In the first quarter of 2026, more than 400,000 vehicles could be equipped with a new distinctive sign to make them more easily identifiable. The goal? Avoid confusing fraudsters and legal drivers.
Receiving someone else’s ticket because of an administrative error? All drivers would be fine without it. And yet, many people fall victim to this mistake every year because of a simple detail on cars. “Some law-abiding motorists find themselves paying a high price for others who drive illegally. This type of dysfunction undermines confidence in the registration system and fuels a feeling of injustice,” deplores the president of the 40 million motorists association, Philippe Nozière.
Because yes, the problem only lies… in one color. Currently, in France, there is nothing to distinguish temporary registration plates from permanent plates. If they all start with the letters “WW”, it is sometimes difficult for the police to spot them in the flow of traffic. And above all, they are temporarily allocated to new, imported or test vehicles, so that they can drive freely while awaiting their final registration certification. The problem ? They are only valid for a period of four to six months, and many drivers forget (sometimes voluntarily) to change them after this period.
As the combinations of numbers and letters starting with “WW” are not infinite, it may happen that the same number is allocated later (on average every 14 months) to another car: the new holder of the plate, who is therefore perfectly in order, therefore risks receiving fines from the previous owner. In fact, there is currently no element that allows you to differentiate between a valid license plate and one that has expired. This is why 40 million motorists proposed a solution: change the color of the temporary plates and write the validity date on them. Pink plates could thus be put into circulation from next year, the text having to be finalized and published in the official journal by the first quarter of 2026. More than 400,000 vehicles would be affected by this change.
“This plate, simple, but effective, protects both users and law enforcement, by restoring essential transparency on our roads.s“explains the association. Police checks will therefore be greatly facilitated, and administrative errors “which unfairly penalized drivers. should be avoided. But fraudsters will certainly see this as bad news.
