Claire BOUTAUD de la COMBE, lawyer at the bar of Parisis an expert in matters related to the highway code, and has been dedicated to the defense of motorists and driving licenses for more than 15 years.
What is a driver’s license suspension?
It is a measure which consists of withdrawing your right to drive for a certain period, following the observation of an infraction.
The first suspension, called administrative, is an immediate and provisional suspension, decided by a prefect of police who immediately follows an offense noted by the police.
Judicial suspension is pronounced by a judge as the main penalty (the driver will only be penalized by the measure of suspension of his licence), or as an additional penalty (the suspension is added to another penalty such as a fine ).
The judicial suspension is generally confused with the administrative suspension, which has already been carried out.
What steps should I take after having my driver’s license suspended?
Once the suspension measure has been carried out in its entirety, you can only recover your license if you have been recognized as “fit to drive” following a medical check-up.
The terms of the medical check-up depend on the nature of the offense concerned by the driving license suspension measure.
If it is a speeding ticket, it will be enough to carry out a simple medical examination near a doctor approved by the Prefecture of your residence (the list of the doctors appears on the site of the Prefecture).
In the event of suspension greater than or equal to 6 months, and whatever the nature of the offence, it will also be necessary to plan to carry out psychotechnical tests in a specialized approved centre.
If it is a driving while having used narcotics, a medical visit to a doctor is not enough.
It is necessary to register for an appointment with the primary medical commission of the Prefecture and to present negative urine analyzes for narcotics (for example negative for THC) and blood analyzes (glycaemia).
In the case of driving under the influence of an alcoholic state, the procedure is similar, except that it will be a question of presenting blood tests showing the following data: • VGM• Gamma GT• CDT • Glycemia
The particularity of the “CDT” test (carboxy-deficient transferrin) is that it is a chronic marker of alcohol, unlike the others. This test is therefore more demanding and sometimes requires true abstinence from alcohol several days or even weeks before the blood test. Indeed and beyond 1.7%, the test is considered positive, that is to say that there is a very strong suspicion of excessive alcohol consumption.
If your medical certificate is favourable, or if the medical commission has validated your examinations, you must, before being able to drive again, submit your request for the return of your driving license online on the website of the national agency for secure documents ( ANTS).
It is advisable to create a driver’s space for you and to request the production of a new driving title, “following a suspension of the driving licence”.
Is it true that the driving license issued after a suspension measure is “provisional”?
It depends on the nature of the charges.
In the event of suspension of the driving license after a speeding violation, the license issued has no limit of validity. It is valid for 15 years, like all “new permits” issued since 2013.
In this case, the renewal will consist of a simple administrative procedure after 15 years: there will be no driving test or medical check-up to pass.
In the event of suspension of the driving license following a violation of the highway code related to the consumption of alcohol or narcotics, the license which is issued is for a “provisional” period. Depending on the results presented to the primary medial commission which validates the end of the suspension measure, the permit is issued for a period of 3 to 6 months or more usually for a period of 1 year.
The process of “renewing your driving licence” is then OBLIGATORY.
You will therefore have to present yourself again to the primary medical commission before the expiry of your license, and do so on your own initiative, because no one will remind you.
Driving with a “non-extended” driving license is an offense (3rd class contravention).
What steps should be taken after a cancellation for zero points balance?
When the driving license is canceled following a balance equal to zero, the National Driver’s License File informs you of this, by sending you a document referenced “48SI” which lists all the offenses having led to the cancellation of your driving license, following the loss of 12 points.
In this case, the cancellation is necessarily accompanied by a period of prohibition to retake the tests which is set at 6 months (or 1 year depending on the case).
This means that there is a minimum prohibition period of 6 months called “incompressible”.
Indeed, when he hands over his driving licence, the offender receives a receipt referenced “44”.
It is from this material discount that the period of 6 months during which he will not be able to drive will begin to run.
Once this period of 6 months has passed, it is possible to retake the driving license tests, it being specified that there are preliminary medical procedures to be carried out, such as those provided for after a suspension of the driving licence.
These steps can be carried out during the 6-month period, so as not to waste time.
Thus the psychotechnical tests and the medical examination (outside or by the medical commission) are compulsory after a cancellation of the license (article R.224-1 of the Highway Code).
If the decision to invalidate follows an offense for blood alcohol, you must go before the medical committee and carry out blood tests mentioning the following data: • VGM• Gamma GT• CDT• Blood sugar.
If the cancellation decision follows an offense for driving a vehicle while having used narcotics, you must this time carry out a narcotics test in the urine and a blood sugar test (in a blood test).
- Special case of the judicial cancellation of the driving licence: The license can to be canceled by a court, regardless of the balance of points, it is a sentence pronounced by a judge. The judge then freely sets the period of prohibition to retake the driving license (it can therefore be one month, 6 months, 1 year etc.).
Are there license tests that I can be exempted from after a driving license cancellation?
To obtain a new permit, the procedure will be different depending on whether the permit has been held for less or more than 3 years.
You can be exempted from the practical test of the driving licence, if you held a driving license with 3 years of seniority under several conditions:
- Exemption from the practical test for holders of a license for at least 3 years on the date of cancellation under 2 conditions: that the license is not canceled for a period exceeding 1 year and that the request for a new permit is issued within 3 months of the expiry of the sentence. (Art. R 224-20 Highway Code), or in other words less than 9 months after the cancellation of the old permit.
Be careful with Article L.223-5 of the Highway Code which provides:
The motorist “cannot obtain a new driving license before the expiry of a period of un an when a new withdrawal of all points occurs within five years of the previous one”.
- Special case of the probationary license: The new license obtained is a probationary license, with a capital of 6 points for a period of 3 years. Possibility of recovering 2 points per year without violation (Art. L.223-1 of the Highway Code).
My balance is zero but I never received the letter “48SI”, is it true that I have the right to drive? What are the risks of driving with a license whose balance is zero?
The notification of the measure of invalidation of the driving license is obligatory.
This invalidation is materialized by sending a letter referenced “48SI”.
In the event of failure to receive the letter, the offense of “driving despite cancellation of the driving license” cannot be characterized.
If the balance is zero, but the title still appears to be valid, either because the offender has not yet been notified of its cancellation, or because he has never received it, the offense of driving despite the cancellation of the permit cannot be blamed on him.
Due to the congestion of the services of the National Driver’s License File, the decision to withdraw points, then to invalidate the driving license can therefore take place many months after the triggering factor for the withdrawal of points.
Mere “physical” possession of a driving license does not allow the offender to continue driving.
It is the mention on the police files (full information statement) of the invalidation of the driving license which will be taken into account by the police in the event of a roadside check.
