Commercial Plates

When is a Commercial Plate required?

If you will be using a vehicle to transport goods, tools, your own staff or passengers-for-hire, you will require a commercial plate. The type of plate that you will need will depend on:

the nature of your work

the type of cargo (exempted or non-exempted goods)

gross vehicle weight

number of passengers

distance traveled (within Calgary, within the Province, or out of Province)

Hauling Goods

Registered Owner’s Good

If you are hauling your own goods, how far will you be traveling?

Class 2-59 = Within 10 km radius (with certain exceptions)

Class 3-ord = Within Alberta

Third Party Hauling

If you are hauling someone else’s goods, there is more information required:

Class 2-60 = Exempted goods within 10 km radius

Class 2-61 = Non-exempted goods within 10 km radius

Class 1-60 = Exempted goods within Alberta

Class 1-61 = Non-exempted goods within Alberta

The following goods may be included on the Exempted Goods List. The list is not all-inclusive and may be subject to change. Please visit Registries Plus or call us for information specific to your hauling needs.

Alfalfa (raw or palletized), Animal Feed and Related Concentrates and Supplements (Not For Human Consumption), Asphalt Mix (Bituminous), Brick, Cement (Dry or Wet), Clay, Coal, Concrete Products, Condensate, Crude Oil, Crushed Glass, Dead Animals, Drilling Mud, Fodder, Garbage, Grain, Granite, Granulite, Gravel, Herculite, Lime, Loam, Logs, Lumber, Newspaper , Organic Manure, Owner’s Own Goods, Peat Moss, Propane, Salt, Sand, Sawdust, Scrap Iron, Septic Tank Refuse, Snow, Stone, Sugar Beets (Raw or Palletized), Sulphur, Topsoil, Water, Wood chips

Complete List of Plate Classes

For a complete quick reference chart of plate types, please refer to our Quick Reference of Alberta Plate Classes.

Hauling Passengers for Hire

Whether you operate a bus or your own personal vehicle on a ride-share basis, if you are accepting compensation in return for offering rides in your vehicle, you will need a commercial class plate. Passenger-for-Hire Plates include:

1-52 Public Service Bus and vehicles regardless of seating capacity that transport passengers (i.e. vans, limousines, etc.) on a prearranged, prebooked basis.

1-55 Ride for Hire Services that operates on-demand service to transport clients to their requested destination for a fee or a vehicle that operates as a ride-sharing service to transport clients to their requested destination.

Please note that a Commercial Vehicle Inspection is required when the vehicle has a designed seating capacity of 11 or more.

Cost of Commercial Vehicle Registration

Annual fees vary widely depending upon the type of vehicle, purpose, distance traveled and type of cargo. You can refer to the Commercial Vehicle Registration Fee Chart to help you estimate the cost of your annual registration, call us at (403) 235-7899 or come see us for a customized and precise cost estimate. Vehicles traveling outside of Alberta may require Prorate registration.

Registration in a Company Name

You can register a vehicle in your company name if it is an Incorporated Company because an incorporation is a legal entity. If you are operating under a Trade Name, you will need to register the vehicle in your name with a remark that you are operating as a Trade Name. For example, John Smith O/A “Solid Welding”. Please note that proof of insurance (pink slip) must match the name on the registration.

Safety Fitness Certificate

You may require a Safety Fitness Certificate if your truck, tractor, trailer or combination thereof have a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW)

11794 kg or 26001 lb (for vehicles which travel only within Alberta)

4501 kg or 9923 lb (for vehicles which travel outside of Alberta)

A Safety Fitness Certificate may also be required if you have a vehicle which has a capacity for 11 or more passengers.

If you have recently purchased a vehicle that requires a Safety Fitness Certificate, please download the SFC application package. Once it is complete, you will forward it on to Transportation. Transportation will send a letter to your company indicating the assigned person who can come in to the Registry office to take the new Safety Fitness Certificate knowledge test. The cost for the knowledge test is $17.

Operating Authority Certificate

All other passenger transportation services may require an Operating Authority Certificate (OAC). If an OAC is required, you may not be able to submit an online application for SFC and must submit in printed format. Contact Carrier Services at (403) 340-5444 for more information, or refer to Operating Authority Certificate (OAC) online applications.

The above information is provided as a reference only. For information specific to your vehicle and driving requirements, please visit us so we can help you determine the type of registration that you need. For detailed information on the types of commercial plates, please refer to the Service Alberta website.