{"id":63819,"date":"2022-08-12T07:58:49","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T05:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/french-license-plates\/"},"modified":"2024-10-01T18:51:21","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T16:51:21","slug":"french-license-plates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/en\/blog\/french-license-plates\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Obtain French License Plates For Your Vehicle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In most countries, at the end of a vehicle\u2019s registration, it is given a unique number that is stamped on both license plates, and France is no exception.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are moving to France with your car, you will need to register it and get new French license plates that fit officially approved standards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This write-up will shed some light on the car registration process in France and how to get valid license plates easily.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>How Does The French Car Registration System Work?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Car registration in France is handled online by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ants.gouv.fr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ANTS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which is an abbreviation for <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Agence Nationale des Titres S\u00e9curis\u00e9s<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Since the website is in French, foreigners might get confused along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you don\u2019t understand French, another option is going through an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/immatriculation.ants.gouv.fr\/services-et-formulaires\/geolocaliser-des-professionnels-habilites-a-limmatriculation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">authorized car registration agent<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. These agents will charge a fee and request your documents in order to complete registration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When bringing a car into France, you will need some documents to complete registration, including;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proof of identity, address, and insurance<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Registration certificate with the seller\u2019s name (carte grise barr\u00e9e)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.french-property.com\/guides\/france\/driving-in-france\/mot-tests-control-technique\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ministry of Transport certificate<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (contr\u00f4le technique) less than 6 months old. The time limit is 2 months in case of partial failure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quitus fiscal (shows that the VAT has been paid). You do not need to pay VAT if your used vehicle was imported from an EU country.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurococ.eu\/en\/#coc-pedia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">European Certificate of Conformity<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Getting a Certificate of Conformity is often time-consuming, considering that you might need to complete your vehicle\u2019s registration quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EUROCOC can help you process a Certificate of Conformity in little time. You can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurococ.eu\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">order yours now<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are importing your car from a non-EU country, you will need some additional files, which are;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An 846 A certificate (issued by French Customs)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RTI (R\u00e9ception \u00e0 titre isol\u00e9). This is an approval for people without a European COC and the procedure is conducted at regional facilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>How To Apply For French Number Plates?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the registration process is complete and you have a registration number, you will need to order new <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">plaque d&#8217;immatriculation<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (license plates in French) from a plate production company, while sticking to the official format which will be discussed later in this text.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>How Much For Car Registration In France?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The cost of registering your vehicle in France depends on the region you live in and the type of car you drive, but on average, you might spend around \u20ac300, without including the Value Added Tax (VAT).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What Do French Car Number Plates Look Like?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Officially, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_France#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">number plates for cars in France<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are made from white reflective materials and have black characters that are non-reflecting. This is mandatory for both front and back number plates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is also a fixed size that car number plates in France have, and it is 520 mm x 110 mm (20.5 inches x 4.3 inches). The only other size allowed for cars is 275 mm x 200 mm (10.8 inches x 7.9 inches).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">France is a member of the EU, so it is compulsory for every French license plate to have the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coe.int\/en\/web\/about-us\/the-european-flag\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EU flag<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It is located on the left side of the plate as a blue section with 12 yellow stars forming a circle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Underneath the 12 stars is the letter \u2018F\u2019, which is the International Vehicle Registration Code for France.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">French license plates also have a blue section on their right, and this contains the logo and code of a region in France.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In most other countries, the region displayed on a vehicle\u2019s plates is the region where the vehicle was registered. However, French citizens have the liberty of selecting any region of their choice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To make it easy to perform a French number plate check, take a look at all French regions and their logos <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Flags_of_the_regions_of_France#Overseas_Regions_and_Collectivities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Format Of French Number Plates<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the moment, there are 7 characters on French number plates. The characters are split into three groups &#8211; two letters, three numbers, and two letters &#8211; each separated by a dash (AA-BBB-CC).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The current vehicle registration system in France is called the SIV, and it was adopted in 2009. The system is very simple and easy to monitor, as registration numbers are given out serially.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first SIV-registered vehicle had a license number of AA-001-AA, while the second had a number of AA-002-AA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SIV format will expire when a vehicle gets to ZZ-999-AA. Based on calculations, this will happen after 277,977,744 vehicles have been registered.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Three letters, \u2018I\u2019, \u2018O\u2019, and \u2018U\u2019 are not used on French plates.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What Types Of French License Plates Exist?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most other types of French license plates that exist belong to non-private bodies such as the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/polis.osce.org\/country-profiles\/france\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">French National Police<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/French_Armed_Forces\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Armed Forces<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and diplomatic missions.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>French Custom Number Plates<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In France, the registration numbers on license plates are given out serially, and as such, they cannot be customized.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Can I Change My French Plate Number?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, you can change your French plate number if the plates get stolen, as this is a common issue in France. If someone uses your plate number on their car, they can commit crimes that will be traced to you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11515\" src=\"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/en-plates-1-300x121.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"121\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In most countries, at the end of a vehicle\u2019s registration, it is given a unique number that is stamped on both license plates, and France is no exception. If you are moving to France with your car, you will need to register it and get new French license plates that fit officially approved standards. This [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":63826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1451,1452,1425,1426,1440,1441,1492,1427],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-b2c","category-early-stage-b2c","category-france","category-import","category-m1","category-n1","category-plates","category-registration"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage-wp.eurococ.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}