British Columbia Passenger License Plates
1924-1935

A special thanks to Tom Lindner, Dallas Doyle, Pierre Delacote and Ron Garay for providing many of the plates pictured.

1924 - 1935
Issuing Statistics
1924:
1 to 45,000
1925:
unknown
1926:
1 to 69,000
1927:
1 to 44,000*
1928:
1 to 90,000
1929:
unknown
1930:
1 to 105,000
1931:
1 to 115,000
1932:
1 to 120,000
1933:
1 to 99,000
1934:
1 to 92,000
1935:
1 to 96,000

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Unlike 1917, when the number of plates issued passed the 9,999 and it was decided to add a fifth digit on the existing base, when the number of plates passed the 99,999 mark in 1930 the decision was made to create a second, longer plate capable of displaying a sixth digit.
This practice would be repeated throughout the years 1930 to 1935, with the six-digit plates being manufactured as over-run between 1933 and 1935 as the Depression began to adversely impact on the number of vehicles being registered in the province.

1931 Five-Digit Serial

1931 Six-Digit Serial
1930 - 1935: Six-Digit Plates
1933
 
1934
  
Shown in this photo is an example of the longer six-digit plates introduced in 1930 as registrations surpassed the 100,000 mark. This particular plate (No. 102-793) was issued out of Vancouver and, as can be seen, went to the Woodwards Department Store.

Photo courtesy of Pierre Delacote

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Foreign Touring Motor Vehicles
When the Act to Regulate the Use and Operation of Motor-vehicles was introduced in 1911, it contained a section that dealt with Touring Licences.
Specifically, Section 8.1 stated that "every motor hereafter brought into the Province for temporary use for touring purposes for any period not exceeding thirty days shall, by the owner or the person in possession thereof, before it is used or operated upon or along any highway, be registered with the Superintendent of Provincial Police by delivering to such Superintendent or to any chief constable of Provincial police, or Provincial police constable, a notice" as prescribed by the Province.
The image shown at left is an example of a "Foreign Touring Motor Vehicle Certificate of Registration" that would have been issued by the Province in 1928 and likely required to be displayed on the windshield of any tourist vehicle traveling through the province.

Photo courtesy of Pierre Delacote
Quite to our surprise, almost 100 years later (i.e. 2010), Section 21 of the Motor Vehicle Act grants ICBC the authority to register foreign motor vehicles and trailers and to issue "to the owner a certificate of registration in the form established by the corporation, together with a windshield sticker of a design approved by the corporation." It is the requirement of the vehicle owner to then display the sticker "conspicuously" on the lower part of their windshield.

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1932: The Lost Oakalla Plates
This 1932 plate was packed between the walls of Oakalla prison for 60 years, which accounts for the water damage, and was only discovered in 1992 when the prison was torn down to make way for residential housing.  There are a fair number of these plates now circulating in the plate collector community.
According to the official records of the Motor Vehicle Branch, there were only 89,685 vehicle registrations in 1932, however, 120,000 plates were produced with plates from 68,751 - 120,000 issued to Vancouver.

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1933: Red Border
Rick Pilotte Collection
Golden
This is an interesting plate that turned up on the internet in early 2004. It is a 1933 BC plates with a red border. The significance of this red border is not known. It could simply be an addition to the plate that was applied well after 1933. There is, however, a precedent for Western Canadian license plates from this era to be issued with a red border. According to Rick Pilotte, in Alberta around this time plates with red borders were issued to residents of Banff to allow them free access and egress to the Provincial Park. Is it possible that a similar scheme was employed in British Columbia, and is this plate an example? That fact that it was issued in Golden seem to give plausibility to this theory...

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There is nothing particularly special about these plates other than the fact that they were all issued out of Penticton (the issuing statistics at right indicate the bloc of plate that were delivered to the Peach City between 1932 and 1935).  For additional issuing information, one need only make reference to the Registration Data page on this site to find out more!
Penticton Plates
Issuing Statistics
1932:
42,426 to 44,725
1933:
38,801 to 40,900
1934:
54,076 to 55,976
1935:
55,701 to 57,900
       

1904-1912  | 1913-1914  |  1915-1917  |  1918-1923  |  1924-1935  |  1936-1948  |  1949-1951  |  1952-1954
 1955-1963  |  1964-1969  |  1970-1972  |  1973-1978  |  1979-1985  |  1985-2001  |  2001-2013  |  2013 and beyond

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