COMMUNITY

Serving Up 100 Years of Alberta Licence Plates

With the approach of AMA’s 100th anniversary, we take a look at the impact and evolution of licence plates.

Alberta’s licence plates have gone through significant changes over the years since they were first issued provincially in 1912. Some changes respond to regulating automobile ownership, some changes connect with new technology and some changes focus solely on aesthetic updates. | PHOTO: TORVAL MORK/ADOBE STOCK

IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, when vehicles were first popping up around Alberta, there was little regulation when it came to licence plates. From 1906 to 1911, the provincial government only issued motorists a registration number. It was the motorists’ responsibility to provide their own licence plates. It wasn’t until 1911 that Alberta started issuing licence plates along with vehicle registration.

When AMA was officially founded in 1926, the association played a big role in advocating for new features on licence plates, like reflective tags to improve road safety and easy-to-track registration renewal dates.