Changes to French registration plates from 2009

From 2009 the department number will no longer be on the French registration plate.

The registration plates will no longer be black on white at the front and black on yellow at the rear as in the UK, but black on white on the front and rear as in Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Poland and many other European countries.

They will be made up of two letters, three numbers and two letters and will be allocated to a vehicle for life unlike presently if the owner moves from département to département.

It will be much easier to indentify new registered cars on the road and complications and costs when a resident moved from one département to another.