What is the SIV plate format?

Since 2009, France uses the SIV national series AA-123-AA: two letters, a dash, three digits, a dash, and two letters. The series is sequential and the same nationwide.

Which letters are not allowed?

The letters I, O and U are excluded from SIV plates because they are easily confused with the digits 1, 0 and the letter V. The validator rejects any plate containing them.

The left-letter block WW is reserved for temporary and transit (provisional) plates, so it is not issued as part of the standard permanent national series. SS is also not used.

Does the plate encode the département?

No. Unlike the pre-2009 FNI system, the SIV number does not encode any geography. The département shown on the right-hand sticker is chosen freely by the owner and can be any valid code.

Does a valid format confirm registration?

No. This is a format and series-rule validator. To confirm a plate is assigned to a registered vehicle you need an official lookup such as the SIV registry or a Histovec report.

France Vehicle Plate (SIV) Validator

Since 2009, France has issued vehicle plates under the SIV (Système d’Immatriculation des Véhicules) using a single national series in the form AA-123-AA. This free validator confirms a plate matches that format and the SIV series rules, and can also check the optional département sticker code. It is built for French fleet and insurance workflows.

How it works

The tool normalises the input (uppercased, dashes removed) and applies the SIV rules:

Structure: exactly 2 letters, 3 digits, 2 letters — AA-123-AA.
Excluded letters: I, O and U are never used (they resemble 1, 0 and V).
Reserved blocks: the left block WW is reserved for temporary/transit plates and SS is unused, so neither is part of the standard series.
Number block: 001–999; 000 is not issued.

The département code from the right-hand sticker is optional and does not affect the SIV number’s validity — under the SIV the number carries no geography, unlike the older FNI system. If you enter one, the tool checks it against valid codes (01–95, Corsica 2A/2B, and overseas codes like 971–988).

Example

Validate AB-123-CD:

Left letters  = AB   (no I/O/U, not WW/SS -> ok)
Number block  = 123  (not 000 -> ok)
Right letters = CD   (ok)

The plate is a well-formed SIV registration.

Notes

A valid result confirms the plate follows the SIV format and series rules. It does not confirm the plate is assigned to a registered vehicle — for that, use an official lookup such as Histovec. All processing runs locally in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.