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Vehicle registration plates of Alberta

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The Canadian province of Alberta first required its residents to register their motor vehicles and display licence plates in 1912.

List of plate issues

All serials (except a few in 1952 and 1953) exclude the letters I and O. Some three letter combinations were skipped because they spelled words. The BSE combination was issued in 2004, but was quickly followed by an optional recall.[1]

1912 to 1915

When the first plates were issued in Alberta, a number of materials were tried. 1912 and 1913 used porcelain enameled iron, and 1914 and 1915 used thin sheet metal with silkscreened number rolled over a wire frame. Serials issued started at 1 every year, and every year the registrant could request the same number as the previous year. The 1912 plate followed the design of other provinces, but 1913 to 1915 featured the Alberta shield and year on the left side. Registration expired December 31.

Image Issued Design Serials issued
1912 white on dark blue 1 to approximately 2400
1913 white on red 1 to approximately 3800
1914 black on white 1 to approximately 5000
1915 black on yellow 1 to approximately 5800

1916 to 1920

Starting with the 1916 issue, a heavier gauge of metal was used, and the text moved to the right side, saying ALTA, and the year. The 1918 plates were the first embossed plates, and 1920 had the first painted border.

Image Issued Design Serials issued
1916 dark blue on white 1 to approximately 10000
1917 black on yellow 1 to approximately 22000
1918 white on black 1 to approximately 35000
1919 black on white 1 to approximately 36000
1920 white on green 1 to approximately 38000

1921 to 1924

The 1921 to 1924 issues each used several plate sizes, depending on the length of the serial. Hyphens were also used in serials for the first time.

Image Issued Design Serials issued
1921 blue on gray 1 to approximately 40-000
1922 yellow on black 1 to approximately 43-000
1923 white on black 1 to approximately 41-000
1924 red on gray 1 to approximately 43-000

1925 to 1936

The 1925 issue was the first to feature the full province name. 1929 was the only year before 1947 that six-digit serials were required.

Image Issued Design Serials issued
1925 yellow on black 1 to approximately 52-000
1926 black on yellow 1 to approximately 65-000
1927 black on light green 1 to approximately 69-000
1928 white on blue 1 to approximately 84-000

1929 black on orange 1 to approximately 101-000
1930 white on green 1 to approximately 93-000
1931 white on blue 1 to approximately 88-000
1932 black on white 1 to approximately 82-000
1933 blue on yellow 1 to approximately 76-000
1934 red on white 1 to approximately 75-000
1935 white on red 1 to approximately 75-000
1936 orange on black 1 to approximately 77-000

1937 to 1951

In 1937 the expiry date was changed to March 31, the design was changed in 1937, by placing Alberta on the top, and the expiry date on the bottom. In 1940 the text began alternating, and the first slogan appeared, "Drive Safely", this was done by abbreviating the expiry date to dmy format. In 1942 the slogan was replaced with "Canada", but was removed after that. In 1943 and 1944, plates with an expiry of March 31, 1944 were issued, but this was extended to March 31 1945 with a window sticker. This series used the 123-456 serial format.

Image Issued Design Serials issued
1937 black on yellow 1 to approximately 85-000
1938 red on white 1 to approximately 85-000
1939 black on white 1 to approximately 90-000
1940 black on yellow 1 to approximately 94-000
1941 white on black 1 to approximately 93-000
1942 white on dark blue 1 to approximately 87-000
1943–44 black on yellow 1 to approximately 96-000
1945 orange on black 1 to approximately 95-000
1946 green on white 1 to approximately 98-000
1947 white on blue 1 to approximately 101-000
1948 black on white 1 to approximately 115-000
1949 red on white 1 to approximately 130-000
1950 white on blue 1 to approximately 153-000
1951 blue on yellow 1 to approximately 163-000

1952 to 1953

In 1956, Canada, the United States, and Mexico came to an agreement with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the Automobile Manufacturers Association and the National Safety Council that standardized the size for licence plates for vehicles (except those for motorcycles) at 6 inches (15 cm) in height by 12 inches (30 cm) in width, with standardized mounting holes.[2] The first Alberta licence plate that complied with these standards was issued four years beforehand, in 1952.

The 1952 base was also the first reflective base, with beaded white characters on a black background. Letters were used in passenger serials for the first time: five-character serials were used, with a single letter in the third and later the second position. The letter Q was not used, while the letters I and O were at a smaller size to prevent confusion with the numbers 1 and 0.

Passenger and dealer plates on this base were revalidated for 1953 with black-on-aluminum "53" tabs. Other vehicle types, however, received new plates for 1953, with dark blue characters on a white background.

