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When a licence is revoked abroad, it is still possible for a national to continue driving in his or her own country, and in all other countries except the one concerned by the offence. This will change within the EU.
The current situation is as follows: if a driving licence is withdrawn in a country other than the country in which the licence was issued, it is still possible to drive in all other countries, provided that the licence can be presented. For example, in some countries, such as Belgium and Luxembourg, it is possible to request a copy of one’s driving licence from the authorities if it is withheld abroad for an offence. In short, the scope of the withdrawal is therefore technically limited to the borders of the country where the offence and conviction took place.
In the 27 of the EU
Parliament decided to put an end to this absurd situation after a vote in February 2024. It will still take a few rounds within the European institutions to make the decision applicable, but the process does not seem to be much of a challenge since the European Parliament’s Transport Committee validated the continuation of the project on 7 October 2024. From then on, in a few months (or a few years), certain offences such as excessive speeding and driving under the influence may be subject to a forfeiture of the right to drive applying to all EU territories. This will not necessarily be automatic, but the driver concerned by this extraterritorial ban must be informed of it within the time limits set by the European directive.
Outside EU
This rule will only apply to countries in the European Union. An offence with a licence withdrawal outside the EU should therefore allow the driver to get back behind the wheel in the EU provided that a duplicate can be obtained before the confiscated document is returned. However, there may be specific agreements between countries. The country of origin of the licence may then decide to extend it to its territory or to oppose a request for a copy. Thus, Switzerland transmits the notification of the withdrawal of the driving licence to the corresponding authority abroad. This provision is also automated and reciprocal with France.
