Vehicle registration plates of British Columbia
The Canadian province of British Columbia first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display licence plates in 1904.
Passenger plates 1964 to present
In 1956, the U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that fixed the size for licence plates for vehicles, except those for motorcycles, at six inches in height by twelve inches in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the province's first licence plate that complied with these standards.
Licence plate serials for passenger vehicles omit the following letters: I, O, Q, U, Y, and Z. From the introduction of yearly registration stickers with the ABC-123 series in 1970 until the end of the 123-ABC series in 2014, the set of 20 available letters was divided into two 10-letter blocks: A-K and L-X. When a serial reached the end of a block, the next issue would roll over to the start of the same block, so that AAK was followed by ABA, rather than AAL. Likewise, AAX was followed by ALA, rather than ABA. The serials were issued in two sets of 8 blocks each (letters first 1970-2001 , then numbers first 2001-2014): AAA-KKJ, AAL-KKX, ALA-KXK, LAA-XKK, ALL-KXX, LLA-XXK, LAL-XKX, and LLL-XXW. As of the AB1-23C series introduced in 2014, the serials are being issued in a single 20-letter block, in alphabetical order (i.e AA0-00A to AX9-99X, then BA0-00A, etc.).
Note that the letter Y appears on certain commercial vehicle plates.
Image | First issued | Design | Slogan | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1964 | Yearly changes between blue on white, white on blue and red on white. | Beautiful British Columbia | 123-456 | Insurance renewal required a new plate every year | ||
1970 | blue on white | Beautiful British Columbia | ABC-123 | Introduction of yearly vehicle registration stickers and the idea of permanent plates | ||
1973 | blue on white | Beautiful British Columbia | ABC-123 | |||
1979 | white on blue | Beautiful British Columbia | ABC-123 | |||
1985 | blue on reflective white with screened provincial government flag logo | Beautiful British Columbia | ABC-123 | |||
2001 | blue on reflective white with screened provincial government flag logo | Beautiful British Columbia | 123-ABC | 000-AAA to 999-XXW, excluding the 000-MAB and 000-VAB series | ||
2007 | Special Issue 2010 Olympics plate with screened mountain design on background and 2010 Winter Olympic logo on centre. | The Best Place On Earth | 123-MAB | 000-MAA to 999-MKK | ||
2014 | blue on reflective white with screened provincial government flag logo | Beautiful British Columbia | AB1-23C[1] | AA0-00A to present |
Truck plates 1979 to present
Image | First issued | Design | Slogan | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | green on white | Beautiful British Columbia | 12-34-AB | |||
1985 | blue on reflective white with screened provincial government flag logo | Beautiful British Columbia | 1234-AB | |||
2007 | Special Issue 2010 Olympics plate with screened mountain design on background and 2010 Winter Olympic logo on centre. | The Best Place On Earth | AB-1234 | |||
2008 | blue on reflective white with screened provincial government flag logo | Beautiful British Columbia | AB-1234 |
Licence plate decals
Since 1970, it has been necessary in British Columbia to place a decal on the rear licence plate as proof of current insurance in order to be permitted to drive the vehicle. Decals have been used since 1970, but they all expired on February 28 of the following year until March 1980. Then they expired at the end of the month on the decal, until 1994. Then an additional decal, with a number on it for the day it expired, was introduced.
The decals are currently issued by the provincial motor vehicle insurer, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia The following are the colour patterns used in years from 1980 onward:
Year | Colour |
---|---|
1980 | Black and white |
1981 | Red and black |
1982 | Green and white |
1983 | Black and white |
1984 | Orange and white |
1985 | Blue and white |
1986 | Red and blue |
1987 | Red and white |
1988 | Dark blue and white |
1989 | Green and white |
1990 | Pink and white |
1991 | Blue and white |
1992 | Black and white |
1993 | Green and white |
1994 | Red and white |
1995 | Blue and white |
1996 | Black and white (Jan-Sept) |
1996 | Pink and white (Oct-Dec) |
1997 | Green and white |
1998 | Red and white |
1999 | Blue and white, thick or thin border |
2000 | Yellow |
2001 | Orange |
2002 | Dark green |
2003 | Pink |
2004 | Yellow |
2005 | Sky-blue |
2006 | Red |
2007 | Light green |
2008 | Baby blue and white |
2009 | Dark orange and black |
2010 | Green and black |
2011 | Yellow and black |
2012 | Pink and black |
2013 | Orange and black |
2014 | Baby blue and black (full year shown) |
2015 | Mustard Yellow and black (full year shown) |
2016 | Pink and black (full year shown) |
2017 | Green and black |
References
External links
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