Before you start

A valid residence permit and a French address
Your foreign licence, with a sworn translation if not in French
A vehicle registration document, for Crit'Air
An ANTS account for the licence exchange

Step-by-step

1
Check whether your issuing state has a reciprocity agreement
France exchanges licences only with states it has an agreement with, and for federal countries the agreement is often with individual states or provinces. Two Americans from different states can have completely different answers. Check the published list before assuming.
OnlineWho: YouBefore the one-year window closes
2
Apply within one year of your residence permit starting
The window runs one year from the date your first residence permit takes effect, not from arrival. Miss it and you must take the French test — code and practical, in French — regardless of experience.
OnlineWho: YouWithin 1 year of the permit's start date
3
Submit the exchange through ANTS
The procedure is online, with a sworn translation of your licence, proof of residence and identity documents. Your foreign licence is surrendered when the French one is issued.
OnlineWho: You
4
Order a Crit'Air sticker from the official site
Every vehicle in the low emission zone needs a windscreen sticker classifying its emissions, ordered from the government service and posted to you. Beware lookalike commercial sites charging several times the real fee.
OnlineWho: You
5
Understand what parking actually costs and where it is possible
Marseille's older quartiers — Le Panier, Noailles, the 6th — have street plans that predate cars, and residents' parking is heavily oversubscribed. A garage space is a substantial monthly cost and in some buildings simply unavailable. Establish the parking position of an address before you take it, not after.
OnlineWho: You
6
Test the metro and tram before deciding you need a car
Two metro lines, three tram lines and an extensive bus network cover the central city, and the buses reach the calanques. The genuine case for a car here is the Luberon, the Camargue and the Alpilles at weekends — and renting for those is usually cheaper than owning.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence and a sworn translation
Residence permit
Justificatif de domicile
Passport
Vehicle registration document, for the Crit'Air application

Things most newcomers don’t know

The one-year clock runs from your residence permit, not from your arrival.

The window to exchange a non-EU licence is one year from the date your first titre de séjour takes effect. People count from when they landed and discover too late that the only remaining route is the full French test, in French, through an auto-école, at a cost well into four figures. Diarise the date the moment your permit is issued.

Source: service-public.fr

For federal countries the agreement is per state, not per country.

France's reciprocity arrangements with the United States, Canada and others are concluded state by state or province by province. A licence from one American state may be exchangeable and one from the neighbouring state not. The list is published and specific, and this is the single most misunderstood point about French licence exchange.

Source: service-public.fr — échange d'un permis de conduire étranger

A city bus takes you to the edge of a national park, which changes the car calculation.

The Calanques are inside the municipal boundary and the RTM network reaches Luminy, Callelongue and the trailheads. The thing a car would normally buy you here — access to the outdoors — is already covered by a monthly transport pass costing less than a tank of fuel. What a car adds is Provence beyond the city, which is a weekend rental rather than a daily necessity.

Source: community-reported

Buy the Crit'Air sticker from the official site and nowhere else.

The genuine sticker costs a few euros from the government service. A cluster of lookalike commercial sites charge many times that for the same document and rank well in search results. There is exactly one official source and it is worth confirming you are on it.

Source: certificat-air.gouv.fr

Common mistakes to avoid

Counting the one-year exchange window from arrival rather than from the permit's start date.
Assuming a country-level reciprocity agreement when France concludes them state by state.
Taking a flat in an old quartier with a car and no realistic parking.
Buying a Crit'Air sticker from an unofficial reseller at several times the price.
Buying a car for calanques access that the bus network already provides.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.