Greetings
If I am a french citizen with a home and car in France, but tax resident in the USA (I live in Francepart time), can I get a french drivers license? Or must I be french tax resident first?
Thank you!
What driving licence do you have?
The theory is that you can only get a licence at your principal address. However it seems that many have found it possible if they only have one address in France.
I understand that if you have a second home in France you cannot register a car to that address.
I was wondering if that only applies to people whose primary residence is in France as well as the secondary one. The government website could be read either way, I think.
That seems to be the conclusion many have drawn, successfully.
The OP is asking about a licence.
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Indeed. However OP also mentions having a car in France. I assume that car is registered to his French address, which I believed to be illegal for someone who does not live permanently in France.
Qu’est-ce que cela signifie pour les expatriés et les ressortissants étrangers ?
Si vous êtes un expatrié français ou un ressortissant étranger qui souhaite immatriculer un véhicule en France, vous devez fournir une adresse en France. Cela peut être l’adresse de votre résidence secondaire, par exemple. Cependant, il est important de noter que cela constitue une entorse à la loi.
Does this mean you are contradicting your previous post?
I can’t find penalty for doing that. Which is quite classic in France as quite a few regulations have no penalties for breaching them. And :
« Le média a d’abord interrogé l’ANTS, qui n’a pas pu répondre et a transmis la question à la Délégation à la sécurité routière. Il s’agit de l’organisme qui édite la fameuse FAQ réglementaire du droit de l’immatriculation, qui clarifie des tas de situations opaques. La réponse est sans équivoque :
« Rien n’empêche l’immatriculation en France d’un véhicule au nom d’une personne qui possède une résidence en France, même s’il s’agit d’une seconde résidence »
Isabelle Griffe – Délégation à la sécurité routière
Cette interprétation se base probablement sur le fait que pour un étranger, la résidence secondaire peut être considérée comme son domicile dans le pays au sens de la définition du Code civil (même si celle-ci concerne en principe uniquement les « Français »). En effet, c’est bien à partir de cette adresse que le véhicule est principalement affecté. »
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Why do you ask that?
As I recall from the previous occasions when this was thrashed out…
If one lives Fulltime in France (permanent resident)… one immatriculates the car at the Principal French Address… and it’s quite clear that if one is lucky enough to also have a holiday-home/maison secondaire in France … none of these other addresses can be used for the registration purpose…
For those who do not live fulltime in France, but who do have a holiday home here… the address of that French holiday home can be used to Register the car in France… hurrah…
So the car can legally stay at the French holiday home… proudly displaying its French numberplates… and snoozing gently while it waits for its Owner to come on holiday and take it out for a spin… 
now let’s get back “on thread”… 
OP hasn’t answered as to whether she already has a driving licence. In general as a crime prevention measure most countries have signed up to not allowing people to have more than one driving licence.
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I currently have a US driver’s license. And the car is registered to my home in France, ethic I was told is ok, even if it’s a secondary home. I would be giving up my US Driver’s License
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If you are a French national with an address that will work for your domicile then it should be ok. I know some US states are odd, and the problem is that you may well be told they won’t exchange and you have to take a new test. Or tell you you can’t exchange yet.
18 States issue licences which can be excanged.Exchange of driving licenses obtained outside Europe (EU/EEA) - installation in France | Service-Public.fr
Why do you need you need French license?
I think that’s rubbish 
" l’adresse du domicile principal du titulaire means in France, not in the World 
Good idea but I doubt the systems are joined up. At one stage I’d four licences on the go, SA, UAE, US, Irl. I’ve managed to wean myself down
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I would like to get it before moving to a state that doesn’t allow license exchange. Which might happen before we make the final step to becoming permanently resident in France
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Thank you!
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