Image Issued Design Serial format Serials issued



1952–53 white on black 12A34 10A10 to 99Z99
1A234 1B100 to approximately 9F999

1954 to 1972

Two-letter series were introduced in 1954, with each series initially followed by three digits. In 1960, the number of digits increased to four, with each series running from 0001 to 9000. From 1964 through 1972, only B, C, E, H, J, K, L, N, R, T, X and Z were used as the first letter, with four such letters allocated each year.[3] The 1967 base commemorated the centennial of Canadian Confederation.

Image Issued Design Serial format Serials issued
1954 black on orange AB 123 unknown
1955 yellow on blue AB-123 unknown
1956 red on white AB 123 unknown
1957 blue on white unknown
1958 black on yellow unknown
1959 green on white unknown
1960 white on red AB 1234 BA 0001 to approximately DZ 1900
1961 blue on yellow FA 0001 to JZ 9000
1962 white on green KA 0001 to approximately RD 3600
1963 black on white TA 0001 to approximately ZH 8400
1964 white on blue AB-12-34 BA-00-01 to approximately HL-62-00
1965 red on white JA-00-01 to approximately NK-84-00
1966 blue on white RA-00-01 to approximately ZL-76-00
1967 green on white BA-00-01 to approximately HR-95-00
1968 white on green JA-00-01 to approximately NZ-36-00
1969 yellow on blue RA-00-01 to approximately ZT-25-00
1970 white on blue BA-00-01 to approximately HZ-46-00
1971 white on green JA-00-01 to approximately NX-78-00
1972 white on blue RA-00-01 to ZZ-90-00

1973 to 1983

The 1973–74 base used the AB-12-34 serial format, with B, C, E, H, K and L used as the first letter.[3] It was also the first base to feature the "Wild Rose Country" slogan, which remains in use today. The 1975–84 base introduced the ABC-123 serial format, which provided many more combinations, though these were not issued in alphabetical order. Most plates on this base were manufactured in Alberta, but some were manufactured in Quebec and Nova Scotia using these provinces' serial dies.

Image Issued Design Serial format Serials issued

1973–74 orange on blue AB-12-34 BA-00-01 to LZ-90-00
1975–76 black on yellow ABC-123 unknown
1977–80 unknown
1981 unknown
1982 unknown
1983–84 EAA-000 to EZZ-999

1984 to present

The current white, red and blue base was introduced in 1984. Monthly staggered registration was introduced at the same time, with the month of expiration determined by the first letter of the registrant's surname, and the plate expiring on the last day of the assigned month. Plates were originally manufactured from steel and were reflective; non-reflective plates were introduced in 1993 as a cost-saving measure, while the material changed to aluminum in 1999 due to a steel shortage at the plant where the plates were manufactured. Several serial dies have been used on this base, owing to different plate vendors.

Image Issued Type Serial format Serials issued
1984–87 Passenger ABC-123 BBB-000 to DZZ-999; FBB-000 to HZZ-999 (without A, E, U and Y)
1987–90 Passenger JBB-000 to LWK-499 (without A, E, U and Y)
1991 Passenger LWK-500 to MDR-499 (without A, E, U and Y)
1991–93 Passenger MDR-500 to NZZ-999; PBB-000 to PFB-199 (without A, E, U and Y)
1993 Passenger PFB-200 to PZX-199 (without A, E, U and Y)
1994 Passenger PZX-200 to RRF-199 (without A, E, U and Y)
1995–96 Passenger RRF-200 to SLM-199 (without A, E, U and Y)
1996 Passenger SLM-200 to SVL-599 (without A, E, U and Y)
1997 Passenger SVL-600 to TGW-199 (without A, E, U and Y)
1998 Passenger TGW-200 to UXZ-999 (except some of UJ*)
1999 Passenger •some of UJ*
•UWA-000 to UYZ-999
•VUR-000 to VYX-999
2000–01 Passenger •VAF-000 to VUQ-999
•VYY-000 to W**-unknown
2002–03 Passenger •W**-unknown to WZZ-999
•YAA-000 to YZZ-999
2004–10 Passenger BAA-000 to TGU-999 (only with A, E, U, and/or Y)
ZAA-000 to ZAZ-999, ZHA-000 to ZZZ-999
2005–
present 		Veteran
passenger
vehicles 		ABC12 VAA00 to present
2010–
present 		Passenger ABC-1234 BBB-0000 to CCX-9999 (as of March 11, 2019)

Original format

The base originally used the ABC-123 serial format, starting at BBB-000. The letters A, E, I, O, Q, U and Y were not used until 1998, when A, E, U and Y were added (beginning with the TGY series). After YZZ-999 was reached in 2003 (the 'Z' series were reserved for ATVs at the time), previously skipped series containing A, E, U and Y were issued, starting with the BAA series and ending with the TGU series in 2009, and all E series. These were followed by the 'Z' series that had not been issued on ATVs, including those containing A, E, U and Y. The 'A' and 'X' series were not issued due to their use on Handicapped and Motorcycle plates respectively.

