British Columbia Commercial License Plates

The first "C" prefixes for Commercial plates appeared in 1936, and would appear continously until 1971. As all BC plate types in this period (1936 to 1948), were only five digits in length, the addition of a letter prefix limited the run to 9,999 plates. As commercial vehicles easily surpassed the 20,000 level in 1936, the addition of a second letter prefix following the "C" was used to extend the serial.
It is not uncommon, therefore, to see Commercial plates that run from "CA" through "CX"! If you would like to obtain a better understanding of which prefixes were issued for which years, and the combinations in which they were issued, simply click on a plate below to be taken to the particular year.

1936 - 1951
Issuing Statistics
1936:
C1 to CP-800
1937:
C1 to CS-255
1938:
unknown
1939:
unknown
1940:
C1 to CY-878
1941:
C1 to CX-999
1942:
C1 to C900A
1943:
C1 to C999A
1944:
 C1 to C515B
1945:
 unknown
1946:
 unknown
1947:
 unknown
1948:
 unknown
1949:
 unknown
1950:
 unknown
1951:
 unknown

1952 - 1954: "Totem" Base
This plate was rejected due to a defect under the five in "52".

1955 - 1956
   

1957 - 1963

CLICK HERE

1964 - 1971: "Beautiful" Slogan
Issuing Statistics
1964:
C1 to CJ6-775
1965:
C1 to C90-000
1966:
C1 to C96-000
1967:
C1 to C99-999
1968:
C1 to C99-999
1969:
C1 to C99-999
1970:
C1 to C96-000
1971:
C1 to C99-999

Even though license plates had beeb expended to six digits in 1949, by the early 1960s Commercial plates were routinely running over the 99,999 mark. To reduce confusion, a new single letter prefix; "J" was introduced for Commercial plates.
1965 - 1971: The "J" Prefix
Issuing Statistics
1965:
J1 to J43-900
1966:
J1 to J48-000
1967:
J1 to J49-500
1968:
J1 to J62-000
1969:
J1 to J81-800
1970:
J1 to J99-500
1971:
J1 to J86-000

Before a redefinition of the vehicle registration system in 1972 (at which point the "C" plates would be phased out), a third single letter "K" prefix was introduced for commercial vehilces in 1971.
1971: The "K" Prefix
     
Issuing Statistics
1971:
K1 to K37-000

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