BRITISH COLUMBIA

The first provincial motor vehicle registration law, Chapter 41, was passed February 10, 1904, requiring owners of all motor vehicles to register with the Superintendent of Provincial Police, pay a one-time fee of $2, and display an owner-provided rear plate with 3-inch-tall numbers, as well as headlight numbers of unspecified height.  In addition, non-residents were also required to register their vehicles.  Dealers and manufacturers were exempt from registration unless they used any vehicles for hire or for private purposes.  The 1904 law was amended by Chapter 37, passed April 8, 1905, for the sole purpose of making the $2 fee annual.  However, the registration year was not specified in the law.

A new law in 1911, Chapter 169, repealed the 1904 law but reenacted many of the same functions, so registration continued sequentially.  Effective March 1, 1911, the new law raised the registration fee to $10 annually, with the license year ending December 31.  Non-residents were now allowed 30 days in the province before having to register.  A new Dealer class was set up; for a $50 fee, a dealer could run up to 5 plates with the same number, and each additional number beyond that was $10.  (No Dealer pre-provincials have ever been seen.)  Headlight numbers were now specified at a minimum height of 1" tall, but the most interesting aspect of the new law from the perspective of license plates is that the number height was now to be a minimum of 4" tall.  This would have ushered in a whole new generation of pre-state plates to replace all of those legal under the old law at only 3" tall.

Registration certificate #1 was issued on February 29, 1904.  #85 was issued on June 11, 1906, not far from the 100-mark, while #1055 was issued July 14, 1910, shortly after the 1000-mark was passed.  2,220 automobiles were registered in 1911 putting the year-end total at approximately 3,547.  3,800 vehicles were registered up to June 14, 1912.  Exact issue dates are known for #4518 on September 16, 1912, #4820 on November 4, 1912, and #5021 on January 27, 1913.  There is some doubt as to whether #5021 would have been made on a pre-provincial plate, as 1913 plates were being issued by this time.  The highest known pre-provincial plate verified in a period photograph is #4687.  Numbers assigned by calendar year (and their yearly totals) are as follows:

      1904      1 -   32    (32)

      1905     33 -   58    (26)

      1906     59 -  114    (56)

      1907    115 -  275   (161)

      1908    276 -  363    (88)

      1909    364 -  614   (251)

      1910    615 - 1326   (712)

      1911   1327 -   ?

      1912     ?  -   ?

      1913     ?  -   ?

A new law must have been passed in 1912, requiring annual province-issued plates, effective March 1, 1913, as the first inquiries went out in July 1912, plates ordered in September 1912, and the first shipments arrived in December 1912.  Passenger plates were ordered in pairs, while Motorcycle and Dealer plates were manufactured as singles.  However, passenger plates were first issued in January 1913 as a convenience to owners to save them from paying to have their own plate made for just a few weeks time, and only singles were issued in order to follow the law explicitly.  To correct this situation, a new law, 3 George V, Chapter 169, was passed on March 1, 1913, requiring pairs of plates, so the mates were distributed to the owners starting in March.  The passenger numbers were ordered from #1 to 7000, with the highest known 1913 plate being #6821.

Motorcycles were to pay a $5 registration fee plus $5 for an operator's license.  Single motorcycle plates were ordered from #1 to #1000, and pairs were never required.  The highest known 1913 Motorcycle plate is #949.

Dealers were charged $50 for a set of 5 single plates, all with the same number.  After the new law passed requiring pairs, the mates had to be ordered in March, and therefore were not distributed until May.  Dealer plates are, interestingly, black on white instead of white on dark blue, and have no "BC" identification.  The government must not have expected Dealer plates to ever be used outside of the province.  This was corrected for 1914.  Dealer plates, ultimately produced in sets of 10 rather than the initial 5, were ordered from #D1 to D150, for a total of 1,500 plates.  The highest known 1913 Dealer plate is #D128.  The system was changed for 1914, with each dealer being issued 5 sets of plates with different consecutive numbers, resulting in a high of #D748 on the highest known 1914 Dealer plate.