FNI Before the introduction of the current format in 2009, French cars were registered under the FNI system (, "National Car Registration Record"). The FNI format was adopted in 1950 and amended several times due to its long operating life. Vehicle owners had to re-register their vehicle if they relocated permanently to another . There used to be an annual tax on cars, called the '''', whose rate depended on the . This tax now exists only for corporate-owned vehicles (and there exist exemptions for small numbers of vehicles); it is thus no longer important to know the department of a car on sight. Furthermore, computerised files allow large national databases to be maintained without the need for them to be split at local level. A side effect of the vehicle tax system was that many corporations registered their vehicles in departments, such as Oise (60), with lower rates. Regulations aimed at preventing such schemes were passed in 1999.
Colour and dimensions (31). As with the SIV format, plates issued under the FNI system were closely regulated by law. They had to meet a number of requirements about size, shape, colour, typeface and material. From the adoption of the format in 1950 until its withdrawal in 2009, several laws and orders came to modify regulations on plates. For instance, the blue band with the European stars and the letter F was introduced in 1998 and became compulsory on new plates in 2004. At the beginning, plates were black with white or silver characters. Reflective plates were introduced in 1963 but only became compulsory on new cars in 1993. The new plates had to be white on the front and yellow on the rear until 2007, when white rear plates were allowed.
Numbering The FNI format was chronological, as is the SIV system. It was also regional, which means that it evolved independently in each . Registration plates contained from 4 to 8 alphanumeric characters split into three parts by spaces. The first space could be omitted on registration plates issued after 1996. • First part: one to four numbers; • Second part: one to three letters; • Third part: the code for departments. Numbering went as follows: numbers evolved first, starting from 1, until they reached 999. Then letters evolved. The first car registered in Paris had a 1 A 75 car plate, and the second one 2 A 75. Once 999 A 75 had been reached, the following car was registered under 1 B 75. The format would have been exhausted in Paris once 999 ZZZ 75 had been reached. The following chronology summarises the numbering system. Most of the chose to have four numbers on their plates once the letters reached QA, in order to have more combinations available. The "00" at the end stands for the geographical code. • 1 A 00 to 999 Z 00; • 1 AA 00 to 999 PZ 00; • 1 QA 00 to 9999 ZZ 00; • 1 AAA 00 to 999 ZZZ 00. Numbers from 1 to 10 and numbers identical to the code (whether it be the one code or even a double code for some
départements, such as 24 VQ 24 or 2727 YV 27) were not used after 1976. In some
départements, round numbers (such as 200 ACL 54), or even repeat numbers (such as 5555 PL 10) weren't even issued. Just like the SIV system, the letters I and O were never used because they could be confused with other characters, like numbers 1 and 0. U was excluded as well in 1984, similar to the letter V, but some départements issued registration plates containing that letter until 1991. The letter O was exceptionally used on official cars at the
1992 Winter Olympics in
Albertville. Such cars had registration plates with figures between 1 JO 73 and 9999 JO 73. "JO" stands for
Jeux olympiques while "73" is the code for
Savoie where the games took place. Offensive letter combinations, for instance SS, PD, PQ, QQ, KK or WC, were avoided by some either because of historical reasons or because they sound vulgar to French speakers. In the same way,
Haute-Garonne did not deliver car plates with "AZF" after the tragic explosion of the
AZF factory in
Toulouse in 2001. MMM, MMW, MWM and MWW were withdrawn in 1994 because they needed too much space on plates. Bearing in mind that only 23 letters were used by the format and that most of the départements used four numbers after reaching QA, the number of car plates that the FNI format provides can be estimated at: (999 × 22) + (999 × 14 × 23) + (9988 × 9 × 23) + (988 × 21 × 23 × 23) = 13,386,864. This figure does not take into account avoided letter and number combinations.
Regional codes Under the FNI system, the code of the was placed at the right of the registration plate. The codes are part of the
Community Identification Number known in
France as
Code officiel géographique and are not only used for car registration but also in postcodes, statistics and for many other purposes. Each code consists of two digits except for
Corse-du-Sud and
Haute-Corse (2A and 2B) and the
overseas departments where the identifier consists of 3 digits (in the series 971 to 978), the first two digits were often stacked on plates to save space. Between 1950 and 2009, France experienced some territorial changes which reflected on regional codes.
