Telephones while driving may result in an administrative suspension of the driver's license

If you use your mobile phone while driving while holding it in your hand, you incur:

• a flat-rate fine of €135;
• a 3-point withdrawal from your driver's license;
• a possible suspension of your driving license, following the decision of a judge.

The Highway Code also provides that a prefect may suspend the driving license of any driver holding a mobile phone in his hand, for a maximum of 6 months, without waiting for the judge's decision.

The prefects of about twenty departments (Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pas-de-Calais, Charente-Maritime, Yonne, etc.) have already reported using this possibility.

On 29 September 2026, the Ministry of the Interior sent an instruction to all prefects asking them to use this possibility of administrative suspension.

It is not necessary for a driver to have simultaneously speeded or committed any other offense for his license to be suspended administratively for holding a cell phone in his hand.

How is the administrative suspension of the driving license implemented?

In the context of the administrative suspension, the driver's license is not withdrawn directly by the police at the time of the check. The administrative suspension of the driving license shall be decided upon and notified by the prefect; and the driver may submit his observations in an adversarial procedure.

The length of the suspension shall be assessed by the prefectural services, in particular in the light of the circumstances of the offense.