Vehicles are given a lifetime registration number, consisting of an alphanumeric series beginning with AA-001-AA and ending with ZZ-999-ZZ.
This number is assigned to the vehicle from the time it is first registered until it is destroyed, and is issued chronologically in a single national series.

Mopeds are numbered using an alphanumeric series starting with A 11 A and ending with ZZ 999 Z.

The new plate is easier to read thanks to the contrast of black characters on a white background, and also meets environmental requirements (the yellow colour uses lead-based compounds that are harmful to the environment).

You can have your number plate made either by an automotive professional or by a manufacturer of your choice.

On the right-hand side of the plate, against a blue background, you can add a territorial identifier including the number of the département of your choice, topped by the logo of the region in which the département is located.
This local reference is not necessarily linked to your address.

You can therefore choose the département with which you feel a personal attachment or affinity, whether or not it is where you live.
What's more, you may keep the local reference affixed by the previous owner if you buy a used vehicle, if you so choose.

These vehicles use a special system to preserve their historic character.

As an exception to the norm, owners may affix a plate with a black background in the original format, with an SIV number (when a new registration certificate is issued).

These series relate to certain categories of vehicles that are subject to specific registration regulations. These include:

• vehicles used by diplomats and similar persons (CMD, CD, C, K)
• vehicles registered in a temporary series

Since the introduction of the vehicle registration system, vehicles belonging to the government’s own civilian fleet, military vehicles and mobility systems, and agricultural vehicles have been registered in the normal series.

Each of these categories has its own special purpose, printed on the registration certificate.

The following vehicles are eligible for temporary registration:

• New vehicles sold incomplete for bodywork purposes.
• New or used imported vehicles with incomplete registration applications.
• New vehicles exported to Overseas France, to the EU or to non-EU countries.
• New self-propelled agricultural machinery (MAGAs) and new international category R and S vehicles with incomplete registration applications.
• Used vehicles previously registered in an EU country other than France or in a non-EU country, purchased in France from a motor trade dealer and intended for direct export outside mainland France.
• Used vehicles previously registered in France but whose registration certificate does not include the permanent number stipulated in article R.322-2 of the French Highway Code or a number allocated by the former national registration file, intended for export to the EU.
• Diplomatic or similar vehicles whose registration certificate does not include the permanent number provided for in article R.322-2 of the French Highway Code, intended for export outside mainland France, once their diplomatic plates have been returned to customs.

The plates of diplomatic corps vehicles retain their current characteristics but are registered in the new system (SIV).

As long as these vehicles have diplomatic status, they retain a special registration number.