Car insurance with no French driving history
You have driven for fifteen years without a single claim, and a French insurer treats you like a teenager. That is not a mistake on their part. Here is why.
In France, your insurance history travels with you on a document called the relevé d'information. It lists your years insured, your claims, and your bonus-malus coefficient. A French driver changing insurer simply hands it over.
Someone arriving from Algiers, Dakar, New York or Shanghai has nothing to hand over — or only a document written in another language, from a company no French insurer has heard of.
What the law says — and what it does not
No French text obliges an insurer to recognise a foreign insurance record. Not for a country inside the European Union, and not for one outside it.
We went looking for the rule, the convention, the industry agreement that would organise this. There is none. The French insurance federation confirms it the other way round too : a French driver moving abroad has no formal reciprocity either.
So this is not a measure aimed at foreign drivers. It is a regulatory gap, and it cuts both ways.
What that means in practice
Since nothing obliges an insurer, each one decides alone. Some refuse outright. Some will look at a translated record and take it into account in their pricing, without ever committing to it. Others simply apply the no-history grid.
In other words : nothing requires an insurer to credit your foreign experience, and nothing forbids it either. Everything hangs on whether a human being looks at your file — which is exactly why an automated form with no box for your situation is the worst place to start.
Will you be priced as a new driver?
The French Insurance Code caps the surcharge that may be applied to a driver with no history. That cap exists and it protects you : an insurer cannot load your premium indefinitely, and the loading falls year by year if you stay claim-free.
Whether a driver who is experienced abroad but has had no personal French policy for three years legally falls into the "new driver" category is not clearly settled in the texts we were able to consult. That three-year criterion is widely applied by insurers ; we could not establish that the regulation itself imposes it.
We would rather tell you that than state a rule we have not verified. What is certain is that the insurer has real discretion here — and that it sometimes plays in your favour when the file is presented properly.
What genuinely helps your file
Gather this before asking for a quote
- Your insurance record from your home country, if your insurer can issue one. Even with no legal weight in France, it documents your seniority and your claims.
- A translation of it. A document in Arabic, Russian or Mandarin will not be read.
- The date your licence was issued. Licence seniority is a figure every insurer looks at, independently of any record.
- Your residence permit or validated visa, which sets the start of your driving year in France.
If your home country is in the Maghreb, be careful with promises : one competitor claims to accept foreign records for bonus purposes. We looked for the text that would authorise it. There is none. Treat it as a commercial practice, not a right.
If every insurer says no
There is a remedy, and few people know it : the Bureau Central de Tarification. If an insurer refuses to provide compulsory third-party cover, this body can order it to, and set the premium itself.
It has hard limits you should understand before going down that road — chiefly that its decision covers third-party liability only, never comprehensive cover. We set them out in the BCT remedy after a refusal.
In the meantime, a fixed-duration policy asks for no French history and issues your certificate immediately.
See my price in 2 minutesFrequently asked questions
Does my foreign insurance record count in France?
It has no legal standing. No French text obliges an insurer to recognise it, whether your country is in the EU or not. Some insurers take it into account voluntarily.
Can I transfer my no-claims bonus?
There is no legal transfer mechanism. An insurer may choose to consider a legible, translated record, but none commits to it. Be wary of sites that promise otherwise.
Will I pay a new driver's premium?
Often yes, at least for the first year, because most insurers apply a criterion of no personal French policy for three years. The Insurance Code does cap the loading.
What if I have no document at all from my home country?
Your licence seniority still counts, and a fixed-duration policy requires no history. That is the shortest route to being covered today.
Should I translate my insurance record?
It is not a legal requirement, but an unreadable document will simply be ignored. Even a simple translation markedly improves the chance it is considered.
How long until I have a French record?
Your first French policy starts building your history the day you subscribe. After one claim-free year you have a French record and a first bonus.
Have your file reviewed
An advisor looks at your actual situation and gets back to you. Available 24/7, in English.
MS Assurance & Finance — insurance broker registered with ORIAS under no. 20009338, based in Pantin (93), France. Page updated on 21 August 2026. The rules cited here refer to the official texts in force on that date ; French driving licence regulations change, so check the date before relying on older information.