| Slogan Label: | Slogan |
| Front: | Optional for Vanity plates |
| Rear: | Required |
| Slogan: | Wild Rose Country |
| Size: | 12x |
| Material: | Aluminum |
| Serial Format: | ABC-1234 |
| Issuer: | Service Alberta |
| Manufacturer: | Waldale Manufacturing |
The Canadian province of Alberta first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1906.[1] Registrants provided their own licence plates for display until 1912, when the province began to issue plates. Only rear plates have been required since 1992.
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 |
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 |
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.
The 1925 base was the first to feature the full province name. Six-digit serials were used for the first time in 1929.
| 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 |
In 1937, the licence year was changed to April 1 to March 31, and continued as such until 1984. The 1940 (expiring March 31, 1941) base was the first to feature a slogan, namely "Drive Safely". This slogan was used again on the 1941 (expiring March 31, 1942) base, before the 1942 (expiring March 31, 1943) base featured "Canada", the first and thus far only Alberta base to feature the country name. Due to metal conservation for World War II, the 1943 (expiring March 31, 1944) base was revalidated until March 31, 1945, with windshield stickers. Six-digit serials were issued on each base from 1947 through 1951.
| 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 |
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 6inches in height by 12inches 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 |
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 | EE 101 to ZZ 950, with gaps | |
| 1955 | yellow on blue | AB-123 | BB-101 to ZM-950, with gaps | |
| 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 black | 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 |
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. However, only 15 letters were used at first (B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, N, P, R, T, V and X), while others were later used only as the first letter (with some exceptions), and the overall order of issuance was not strictly alphabetical.[3] 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 | JBB-000 to LRP-999 | |
| 1977–80 | unknown | |||
| 1981 | MGB-000 to MXX-999; XKK-000 to XXX-999; SBB-000 to SBC-999 | |||
| 1982 | SBD-000 to SXX-999; QBB-000 to QXX-999 | |||
| 1983–84 | EBB-000 to approximately ETP-999 |
The current white, red and blue base was introduced in late 1983. 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. Front and rear plates were required until 1991; only rear plates have been required ever since.[4] Several serial dies have been used on this base, owing to different plate vendors.
The base originally used the ABC-123 serial format, starting at BBB-000. The letters I, O and Q were not used in this format, and A, E, U and Y were used only from 1997, 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 April 2009. 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.
Some three-letter series were skipped because they had offensive connotations. The BSE series was issued in 2004, but was largely recalled due to a mad cow disease crisis.[5]
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.[6] [7] The new format started in June 2010 at BBB-0000, with the letters A, E, I, O, Q and U skipped.
In July 2019, the new Alberta logo was added to the base, with Wild Rose Country being kept. The issuance of the license plates with the new logo started with two out-of-order series: the last series with the old logo, CDT, was followed by CFT and then CFS. After that, regular sequence resumed: CDV through CFR, then (since CFS and CFT have already been issued) CFV and so forth.
As of 2021, month and year expiry stickers were no longer required, but can still be obtained and issued under certain circumstances.[8]
Beginning in October 2021, Alberta began issuing passenger (class 3) license plates with HD 6700 reflective sheeting from 3M. The reflective series began at CKT-1800. This sheeting had been used on several small batches of Antique Auto, Motorcycle, and Veteran plates before being introduced to general issue plates. This is the first time reflective passenger plates had been issued since 1993. The changes also occurred to trailer plates at 6JP0-00, Class 2 commercial plates at 44-P000, and Class 1 commercial plates at the beginning of a new format, 0-AA000; this format would take effect after the exhaustion of the A-00000 to A-99999 series. Dealer plates had the new sheeting introduced at M83000.
