The latter makes a reference to the national mining administration, which was responsible for issuing the plates in the early 20th century.Since 1901, various systems have been successively introduced, the most recent dating from 2009.

This format is monitored nationwide and car plates are permanent and attached to a single vehicle from its first registration to its disposal.

The SIV system was adopted to ease vehicle registration and law enforcement on roads because it is fully monitored by computer and administered nationwide.

[2] Registration plates issued after 2009 must be displayed in accordance with the 9 February 2009 Order (French: Arrêté du 9 février 2009).

The left side of the plate must contain a blue band with the letter F for France under the stars of the European flag.

A similar band must be present on the right side to display a department code and the symbol of the region where the département is located.

Vehicles registered as classic cars can carry black plates with silver or white characters and without the blue bands on the sides.

Vehicles in transit on French territory must carry a red plate with white characters.

Vehicles purchased in the free trade zones of Gex and Savoie also carry red plates, but with the regional code.

Vehicles owned by the French Forces and Civilian Elements stationed in Germany (FFECSA) carry a pale blue plate with white characters.

The first car registered in France under the SIV, a Mazda 6 station wagon,[4] received a AA-001-AA registration plate, the second one AA-002-AA, the third AA-003-AA.

It also excludes the SS combination because it is reminiscent of the Nazi organisation and WW in the first group of letters as it indicates a temporary plate.

Other combinations of letters that were avoided in the previous system because they sounded vulgar to French speakers, such as KK, PD, PQ, QQ, and WC, were included in the SIV.

In 2008, several months before the SIV system was implemented, the Minister of the Interior acknowledged the attachment French people had to their départements and decided to add a blue band on the right to display geographical codes.

[6] As it is not used for administrative purposes, car owners can choose the code of the département they want, no matter where they reside.

Shortly before the introduction of the system, French regions were asked which symbol they wanted to represent them on car plates.

Furthermore, computerised files allow large national databases to be maintained without the need for them to be split at local level.

Offensive letter combinations, for instance SS, PD, PQ, QQ, KK or WC, were avoided by some départements either because of historical reasons or because they sound vulgar to French speakers.

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.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon, now a self-governing overseas collectivity with its own registration plates, was a proper département between 1976 and 1985.

The state public services, such as the National Police (French: Police nationale), had special plates that comprised the département code; a letter to indicate in which area the vehicle was authorised to travel (D for the département, 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.

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.

[10] Diplomatic cars used green plates with orange or white lettering, depending on the series.

Vehicles owned by the French Forces and Civilian Elements stationed in Germany (FFECSA) carried a pale blue plate with silver characters.

Duty-free cars purchased abroad or in the free trade zones of Gex and Savoie used red plates with white or silver characters.

[12] No decision was taken until 1783, when Louis XVI required coachmen to put a metal plate with their name and address on their carriage.

For instance in Lyon, they had to bear a plate with a number to cross the Parc de la Tête d'Or.

[15] Following the rapid development of the motor vehicle at the end of the 19th century, French authorities adopted a nationwide registration system in 1901.

[15] The system did not offer a wide range of combinations, even if regions could begin a second series of three numbers once they had reached 999 with the first one.

[16] The following format kept the geographical structure but identified départements with numbers rather than letters, allowing a greater range of combinations.