How to recover points on a French driving licence

The French driving licence works on a points system. You start with 12 points (6 during the probationary period), and each offence removes one or more points. The good news: it's possible to get deducted points back by attending a road safety awareness course — commonly called a points recovery course.

The points recovery course: the legal mechanism

The points recovery course is governed by the French Highway Code (articles L. 223-6 and R. 223-5 to R. 223-8). It's a two-day course run by trainers approved by the Ministry of the Interior. At the end, the driver recovers points on their licence, up to the limits set by law.

The course doesn't erase the offences you committed or any criminal conviction — it only restores points. Attendance is recorded in the national driving licence file.

How many points can you recover?

Each course lets you recover up to 4 points, within the legal 12-point ceiling. Points are credited to your licence the working day after the course ends, once the course provider has transmitted your certificate of attendance to the Ministry of the Interior.

How often can you take a course?

French law allows one points recovery course per year — once every 12 months. This window is calculated from the date of your last course, not the calendar year. In practice:

• If you took a course on 15 March 2025, you can't take another one before 16 March 2026.
• It's worth registering before your points balance gets critically low.
• Over the course of a driving life, you can recover a maximum of 4 points a year this way.

Who can take a points recovery course?

To be eligible, you need to meet every one of these conditions:

• Hold a valid driving licence — issued in France or a recognised EU country
• Have a points balance between 1 and 11 — if you're already at 12, the course won't add anything; if you're at 0, it's too late
• Not have taken a course in the last 12 months — you can check this on your full driving record
• Be past your probationary period — new drivers on a probationary licence recover points automatically instead (see below)

What the course can NOT do

It's important not to confuse the points recovery course with other procedures. The course has no effect in the following cases:

• Invalidated licence (0 points) — if your licence has already been invalidated for lack of points, the course can't give it back. You'll need to retake your driving test in full after a legal waiting period.
• Court or administrative suspension — a course doesn't lift a suspension ordered by a judge or Prefecture.
• Licence cancellation — following repeat or serious offences, a cancelled licence can't be reinstated through a course.
• A valid, non-probationary licence already at 12 points — you won't recover anything, since your balance is already at its maximum.

Automatic recovery vs. a course: what's the difference?

There are two separate ways to recover points on a French licence — they shouldn't be confused.

Automatic recovery

Independently of any course, deducted points are automatically restored if no new point-deducting offence occurs within a set period:

• 2 years — for any offence resulting in a 1–5 point deduction (most minor offences)
• 3 years — for the most serious offences (criminal offences, alcohol, drugs...)
• During the probationary period — drivers recover 1 point per offence-free year (then 2 points/year after 2 offence-free years), up to the 6-point probationary ceiling

This automatic recovery is silent — you're not notified, and it requires no action on your part.

The voluntary course

A voluntary course (like the ones LZPointsPermis runs) lets you recover up to 4 points immediately, without waiting for automatic recovery. It's especially useful if your balance is low and you can't afford to wait 2 or 3 years.

Mandatory courses: a different situation

Don't confuse the voluntary course described on this page with a mandatory course ordered by an administrative authority or a judge — often via a so-called "48N" letter. In that case, the course is compulsory and the driver can't legally drive again until they've completed it. Both types of course run the same way, but the legal context is different.

How to check your points balance before registering

Before booking a course, it's worth checking your current points balance. A few options:

• The official government portal — telepoints.interieur.gouv.fr, using your licence number and date of birth
• Official warning letters — sent automatically by the administration once your balance drops to 6, 3, then 1 point
• Full driving record — an official document available from your Prefecture or online, detailing your licence's complete history