French License Plate Generator

Source status

France’s current system is SIV. New vehicles took it from 15 April 2009, and used vehicles from 15 October 2009. The string is seven characters in the shape AA-123-AA. It is assigned once and it does not change because the owner changes department. The serial no longer contains a department code. A separate right-hand blue band still displays a department number and its regional logo, chosen independently of the owner’s address.

The plate people still photograph

From 1950 until the changeover, plates used one to three digits, one to three letters, and a two-digit department number. A car that was registered before 2009 and has not been through the events that force a new string can still show that older layout. On an SIV plate, a number such as 75 or 13 in the right-hand band is a territorial identifier, separate from AA-123-AA. On the older FNI format, the department was part of the registration number itself.

Colors

The ordinary plate is a white base, black characters, and a blue band with F. That is the drawing. I am not describing diplomatic or temporary series because the notes I kept do not give their patterns.

The service-public page is the official explanation I link. Type AA-123-AA into the preview, or compare the blue band with Germany and Czechia on the Europe page.