Exhaustion of combinations

As the ABC-123 format neared exhaustion in the late 2000s, the Alberta government launched an initiative to design a new base, with an expected launch date of 2009. This project was eventually put on hold in favour of introducing an ABC-1234 format on the 1984 base.[4][5] The new format started in 2010 at BBB-0000, with the letters A, E, I, O, Q and U skipped.

Personalized plates

In 1985, Alberta introduced personalized plates.[6] As of 2018, over 80,000 have been issued. Plates for private passenger vehicles can have a combination of up to seven characters (letters, numbers or spaces) but no special characters (exclamation mark, etc). The maximum is 5 for certain types of vehicles. The minimum number of characters is one. Personalized plates are also available for motorcycles. As in other jurisdictions, designs may be rejected or withdrawn by the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services if they are deemed offensive or confusing.[7] Personalized plates are issued in pairs.

Support Our Troops plate

A specially designed plate was introduced on July 22, 2014 to honour current and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces.[8] The design features artwork in honour of the first four Alberta-based Canadian soldiers whose lives were lost in Afghanistan in April 2002. The plate is available at registry agent locations in Alberta for a one-time $75 fee and a $9 registry agent service charge. For every plate purchased, $55 of the purchase price goes to the Support Our Troops Program managed by the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services.[9]

Image Dates issued Type Serial format Serials issued Notes
2014–
present 		Passenger AB1234 AA0000 to AE1999 (as of December 31, 2018) Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new licence plate of 2014 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first time Alberta was so honored.

Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers plates

On November 19, 2018, two specially designed Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers plates were introduced, with $55 of each $75 plate going to the Calgary Flames Foundation and the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation.[10][11] In the first two months of sales 4507 plates were sold (2750 Oilers plates and 1757 Flames plates), raising over $247,000 for the foundations.[11]

Image Dates issued Type Serial format Serials issued
2018–
present 		Passenger AB1234 FA0000 to FA2174 (as of February 27, 2019)[11]
2018–
present 		Passenger AB1234 DA0000 to DA2868 (as of February 20, 2019)[11]

Non-passenger plates

Image Type Issued Design Serial format Serials issued
All-terrain vehicle unknown-present red on non-reflective white ABC-123 unknown (includes Z** with no vowels)
Car dealership unknown-present red on non-reflective white A12345 D00000 to D99999,
M00000 to present (currently M7****)
Commercial vehicles, and Farm unknown red on non-reflective white 12-3456 00-0000 to 09-9999
unknown-present 12-A345 00-A000 to present
Motorcycle 1999–2010 red on non-reflective white AB123 AA000 to ZZ999
2010–present ABC12 AAA00 to present
Rental cars, Fleet plates unknown red on non-reflective white 1-23456 1-00000 to 3-99999
unknown-present A-12345 B-00000 to C-99999,
F-00000 to H-99999,
J-00000 to L-99999,
E-00000- to E-99999,
U-00000 - present
Trailer unknown red on non-reflective white 1234-5A 0000-1A to 9999-9D
unknown 1234-56 4000-00 to 9999-99
unknown A123-45 N000-00 to N999-99,
P000-00 to P999-99,
R000-00 to T999-99,
V000-00 to Z999-99
2010–present 1AB2-34 0AA0-00 to present (9AG9-99)

Previous plates

Image Type Issued Design Serial format Serials issued
Exempt 1974 yellow on blue 12-34-56 00-00-00 to unknown
Farm 1953 blue on white F12345 ???
Wikimedia Commons has media related to License plates of Alberta.

References

  1. ^ "A licence to change: Alberta plates to get facelift". Calgary Herald. November 9, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  2. ^ Garrish, Christopher (October 2016). "Reconsidering the Standard Plate Size". Plates. Vol. 62, no. 5. Automobile License Plate Collectors Association.
  3. ^ a b "Alberta License Plates". allaboutlicenseplates.com. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  4. ^ "Announcement of Alberta's new licence plate design postponed". Ponoka News. February 24, 2009. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  5. ^ Landry, Frank (June 9, 2010). "7-digit licence plates hitting Alberta roads". Edmonton Sun. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  6. ^ "Personalized Plates Program Information Sheet" (PDF). Government of Alberta. Service Alberta. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  7. ^ Snowdon, Wallis; Keeler, Nola. "Too rude for the road: Here are the licence plates Alberta won't allow". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Service Alberta: Support Our Troops Plate". Government of Alberta. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  9. ^ "Support Our Troops licence plate raised more than $220,000". Government of Alberta. November 7, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  10. ^ Dormer, Dave (November 17, 2018). "Licence plates have now joined the Battle of Alberta between Flames and Oilers". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  11. ^ a b c d Mertz, Emily (25 January 2019). "When it comes to specialty licence plates, Edmonton Oilers winning Battle of Alberta". Global News. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
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