British Columbia Industrial Vehicle (Section 7) License Plates

The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia may, in respect of any motor vehicle known or described as a tractor, grader, loader, shovel, roller, mixer, crane or other self propelled construction machinery used in performing work in or on a mine or industrial undertaking, cause a licence to be issued permitting the operation of the motor vehicle for the purpose of proceeding to or returning from the work without load, and the form of the licence must be varied accordingly.
Industrial Vehicle license plates are generally associated with heavy machinery, such as the types quoted in the Motor Vehicle Act above. First appearing on B.C. roads in 1957, these plates are easily identifiable by their "X" prefix.
1957 - 1963
1-digit
2-digit
Issuing Statistics
1957:
unknown
1958:
unknown
1959:
unknown
1960:
unknown
1961:
unknown
1962:
unknown
1963:
unknown
1-digit
2-digit
Don Schneider Collection
4-digit
1-digit
2-digit
4-digit
1-digit
2-digit
3-digit
4-digit
1-digit
2-digit
Dave Hollins Collection
4-digit
1-digit
2-digit
Dave Hollins Collection
4-digit
1-digit
2-digit
3-digit
Don Schneider Collection
The "XH" Prefix
Ron Garay Collection
When Section 7 was enacted, it allowed for the issuance of "X" and "XH" prefix plates to be used on certain types of vehicle engaged in road construction or in operations connected with mines and industrial undertakings.
While there is still more work to be done investigating the "XH" prefix, it is thought that the Act was amended in 1959 to discontinue the use of these plates as it was thought that vehicles obtaining an "XH" plate - for a flat fee of $10 - were doing so to evade certain road taxes and were unfarily competing against other licensed vehicles. This is why the "XH" plates are only known for the late 1950s, and are generally thought to have been issued to dump trucks.
What every collector lives for! The random late night social media post by someone who is selling a pair of mint, unused BC plates for a rare non-passenger type complete with the mailing envelope from the Motor Vehicle Branch!

1964 - 1971: "Beautiful" Slogan
1-digit
2-digit
4-digit
Issuing Statistics
1964:
X1 to X2-000
1965:
X1 to X2-500
1966:
X1 to X3-000
1967:
X1 to X3-000
1968:
X1 to X3-100
1969:
X1 to X3-100
1970:
X1 to X4-000
1971:
X1 to X4-500
1-digit
2-digit
3-digit
Ron Garay Collection
2-digit
3-digit
1-digit
2-digit
3-digit
1-digit
2-digit
3-digit
1-digit
2-digit
1-digit
2-digit
3-digit
1-digit
2-digit
4-digit

1972
X36-xxx Bloc
X38-xxx Bloc
Issuing Statistics
1972:
X35-001 to X40-000
X39-xxx Bloc

1973
X35-xxx Bloc
X37-xxx Bloc
Issuing Statistics
1973:
X35-001 to X41-700
X39-xxx Bloc
X40-xxx Bloc
X41-xxx Bloc

1974 Base (used 1974-78)
X35-xxx Bloc
1975 (1974 base) - Tom Lindner Collection
X37-xxx Bloc
X38-xxx Bloc
Issuing Statistics
1974:
X35-001 to X45-000
1976 (1974 base) - Tom Lindner Collection
1974 - Tom Lindner Collection
X42-xxx Bloc
X43-xxx Bloc
X44-xxx Bloc

1975 Base (used 1975-78)
X45-xxx Bloc
1975 - Tom Lindner Collection
X47-xxx Bloc
X48-xxx Bloc
Issuing Statistics
1975:
X45-001 to X50-000
X49-xxx Bloc

1976 Based (used 1976-78)
1976 - Tom Lindner Collection
Issuing Statistics
1976:
X00-001 to X10-000

1979 - 1986
X50-xxx Bloc
X51-xxx Bloc
X52-xxx Bloc
X53-xxx Bloc
Issuing Statistics
1979:
X50-000 to X69-999
1983:
X70-000 to X73-999
Bill Hobbis Collection
X56-xxx Bloc
X57-xxx Bloc
X58-xxx Bloc
X60-xxx Bloc
X61-xxx Bloc
X65-xxx Bloc
X66-xxx Bloc
X69-xxx Bloc
X70-xxx Bloc
X71-xxx Bloc
X72-xxx Bloc
X73-xxx Bloc
Die Type Variation
As can be seen in the examples shown above, when the original 20,000 bloc of Industrial Vehicle plates produced in 1979 was issued, an additional 4,000 bloc of plates in the X70-000 to X73,999 range were produced in 1983.
Interestingly, by looking at the dies on each of these two plates it becomes possible to discern that the first bloc of plates were made by Acme Signalisation of Quebec (who had won the contract to manufacture the province's license plates after Oakalla closed in 1975), while the second, smaller bloc of plates display what are known as the "Nova Scotia dies" - but were actually made in Alberta by High Signs.

1985 - present: Flag Graphic
Jon Ilnytzky Collection
Christopher Garrish Collection
Issuing Statistics
1985:
X0-0000 to X1-4999
1987:
X1-5000 to X1-5999
1989:
X1-6000 to X1-7999
1990:
X1-8000 to X2-0999
1991:
X2-1000 to X2-2799
1992:
X2-2800 to X2-5149
1993:
X2-5150 to X2-7449
1994:
X2-7450 to X2-9449
Ron Garay Collection
X4-xxxx Bloc

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