| Image | Issued | Type | Serial format | Serials issued |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-90 | Passenger, reflective base | ABC-123 | BBB-000 to DZZ-999; FBB-000 to HZZ-999; JBB-000 to LWK-499 (without A, E, U and Y) | |
| 1990–91 | Passenger; Manufactured by L&M Signs on a reflective baseplate. | LWK-500 to MDR-499 (without A, E, U and Y) | ||
| 1991–93 | Passenger; Pairs were phased out during this time, mid M-series. | MDR-500 to NZZ-999; PBB-000 to PFB-199 (without A, E, U and Y) | ||
| 1993–94 | Passenger; Beginning of Non-reflective series. | PFB-200 to PZX-199 (without A, E, U and Y) | ||
| 1994–95 | Passenger; Initial batch of plates manufactured by L&M Signs. | PZX-200 to RRF-199 (without A, E, U and Y) | ||
| 1995–96 | Passenger; Initial batch of plates manufactured by the Waldale company using New Brunswick dies. | RRF-200 to SLM-199 (without A, E, U and Y) | ||
| 1996 | Passenger; Second batch made by L&M Signs, featuring round bolt holes. | SLM-200 to SVL-599 (without A, E, U and Y) | ||
| 1996-97 | Passenger; Third batch made by L&M Signs, featuring dies used on Saskatchewan plates. | SVL-600 to TGW-199 (without A, E, U and Y) | ||
| 1997-98 | Passenger; Manufactured by Hi-Signs Ltd. of Edmonton. | TGW-200 to UVZ-999 (except some of UJ*) | ||
| 1998-2000 | Passenger; Hi-Signs batch, some made with Aluminum baseplate. | some of UJ* UWA-000 to VAE-999; VUR-000 to VVX-999 | ||
| 2000–03 | Passenger; Waldale base with Manitoba dies. | VAF-000 to VUP-999; VVY-000 to WZZ-999; YAA-000 to YZZ-999 | ||
| 2003–10 | Passenger; Reissued portion of plates including previously skipped vowels series. Some were made using darker paint from New Brunswick plates. | BAA-000 to TGU-999; ZAA-000 to ZGA-999 (only with A, E, U, and/or Y) ZGH-000 to ZZZ-999 | ||
| 2010-19 | Passenger; 7-digit sequence using Waldale's PEI/Mississippi dies. | BBC-1234 | BBB-0000 to CDT-9999 | |
| 2019–2021 | Passenger; New logo variety | CDV-0000 to CKT-1799 | ||
| 2021–present | Passenger; New reflective baseplate introduced, the first of its type since 1993 | CKT-1800 to CTJ-2881 (as of Aug 7, 2024) |
Alberta first issued personalized plates in 1985. As of 2018, over 80,000 such plates have been issued.[9]
Personalized plates for private passenger vehicles can feature between one and seven characters, including letters, numbers, and spaces, while plates for motorcycles and veterans' vehicles can feature between one and five characters. Special characters, such as hyphens and exclamation marks, are not permitted. As in other jurisdictions, combinations may be rejected or withdrawn by the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services if they are deemed offensive or confusing.[10]
Personalized plates are issued in pairs, except for motorcycles. Only the rear plate is required to be displayed.
A specially-designed Support Our Troops plate was introduced on July 22, 2014, to honor current and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces.[11] The design features artwork in honour of the first four Alberta-based Canadian soldiers who died 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.[12]
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.[13] [14] 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.
| Image | Type | Dates issued | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support Our Troops | July 22, 2014 – present | AB1234 | AA0000 to AG0099 (as of June 28, 2023) | 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 | November 19, 2018 – present | FB0234 | FA0000 to FB0299 (as of December 3, 2023) | |||
| Edmonton Oilers | November 19, 2018 – present | DB1234 | DA0000 to DB6699 (as of December 3, 2023) | |||
| XV Winter Olympic Games | 1988 | Corresponds to the rear plate | N/A | A specialty plate issued to commemorate the 1988 Winter Olympics held in Calgary. This plate was unique in that it was offered only as a front plate; the rear remained the standard "Wild Rose Country" base. It was valid until the end of 1988. | ||
| Veteran passenger vehicles | 2005 to present | VBC12 | VAA00 to VRY99 (as of December 3, 2023) |
| Image | Type | Issued | Design | Serial format | Serials issued | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-terrain vehicle | 1984-1990 | red on white | ZBC-123 | ZBB-000 to ZGG-999 (Z prefix with no vowels) | ||
