British Columbia Motorcycle License Plates

Issuing Statistics

1904-1912:

unknown

There is a question as to the origin of the plate shown at left and whether it is, in deed, from BC. Nevertheless, it is considered to be a good example of a Pre-Provincial motorcycle plate.

Shown above is yet another great photo from the City of Vancouver Archives that was uncovered by Pierre Delacote. The purpose of the photo - as conveyed by its title - was to capture the construction of a new building for Birks (a Canadian jewelery store) in November of 1912. At the bottom right of the photo, however is an Excelsior motorcycle that has been backed up against the curb. Upon closer examination it is possible to discern the registeration number of the motorcycle: No. 4633, which has been hand painted onto the rear fender!

Issuing Statistics

1913:	unknown
1914:	unknown

Not something you see very often, but the following is an excellent example of a 1914 motorcycle plate (usually, the angle is profile and it is not possible to see the plate):

Issuing Statistics

1915:	unknown
1916:	unknown
1917:	unknown

In case you were wondering who manufactured the 1915 license plates for British Columbia (passenger & motorcycle), this picture of the back of the No. 1330 plate above gives a fairly good clue - the MacDonald Manufacturing Company Limited of Toronto.

Issuing Statistics

"As rare as they come"! In this photo taken in front of the Fred Deely "The Cycle Man" shop at 563 West Broadway in Vancouver can be seen a couple of motorsysles sporting 1926 license plates (i.e. No. 946 & 963).

Issuing Statistics

Hidden in a place you would not normally expect to find license plates, albeit municipal issues, are two uber-rare motorcycle plates. Unfortunately, the detail on the photo is such that it is not clear which municipality issued these plates, but we are assuming that it was Vancouver with one of the plates being 1930 and the other 1931.

Issuing Statistics

When these plates emerged in late 2021, they were described as having been issued to the Victoria Police Department for use on their motorcycles.

Issuing Statistics

Comments: Available Motor Vehicle Branch (MVB) records indicate the initial series released in 1974 included numbers 100-001 to 147-300, but the MVB records for the following year indicate the series numbers released in or by 1975 were 80-001 to 167-000. This suggests separate blocks were issued between 1974 and 1975 on either side of the initial release.

Issuing Statistics

XX mm x XX mm
(XX inch x XX inch)

Victoria
(119,201 to 120,700)

MVB Audit Unit
(121,001 to 129,000)

Burnaby Stock Room
(129,001 to 147,300)

Distribution Info - 1974

New Westminster:

North Vancouver:

Queen Charlotte City:

Van. Point Grey:

Burnaby Stock Room:

A known prototype, it is thought that this particular plate (at left) is displaying a possible colour combination that might have been considered for use with the introduction of the "N" prefix in 1976.

The 1974 base is notorious for using mismatched die types on the same plate. The image presented at left is but one example, with the number "1" being the most easily identifiable. It is not known why this occurred.

Anything look familiar?

It would seem that when the 10,000 sets that had been produced for issuance in 1978 ran out (i.e. "N50-001" to "N60-000"), the province ordered an additional set (of possibly 2,000 plates) to make it through to the new base plate scheduled for release in 1979.

As can be seen in to the two images shown above, instead of using the design that had been employed throughout the series, the plates were issued on the new 1979 base (but with the 1974 colours).

Shown above is the final design of the 1979 motorcycle base approved by the MVB's Reg Whitlock on April 21, 1978. We assume that Reg's decision allowed the production of the 1979 base to begin shortly thereafter.

Issuing Statistics

* The "J" prefix is not thought to have been issued/needed prior to the introduction of the "Flag" series and the only surviving examples are from the "J12-" to "J14-" range:

We know, according to MVB records, that the 1979 base only went as high as J-67-000. We also know that the "J" was likely not used prior to the switch to the "Flag" based on the plates shown above.

So, how is it there are is a small block of plates in the "J92" range that exist? We'll likely never know. That said, we are fairly confident that the 1985 decals were applied after the fact (see the serial numbers on the decals - only 3 apart!) and the fact that both plates never appear to have been mounted on a motorcycle.

Issuing Statistics

The Astrographics series commenced with a "J" prefix and progressed through "H", "N", "C", "M" and "E". When Waldale commenced production of motorcycle plates, the series was still in the "E" prefix and has since progressed through "K", "L" and "S" (as of June 2010). This leaves only the "W", "Y" and the remainder of the "V" (above V3-0000) prefixes.

Issuing Statistics

In 2004, the Motorcycle plate was made available on the optional Veteran base. The prefix used on the plate is '"V" (for obvious reasons) and, following the release of the Olympic Motorcycle plate in 2007, it is thought that numbers V0-0000 through to V1-9999 have been reserved for use on this base. As of June 2010, this highest number spotted was V0-2263.

In 2007, the Motorcycle plate was one of the lucky six plate types along with passenger, truck, farm truck, trailer and utility trailer to be made available on the optional 2010 Olympic Winter Games base. The prefix used on the plate was "V" - this being the same prefix that appeared on the Veteran Motorcycle plate in 2004 - with the series starting at V2-0000, and it is thought that a bloc of only 10,000 plates has been set aside for use on this base (as the highest plate spotted as of June 2010 was V2-6797).

On May 30, 2011, ICBC announced changes to the design of the motorcycle license plate that would see the size of the font used increased in size by 3/8" in order "to provide better visibility of the plate number." In addition, the graphic logo was shifted from the centre of the plate to the bottom right-hand corner with the "Flag" replaced by the "BC Mark", while the dual decal box was also introduced. The changeover occurred at the S59-000 mark. The old style of plate will continue to be valid, with Autoplan Agents instructed to issue the previous base from their inventories before issuing the new plates.

Issuing Statistics