Vehicle registration plates of Ontario

"Loyal she began, loyal she remains"

The symbol of a crown, representing the Crown of Canada, has appeared on almost all Ontario licence plates since 1937, when it was first used to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Exceptions include the 1951 plates, and farm series plates issued in the 1980s and 1990s. Toronto politician and Orange Order leader Leslie Saunders led protests against a proposal to remove the crown in 1948, a decision the government overturned.

Passenger plates 1903 to present

In 1956, states of the United States and provinces in Canada came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that standardized 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 first Ontario licence plate that complied with these standards

All Ontario licence plates issued since 1973 are still valid for display today, provided they have been continuously registered.

Historic Vehicles

Vehicles more than 30 years old and substantially unchanged since manufacture may qualify for a "Historic" registration.

Annual fees are much lower ($18 vs $108 for a passenger car in 2015) but historic vehicles may not be used as conventional transportation. They legally may only be driven to and from events and parades where the vehicle is on display, to garages for maintenance, etc. Annual renewal stickers are affixed to the rear plate, as with passenger vehicles.

Historic plates are not to be confused with year-of-manufacture plates.

Commercial Plates 1980 to present

Unlike passenger cars, plate validation stickers are placed on the front plate, instead of the rear.

Ontario vehicles registered in the International Registration Plan receive special commercial plates with "PRP" written vertically on the left. As with other commercial plates, validation stickers are placed on the front plate. All pickup trucks are legally considered commercial vehicles, and thus require commercial plates. However, if used strictly as a passenger vehicle ("personal-use vehicle"), a truck may be exempt from some conditions imposed on commercial vehicles, indicated by a white or red "PERSONAL USE ONLY" sticker affixed in the top left corner of the front plate.

Farm plates

Vehicles over 3000 kg owned by farmers and used for farm-related purposes, such as the transportation of farm products, working the soil and buildings maintenance, may qualify for a farm plate. Farm-plated trucks and towed trailers may also be used by a farmer for personal transportation.

To qualify, a farmer must meet a series of criteria, including membership in farming organisations and derive a minimum amount of income from farming. Fees for farm plates are substantially lower than for passenger or commercial plates. The Highway Traffic Act also exempts farm vehicles from several requirements imposed on commercial vehicles.

Farm plates are black on white, with a black crown separator, in a pattern similar to commercial plates. They have the word "FARM" written vertically on the left of the plate. Validation stickers are the same as for other vehicles, and are affixed to the front plate, as with commercial plates.

Trailer plates

All trailers in Ontario are considered separate vehicles and must have a permit and be plated. New owners of a trailer must register with MTO within six days of purchase. They are then issued with a permit and a plate. Trailer plates are not renewed annually, but may be replaced if lost, damaged or stolen. Plates are affixed to the rear of the trailer. There is no front plate.

All trailers, whether used by commercial operators or others, use a same model plate. Plates are blue on white with crown separator, in a pattern and colour similar to that of passenger vehicles, with the word "TRAILER" written vertically on the left of the plate. However, they do not follow the same numbering system as other vehicles.

General registration licence plates

In Ontario, motor vehicle dealers licensed under the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act use a single portable plate with the word "DEALER" on the left side and red alpha-numeric characters on a white background. It is for exclusive use by motor vehicle dealers only on motor vehicles owned as part of the dealer's inventory of vehicles for sale. It may also be used for private use vehicles that are owned as part of the dealer's inventory of vehicles for sale.

Service providers, including anyone who repairs, customizes, modifies, manufactures or transports motor vehicles or trailers use yellow and black DLR series plates (Dealer and Service Plate).

A service plate may be used:

Private use of motor vehicles or trailers with a service plate is not permitted.

Personalized licence plate

Along with regular series plates, the province also offers personalized plates for passenger and commercial vehicles. Personalized licence plate message may contain almost any combination of letters and numbers from two to eight characters. The plates can also include one of 60 different graphics, and two to six characters. Available graphics have changed over the years, with some becoming available, while others have been withdrawn or modified. Owners selecting a graphic but no custom message are generally assigned a registration with a 12XY34 pattern, where the XY is a code indicating the design (ie: LN and LM = Loon, CF = Canadian Flag, etc.).

The province reserves the right to refuse or withdraw plates for a variety of reasons, including:

While criteria have existed since the introduction of personalized plates, accusations of excessive zeal led the McGuinty government to set up a review committee in August 2008. The eight-member committee meets weekly to review submissions. In the first half of 2013, it had rejected 3% of requests. Plates have also been withdrawn after issue.

The ownership of plates with graphic elements associated with particular groups, such as veterans or firefighters, may be restricted and require proof of eligibility.

Personalized plates with two to five characters are also available for motorcycles.

Manufacturing

Since 1991, all Ontario plates have been manufactured for the MTO by Trilcor Industries, owned by the province's Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ontario.

Defective Plates

In 2012, reports began to appear of plates deteriorating earlier than otherwise expected. The reflective layers detached themselves from the metal plate, making the plate unreadable. Approximately 1% of license plates issued have this defect. The defect has appeared in both front and rear plates. Trilcor Industries and the MTO offer a five-year warranty on plates and will replace the defective plates at no cost. Plate replacement for other reasons (theft, damage, wear, etc.) is done at a cost.

Conventional plates can be replaced "over-the-counter" at a license office, but the complete process for personalized plates takes over six months.

Driving with an illegible plate is an offence punishable by fine, under the Highway Traffic Act.

Investigation into causes

In 2015, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services hired Canada's National Research Council to identify the root cause of license plate de-lamination. The NRC's report indicated that the reflective material adhered poorly to the aluminium plates, and that embossing process stressed the materials to the point that the reflective layer would puncture and de-laminate. At that point, water and other contaminants could slip between the layers. Also, road de-icing materials contributed to the de-lamination. The report found that this problem was present in samples from all types of plates, except for motorcycle plates.

The report recommended that Trilcor work with its supplier of laminating layer to resolve the problem, and indicated that a thicker layer of material would likely perform better.

Alternate supplier

In 2016, an increase in the rate of defective plates combined with an increase in the number of registered vehicles led to the Ontario Ministry of Transport unable to keep up with demand for plates. It placed an order for 100,000 units from the Waldale Irwin Holdson Group, the largest license plate manufacturer in North America. Plates are produced by the Waldale Manufacturing facility in Amherst, Nova Scotia.

Plates from the first batch of 35,000 can be identified due to the use of embossed letters and numbers from Nova Scotia plates, which differ in appearance from Ontarian fonts.