| Class 2 Commercial(Restricted) | 1984–86 | red on white | 01-2345 | 00-0000 to 09-9999 | ||
| 1986–present | 12-A345 | 00-A000 to 48-H999;49-H000 to 59-L999; (made by Waldale, Manitoba dies)60-L000 to 99-N999; (made by Waldale, PEI dies) 00-P000 to 43-P999; (New logo) 44-P000 to 63-P999 (Reflective series) (as of December 3, 2023) | ||||
| Dealer | 1984–present | red on white | D12345 | D00000 to D99999, M00000 to M82999, M83000 to M85999 (reflective series) (as of December 3, 2023) | ||
| Handicapped | 1984–present | red on white, plates AAA through AAC were standard design, with a handicap sticker placed on the top right corner. AAD and AAE have the handicap logo printed on the top right corner of the plate. | AAB-123 | AAA-000 to AAE-999 (as of December 10, 2022)it appears that nothing past the AAE series has been issued. Alberta may or may not continue this series after AAE-999. Handicap placards: ABA-000 to AZZ-999 (beginning of series needs to be verified) AAA-0000 to ABX-9999 (as of September 7, 2023) | ||
| Motorcycle | 1984–86 | red on white | 123-MBC | 000-MBB to 999-MGB (without A, E, U, I, O); Optional plates in smaller sizes were made in the following ranges and issued out of sequence: | ||
| 1986–99 | XBC-123 | XBB-000 to XZY-999 (without A, E, U, I, O); XAA-000 to XAC-699 (stock of plates never issued) Optional plates in smaller sizes were made with the following prefixes and issued out of sequence: XZW, XZX, XZZ | ||||
| 1999–2010 | AB123 | GS000–ZZ999 (1999 to 2007) AA000–GR999 (2007 to 2009) QA000–QZ999 (2009 to 2010) AQ000-ZQ999 (2010) | ||||
| 2010–present | ABC12 | AAA00 to SCC99 (Non-reflective, apart from some specific test batches in the P series) SCD00 to TED99 (Reflective series) (as of September 7, 2023) | ||||
| Veteran Motorcycle | 2012–present | red on white, Poppy and Maple Leaf symbol to the left of plate number | VB12 | VA00 to VZ99ZA00 to ZH99 (as of December 10, 2022) | ||
| Class 1 Commercial (Livery vehicle) | 1984–97 | red on white | 1-23456 | 1-00000 to 3-99999 | ||
| 1997–2023 | A-12345 | B-00000 to C-99999,(1997-2003) F-00000 to H-99999, (2003-2011) J-00000 to L-99999, (2011-2017) E-00000- to E-99999 (2017- December 2018), U-00000 to U-79999 (December 2018 – 2020)U-80000 to U-99999, (New logo) (2020) A-00000 to A-99999 (December 2020-May 2023) | ||||
| 2023–present | red on white; reflective sheeting | 0-AB123 | 0-AA000 to 0-CE8999 (as of June 10, 2024) | |||
| Trailer | 1984-unknown | red on white, always featured a white "PERMANENT TRAILER" sticker until stickers were discontinued in 2021. | 1234-5A | 0000-1A to 9999-9D | ||
| unknown–1997 | 4567-89 | 4000-00 to 9999-99 | ||||
| 1997-2010 | N123-45 | N000-00 to N189-99 (Made by Hi-Signs) N190-00 to N199-99 (Made by L&M Signs with Saskatchewan dies) N200-00 to N999-99 (Made by Hi-Signs) P000-00 to P499-99, (Made by Hi-Signs) P500-00 to P999-99, (Made by Waldale with Manitoba dies from here on after) | ||||
| 2010–present | red on white | 4AB5-67 | 4AA0-00 to 4ZZ9-99;5AA0-00 to 5YZ9-99; 5ZA0-00 to 5ZZ9-99 (New logo); | |||
| Antique Auto | 1984–1999 | red on white, "ANTIQUE AUTO" printed on top right corner | 2-567 | 2–500 to 9-999 (1-000 to 2-499 was used for the 1970s yellow Base and initially skipped. These numbers were reissued around 2019 - see below) | ||
| 1999–2019 | A-123 | A-000 to Z-999; Changed to 7-digit dies at L-999/M-0000–000 to 2-499 (reissued the portion of plate numbers initially skipped from the yellow Base) | ||||
| 2019–present | 12345 | 00000 to 02999 (Old logo, Non-reflective) 03000 to 12999 (New logo, Reflective) (as of June 28, 2023) | ||||
| Antique Motorcycle | unknown–present | red on white, "ANTIQUE" printed on bottom right corner | Blocks from the Antique Auto series | G-100 to G-199 (needs verification)K-900 to K-999 (needs verification) 10400 to 10499 (needs verification) | ||
| Consular Corps | 1984–present | red on white, "CONSULAR CORPS" printed on top right corner | CC-1234 | CC-1000 to CC-1809 (as of December 3, 2023)Beginning at CC-1800 the plates are manufactured with reflective sheeting but still feature the old Alberta logo for the time being. |
| Image | Type | Issued | Design | Serial format | Serials issued | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exempt | 1974 | yellow on blue | 12-34-56 | Unknown | ||
| Farm | 1953 | blue on white | F12345 | Unknown |