Algeria was part of France until 1962 and
French Algeria was also divided into départements. They had their own codes which were used on plates the same way as in the rest of France:
Alger 91,
Oran 92,
Constantine 93 and the Southern Territories 94.
Bône was created in 1955 and received 99. Several new départements were created in 1956–1958 as France was struggling with independence movements in the
Algerian War. The new départements used codes such as 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, etc. After the independence of the country, French car plates were no longer used there and Algerian codes became obsolete with the use of a
local plate system. In 1968, two in the Paris region were split into smaller ones because of the growing population. 75, which had been the code for
Seine, was attributed to
Paris and 78 (
Seine-et-Oise) to
Yvelines. Newly created were
Essonne (91),
Hauts-de-Seine (92),
Seine-Saint-Denis (93),
Val-de-Marne (94) and
Val-d'Oise (95). Most of them received numbers that had previously been allocated to the in
French Algeria.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon, now a self-governing
overseas collectivity with its own registration plates, was a proper between 1976 and 1985. As such, it could have had FNI format car plates but it always kept its own local format.
Special plates Permanent special plates . . . (168). Unlike the SIV system, the FNI comprised many special plates. The state public services, such as the
National Police (), had special plates that comprised the code; a letter to indicate in which area the vehicle was authorised to travel (D for the , R for the
region, N for the national territory, E for the
European Union); a dash; four numbers from 1001 to 9999; and a letter. The
French Armed Forces (), including the
National Gendarmerie () had a different registration plate with: a number to identify the army unit (2 for Gendarmerie, 6 for the
Army (), 7 for the
Air Force (), 7 for the
Navy () and 8 for the General Services); two digits to identify the year of car registration (01 for 2001); a number to identify the type of vehicle (1 for cars and coaches, 3 for lorries, etc.) and four numbers from 0001 to 9999. Registration plates bore the symbol of the army unit the vehicle belonged to, for instance a black anchor on a
French flag for the Navy. The
Paris Fire Brigade (), although part of the Armed Forces, had different plates with letters to identify the type of vehicle, for instance PS for first aid, followed by numbers. The
Marseille Naval Fire Battalion () used regular plates with the
Bouches-du-Rhône code, while the one in
Brest used similar plates as the Navy. In
Paris,
RATP buses used special registration plates with only four numbers until March 2003, when standard registration plates were adopted. Diplomatic cars used green plates with orange or white lettering, depending on the series. Plates comprised one to three numbers identifying the embassy or the international organisation; letters identifying the status (C for consulates, CD for embassies, CMD for ambassadors, K for technical staff); and a series of numbers. Agricultural vehicles had white or yellow plates with black lettering. They contained one to five numbers identifying the farm and the code. Several vehicles belonging to the same farm could share the same figures. German military staff in France used black plates with white characters. Registration plates started with DF followed by a number identifying the headquarters area (0 to 3 for Paris, 4 for
Var and 6 to 9 for
Strasbourg) and three numbers between 000 and 999. Vehicles owned by the French Forces and Civilian Elements stationed in
Germany (FFECSA) carried a pale blue plate with silver characters. Plates contained a number from 0 to 9; a number identifying the headquarters area (0 for the Comptoir de l'Économat, 1
Baden-Baden, 2
Freiburg im Breisgau, 3
Landau-Pfalz, etc.); a dash; and four numbers between 1001 and 9999. The
President of France could use registration plates ending with PR 75, for instance 9999 PR 75.
Temporary plates As with the SIV system, the FNI allowed temporary plates for car dealers and mechanics. They contained one to four numbers, the two letters WW and the département code. Some used an extra letter after WW.
Monaco could use these plates but with a blue background, white lettering and MC instead of the département code. Duty-free cars purchased abroad or in the
free trade zones of
Gex and
Savoie used red plates with white or silver characters. They contained one to three numbers; three letters between TAA and TZZ; a département code; and an expiry date. Cars bought outside the
European Union and registered in
Gex and
Savoie had plates with five numbers; TT; and a letter identifying the free zone (Q for Savoie and W for Gex). They did not have an expiry date as they were valid as long as the owner resided in a free zone. == History ==