British Columbia

British Columbia 1969 passenger issue. These plates were used in 1969 in British Columbia and used an all-numeric serial format. Note the different dies used between the "19" and "69" at the top corners of the plate. This was the last yearly issue for the province. The slogan "Beautiful" was first used in 1964 and remains in use as of today.

British Columbia 1970 passenger issue. This undated baseplate was first issued at the end of 1969 and was valid with stickers through the end of 1972. It was issued in an ABC-123 format, using a split-alphabet system where each character advances from A through K, or L through X. This base used AAA through KKJ (KKK not issued), then AAL through KKX, then ALL through KXX.

British Columbia 1972 passenger issue. Some issues of this baseplate used a slightly different set of dies for the slogan and province name on the plate. The revised die (easiest to see in the word "Beautiful") was introduced during the 1970 reissue and carried over through most of the rest of the series.

British Columbia 1972 passenger issue. Example of one of the latest issues in this series (after KWX, only KXL through KXX remained), and one with the dash missing from the plate. This was probably a "simultaneous production" error, with late 1972 plates being made at the same time as the next base (1973, without dash) was in production

British Columbia 1974 passenger issue. In 1973, this new base was issued. Similar to the previous issue, this plate moved the sticker box from bottom center up to the top right of the plate. This series started off with LAA through XKK, since the 1970 plates had left off in the ALL-KXX series. Early issues used the standard larger B.C. dies from the 1970 base, with later issued having narrower dies. These plates were valid with stickers through the end of 1978.

British Columbia 1974 passenger issue. Another plate from the same series as above, this particular plate is a rare-ish example which included a dash in the serial, unlike most of the plates of this type. This variation was only seen in certain plates in the RAA-RKK series issued in 1973.

British Columbia 1977 passenger issue. Another example of the more common appearance of these plates, with no dash within the serial. By the time this exp. 1977 plate was issued, the province had exhausted the serial blocks between LAA and XKK and also between LAL and XKX. This plate is an early example from the third series, LLL through XXX. This series would be the last issued before the end of this plate's issuance in 1978, and would also be used through a die change which greatly changed the appearance of the plate (see next.)

British Columbia 1978 passenger issue. Continuation of the baseplate above, this plate uses significantly narrower dies for the serial. This change took effect near the end of the M portion of the LLL-XXX series and carried over to the end of this baseplate's run at the end of 1978.

British Columbia 1981 passenger issue. In 1979, these new white on blue plates were issued. The sticker box was made larger and moved back to bottom center of the plate, and the serial format started over at AAA. These plates were issued in blocks of one million plates, starting with AAA-KKJ then AAL-KKX, ALL-KXX and ALA up to about AXK. These plates were made with several different die sets as well, with this one distinctive Quebec dies of the era. These plates were valid through the end of July, 1986.

British Columbia 1980 passenger issue. Continuation of the series above, once the AAA-KKJ series was exhausted, the series began again at AAL through KKX. 1980 expirations are rare-ish on this plate due to the introduction of staggered monthly registration. Only a portion of registrants received 1980 expirations, while others jumped directly to 1981.

British Columbia 1981 passenger issue. Continuation of the above series, this plate also uses Quebec dies of the period. This plate has some rather heavy, drippy paint on the serial, however, leaving the numbers looking less crisp than previous issues. This was also characteristic of some Quebec plates made during the same period. This plate was once again from the AAL-KKX series.

British Columbia 1982 passenger issue. When the plate series reached the end of the "KKX" series in 1982, the series started over at ALL-001 through KXX-999 (first digit A-K, last two digits L-X). The Quebec dies reached into the early part of the ALL-KXX series before finally being put to rest, circa 1982. Another thick-paint example.

British Columbia 1984 passenger issue. Continuation of the ALL-KXX sequence, production seems to have shifted to Waldale in Nova Scotia at this point, with plates featuring the same dies as those used on Nova Scotia plates of the period. These plates were issued until June, 1985 and were valid through July, 1986 with proper stickers.

British Columbia 1986 passenger issue. This was one of the last of the 1979-base white on blue baseplates, issued in early 1985 prior to the release of the next baseplate. Looks like another manufacturer here as well - not sure which, but they show up again at some point on the next base. The sequence barely reached into the ALA-KXK series before being replaced. 1986 expiration stickers bore the logo of Expo '86, held in the province.

British Columbia 1986 passenger issue. This new baseplate featuring a screened image of the provincial flag was introduced in 1985 and remains in use today. This series started with plate number LAA-001, issued through LAK-999, then switching to LBA-001 through LBK-999, etc. See the link at the bottom of the page for a description of this numbering sequence. Again, 1986 expirations on this baseplate were issued with the commemorative "Expo '86" sticker.

British Columbia 1986 passenger issue. Early on in the series on this baseplate, a variation occurred resulting in these markedly different serial dies. These apparently appear in some, but not all, of the "M", "N" and "P" series plates in the initial LAA-XKK run. I'm not sure who the manufacturer was on these, as the dies don't look familiar to me. The ALPCA Archives refer to this variety as "Font X," so I guess I will as well.

British Columbia 1991 passenger issue. Same series as above, this plate features less crisply-stamped dies for the serial than the 1986 plate above. These dies are found on the majority of B.C. flag plates, produced by Astrographics Industries of Abbortsford, B.C. This plate was issued in the "fourth million" of the series, comprising plates in the series between LAL-000 and XKX-999.

