the departments of Rhône, Hauts-de-Seine and Eure-et-Loir will be able to benefit from it via a pilot project.
The smartphone driving license is part of a desire to generalize official documents in digital format. In addition to the identity card and driving license, the authorities are also planning to deploy the e-carte vitale.
