Paris  - New license plates for French automobiles beginning in 2009 will no longer require designations of automobile owners' home district, but geographic appellations will be voluntary.

The new plates to be adopted over time will instead follow the life of the vehicle, the Paris interior ministry said Monday. Like a born-on date, every new automobile in France will have a license plate specific to the vehicle.

Automobiles will keep their license plates even if they are sold or their owner moves to a new part of the country. The F for France and the ring of EU stars on the left side of the plate will remain on the new model. The coming design has three numbers followed by two letters. Owners may chose to add numbers and regional logos to the right side of the plate, indicating a specific place, and people will be free to choose any location they wish for their license plates.

The final digits on French license plates, which currently carry a two-row tag of three numbers and three letters each, indicate corresponding departments across the country. With 13 million address changes per year, the system is running out of new combinations. (dpa)