All Licence Plates Are Personal
Licence plate numbers carry a lot of significance to the driver. This was demonstrated a few years back when there was a huge revolt over a series of plates that came out beginning with the letters “LSD”. Lucky numbers such as 888 are hot commodities for the Chinese community, whereas 666, the devil’s sign, is feared.
Policing Your Plate
If you’ve ever wondered whether the police can do a random check on your licence plate number, THEY CAN. Whether the officer is on foot or driving past your car, it’s a common practice to run licence plate numbers. On foot, they’ll call in; if driving, they have a Mobile Work Station. Here’s what they do with the information they get back.
The Registered Owner Of The Licence Plate
The licence plate number is your ID and must match you. The licence plate travels with you, the registered owner, from car to car. Even if your car is leased or is a company car, the licence plate is owned by you. If the licence plate says it’s registered to a 44 year old male driver whose licence has been suspended, and that looks
like the person who is driving, that driver will be pulled over. If you are a 30 year old female, and the car is being driven by some spaced-out looking teenager at 3 am, the driver will be pulled over.
You can transfer your licence plate only to your spouse. If it’s a personalized plate, it can also be transferred to your children.
In Europe, personalized licence plates go for big bucks, and there are companies that buy or create these plates to resell to drivers. While ELVIS 1 is a plate that would sell for big money in Europe, I can’t see it selling for much in Canada. Regardless, it’s illegal to resell personalized plates here anyway.
My favourite personalized plate, which I saw, read TTC NOT. And I heard of some guy who was randomly issued the licence plate WON 649 and was hassled for money so much, he gave the plate back.
The Car And The Licence Plate
The licence plate must match the “car” to the “owner of the licence plate”. If the plate is registered to a Honda, and it’s on a BMW, then the car is either stolen or recently bought. There is a one week grace period for the registration to change if the car was recently bought, but be assured the driver will be pulled over and questioned.
Sometimes drivers will switch plates to avoid paying highway toll fees or red light camera tickets. This is a criminal offence and definitely not worth it. Plus, there are police out there who do nothing but check licence plate numbers for stolen cars and there’s a high possibility you will be caught. In fact, that’s how the police found my car when it was stolen last year.
Plus, licence plate holders that block any part of the licence plate from being seen by cameras, or the police, will be ticketed. This type of ticket holds the same weight as a speeding ticket does when it comes to your insurance rate. You can even get ticketed for a dirty licence plate if it’s blocking the number or validation sticker.
Stolen Or Lost Plates
If your plate is stolen or lost call the police immediately. If you don’t, you may begin to receive highway toll charges, or even worse, be implicated in a crime, in which the get-a-way car involved had your licence plate. Lost or stolen plates can be replaced for only $20.
Renewing Your Licence Plate
Your renewal will fall each year on your birthday. This birthday present from the Ministry Of Transportation may also fall on another date if the vehicle is registered to a company. The notice should be mailed to you 60 days prior to your renewal. If you do not receive a renewal for your licence plate, the responsibility is still yours to see that the sticker gets renewed. If you don’t and you’re ticketed, the excuse that you didn’t receive the renewal will not stand up in court.
A sticker designates the paid renewal and is to be placed on the rear licence plate for a private passenger vehicle and front plate for a commercial vehicle. No matter what you drive, all these vehicles must have there own unique licence plates numbers: Private Passenger, Commercial, Trailer, Bus, Motorcycle, Dealer, Diplomat, Farm, Off RoadVehicle and Snowmobile.
Your “Validation Sticker” expires at midnight on the renewal date, not at the end of the month like we wish it could, even though the sticker indicates only the month and year.
It’s the time when many of us have to face the music of unpaid tickets, which must be paid in full before a validation sticker is issued.
You can renew your plates online, if you have no outstanding fines against your licence plate, by going to: http://www.mto.gov.on.ca
If not, you can go to a Ministry Of Transportation office and stand in line. Be sure to have the following information with you:
- Name of the Insurance Company and the Policy Number
- Odometer reading (mileage of the vehicle)
- Vehicle Permit
- Sign and date the renewal form
- The vehicle may need a Drive Clean Certificate valid on the plate expiry date.
- Fee as indicated on the renewal form.
