France license plates
Format, region codes and a plate generator for France.
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Custom text: real plates never carry this combination.
This image is not a license plate: it must not be fitted to a vehicle and does not mean the combination is available.
How to read the plate
A French SIV plate reads AB-123-CD: two letters, three digits and two more letters, without I, O and U. The number is national and stays with the car for life. The blue band on the right carries a mandatory territorial identifier — a department number and the logo of its region. Owners choose the department themselves — any one, not necessarily where they live — and can change it at any time without re-registering, so the code on the right does not necessarily match the place of registration. On the left is the EU band with the letter F.
Region map
Click a region to see its codes.
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Region codes
102 regions| Region | Code |
|---|---|
| Ain | |
| Aisne | |
| Allier | |
| Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | |
| Hautes-Alpes | |
| Alpes-Maritimes | |
| Ardèche | |
| Ardennes | |
| Ariège | |
| Aube | |
| Aude | |
| Aveyron | |
| Bouches-du-Rhône | |
| Calvados | |
| Cantal | |
| Charente | |
| Charente-Maritime | |
| Cher | |
| Corrèze | |
| Côte-d'Or | |
| Côtes-d'Armor | |
| Creuse | |
| Dordogne | |
| Doubs | |
| Drôme | |
| Eure | |
| Eure-et-Loir | |
| Finistère | |
| Gard | |
| Haute-Garonne | |
| Gers | |
| Gironde | |
| Hérault | |
| Ille-et-Vilaine | |
| Indre | |
| Indre-et-Loire | |
| Isère | |
| Jura | |
| Landes | |
| Loir-et-Cher | |
| Loire | |
| Haute-Loire | |
| Loire-Atlantique | |
| Loiret | |
| Lot | |
| Lot-et-Garonne | |
| Lozère | |
| Maine-et-Loire | |
| Manche | |
| Marne | |
| Haute-Marne | |
| Mayenne | |
| Meurthe-et-Moselle | |
| Meuse | |
| Morbihan | |
| Moselle | |
| Nièvre | |
| Nord | |
| Oise | |
| Orne | |
| Pas-de-Calais | |
| Puy-de-Dôme | |
| Pyrénées-Atlantiques | |
| Hautes-Pyrénées | |
| Pyrénées-Orientales | |
| Bas-Rhin | |
| Haut-Rhin | |
| Rhône | |
| Haute-Saône | |
| Saône-et-Loire | |
| Sarthe | |
| Savoie | |
| Haute-Savoie | |
| Paris | |
| Seine-Maritime | |
| Seine-et-Marne | |
| Yvelines | |
| Deux-Sèvres | |
| Somme | |
| Tarn | |
| Tarn-et-Garonne | |
| Var | |
| Vaucluse | |
| Vendée | |
| Vienne | |
| Haute-Vienne | |
| Vosges | |
| Yonne | |
| Territoire de Belfort | |
| Essonne | |
| Hauts-de-Seine | |
| Seine-Saint-Denis | |
| Val-de-Marne | |
| Val-d'Oise | |
| Guadeloupe | |
| Martinique | |
| French Guiana | |
| Réunion | |
| Mayotte | |
| Corse-du-Sud | |
| Haute-Corse | |
| Corsica (until 1976) The Corsica department was split in 1976 into Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse (2A and 2B). Code 20 survives only on old FNI plates and is not allowed on SIV. |
History
From 1950 to 2009 the FNI system was used: 1234 AB 56 or 123 ABC 75, where the department code at the end matched the place of registration, and the number changed when the owner moved. Such plates remain valid until the car is sold or the address changes, and are still very common on older cars. Under FNI, Corsica had code 20 until 1976 (then 2A and 2B), and the departments around Paris got codes 91–95 in 1968 — until 1962, 91–94 and 99 stood for departments of Algeria. The current SIV system was introduced on 15 April 2009 for new cars and from October 2009 for re-registrations.
