British Columbia Agricultural License Plates

Traditionally, agriculture has been one of the most important sector's in British Columbia's economy, behind only forestry and mining. The nature of agriculture in the province has also been dominated by the small-scale producer who, during and after WWII, became increasingly reliant on mechanization. Not surprisingly, therefore, the province issued the first Farm Tractors ("F") license plates in 1936.

By 1960, it was necessary to introduce a new "A" prefix to help distinguish between Farm Tractors, and Farm Trucks.

Currently, the term farm vehicle refers to any commercial vehicle used by farmers in relation to their operations. If insured correctly, a farm vehicle will therefore have either a "A" or a "G" prefix. Apparently there still remain some "F" prefixes on BC roads, but spotting them is akin to finding the holy grail of agricultural plates! The best available information indicates that the "F" prefix has not been issued since the early 1990s.

In June 2005, ICBC announced a tightening of the rules pertaining to the issuance and renewal of Agriculture plates. Effective from the 15th of that month, farmers were henceforward required to present one of the following documents to an Autoplan broker when applying for or renewing their farm license plates:

• BC Farmer Identity Card issued by the BC Agriculture Council
• Family Farm Emblem issued by the Ministry of Provincial Revenue
• Most recent Property Assessment Notice for farmland.


Farm Tractors - "F"	Farm Trucks - "A"	Farm Vehicles - "G"