Practical – New license plates in 2009 –

New license plates in 2009

Practical - New license plates in 2009 -

From January 1, 2009 for new vehicles and March 1 for second-hand vehicles, the new registration number will remain assigned to the vehicle for its entire life, regardless of its change of owner or address..

Anxious to calm the emotion aroused by the future reserved for the department number on future license plates, the Ministry of the Interior presented on Wednesday the new numbering system for French vehicles.

A system "simpler and more efficient", insists the spokesperson of the ministry, Gerard Gachet: each new plate will consist of two letters, followed by three numbers, then two more letters (example: AB-344-CA).

Applied from January 1, 2009 to new vehicle registrations and from March 1 to used vehicles, this number will remain assigned to the vehicle for its entire life, regardless of changes in ownership or address. . This system is also already widely used among our European neighbors..

Used vehicles will keep their current numbering until a new registration is required: change of owner or address, for example. More flexible, the new system makes it possible to register anywhere, regardless of where you live. The tax paid will remain regional and will be returned to the registration region by the one that processed the request..

As for the department number, it becomes optional and may appear accompanied by a logo of the corresponding region on the right of the plate. So optional that you can modify it as much as you want, without even having to notify anyone: it will cost you just the price of a new plate.

"It is untrue to say that the department number disappears, the new system defends regional ties much better than the current system", insists the spokesperson: the chosen department does not depend on its actual address, which is not always a choice of the heart. A Parisian driver can therefore choose the number 13 and a Marseillais the number 75…

Two models of plates will therefore be offered: with or without the regional mention. They will be identical at the front and at the rear and white in color, the yellow containing lead having been abandoned for ecological reasons..

Regarding two-wheelers, the new system is accompanied by the obligation for all mopeds to have a registration. This provision obliges in particular all owners of unregistered mopeds to make themselves known in order to obtain a registration card. "This formality is free", assures Gerard Gachet. It must be carried out before July 1, 2009.

"More than 13 million gray cards are awarded each year", explains the spokesperson of the ministry, estimating that"this reform was necessary because in some departments, there will be no more numbers available in 4 or 5 years".

A great need to clean the files too, since "more than 140 million files exist for only 50 million vehicles actually registered"… Or two ghost files out of three! One can however wonder how the new reform will change the situation, no obligation being made to register according to the new standard.

Another important point and not the least: this reform is accompanied by a delegation of registration formalities. Auto and motorcycle professionals, subject to being "contracted", will be able to establish the registration formalities from their concessions by being directly connected to the computer services of the system.

Exit therefore the WW plates, since the new final registrations will be immediately obtained on site. As for the choice of contracted professionals, "there will be no a priori selection, all those who sell vehicles as main or accessory will be able to claim to be approved"specifies Gerard Gachet."We go from 400 points to a few tens of thousands"to do its registration formalities. This" simplification "is of course aimed at reducing the workforce in the prefectures,"but it will be very gradual", he assures.

Evaluated at 10 million euros in total, the project does not induce any modification of registration taxes. And for that price, we can even make our address changes on the internet. It was time !

Catherine OSSAKOWSKY

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