British Columbia 1996 passenger issue. Same series as above. Daily registration was introduced in 1993, so plates of this era have a separate sticker with a number corresponding to the day of the month that the plates expire (August 31, 1996 in this case). 1996 validation stickers were black on white for the first nine months of the year, but the color was changed to pink on white for October through December stickers. This change was made due to the number of motorists using photocopy machines to "manufacture" fake black-on-white stickers.

British Columbia 1999 passenger issue. A short run of flag plates was ordered in 1998 from Waldale, Ltd. in Nova Scotia, who produce plates for several other provinces and a handful of U.S. states. This series ran from the "KRL" series (near the end of the ALL-KXX run) to the "ARC" series (near the start of the ALA-KXK run). These plates used these distinct dies (different from any used on other Waldale-produced plates, oddly enough) and are stamped much more crisply than "normal" B.C. plates.

British Columbia 2000 passenger vanity issue. British Columbia is one of a handful of jurisdictions to use a unique baseplate for vanity plate registrations. This design was introduced along with the first vanities in 1979 and has been used with minor variations ever since. I don't actively collect vanity plates, but due to the base variations and the double-"Q"s in this case, I made an exception.

British Columbia 2001 passenger issue. Yet another die variety on this base, this plate features a shortened-up variety of the standard Astrographics dies (much improved, in my opinion) which was first seen on the HAL series of plates in July, 1996. This variety has been used in conjunction with the older Astrographics dies ever since, with the exception of the KRL through ARC stretch of plates produced by Waldale, as noted above. As of May, 2001, the flag base had reached the end of the "KXK" series and flipped over to a reversed 123-ABC format, starting at 000-AAA.

British Columbia 2002 passenger issue. As noted above, the ABC-123 format flag plates were exhausted at the end of the "KXK" series in May, 2001. The new format is a reverse-series 123-ABC format, which started at 001-AAA. The province has continued using the same letter block allocations as before, so the series will progress from AAA through KKK (KKJ, actually, as "KKK" is on the banned combination list for obvious reasons), then from AAL through KKX, then ALA through KXK, ALL through KXX and so on. This plate uses the shorter die set found on the plate above, although both types have been seen on these reverse-series plates already.

British Columbia 2003 passenger issue. In 2002, British Columbia once again put their plate contract out to bid, with Waldale winning the bidding process and holding the current contract to produce plates. This change resulted in a return of the Waldale die set used when the company made the province's plates for a brief period in 1998. This change was made near the end of the AAA-KKJ series of these reverse-format plates and has carried through the AAL-KKX series pictured here.

British Columbia 2006 passenger issue. Continuation of the current baseplate/format, after plate number 999-KKX was reached in 2005, the province issued plates in the 1-2-1 format between ALA and KXK, this being a later issue in that format.

British Columbia 2009 passenger issue. Following KXK in 2006 came the 1-2-2 series from ALL through KXX.

British Columbia 2009 passenger issue. In late 2008 the 1-2-2 plates were exhausted after KXX, at which point the series flipped again, starting at LAA. This time, however, they are reported to be using all letters between A through X in the third position, so rather than reverting to LBA after LAK, the series continued to LAM through LAX and so on. The first two characters still fall into a 2-1 arrangement on these plates.

British Columbia 2014 passenger issue. In 2013, British Columbia finally ran through the end of the available combinations of plates in the ABC-123 and 123-ABC formats using their letter blocking system. As a result, a new AB1-23C format was introduced to extend the series. This format appears to be issued in sequence starting at AA-A and not following the previous letter block system. Plates remain otherwise unchanged.

Additional British Columbia information provided by: Dan Howlett, Adriaan Bergink

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Last Modified 7/8/2023 (changed 1978 plate).

	British Columbia 1969 passenger issue. These plates were used in 1969 in British Columbia and used an all-numeric serial format. Note the different dies used between the "19" and "69" at the top corners of the plate. This was the last yearly issue for the province. The slogan "Beautiful" was first used in 1964 and remains in use as of today.
	British Columbia 1970 passenger issue. This undated baseplate was first issued at the end of 1969 and was valid with stickers through the end of 1972. It was issued in an ABC-123 format, using a split-alphabet system where each character advances from A through K, or L through X. This base used AAA through KKJ (KKK not issued), then AAL through KKX, then ALL through KXX.
	British Columbia 1972 passenger issue. Some issues of this baseplate used a slightly different set of dies for the slogan and province name on the plate. The revised die (easiest to see in the word "Beautiful") was introduced during the 1970 reissue and carried over through most of the rest of the series.
	British Columbia 1972 passenger issue. Example of one of the latest issues in this series (after KWX, only KXL through KXX remained), and one with the dash missing from the plate. This was probably a "simultaneous production" error, with late 1972 plates being made at the same time as the next base (1973, without dash) was in production
	British Columbia 1974 passenger issue. In 1973, this new base was issued. Similar to the previous issue, this plate moved the sticker box from bottom center up to the top right of the plate. This series started off with LAA through XKK, since the 1970 plates had left off in the ALL-KXX series. Early issues used the standard larger B.C. dies from the 1970 base, with later issued having narrower dies. These plates were valid with stickers through the end of 1978.
	British Columbia 1974 passenger issue. Another plate from the same series as above, this particular plate is a rare-ish example which included a dash in the serial, unlike most of the plates of this type. This variation was only seen in certain plates in the RAA-RKK series issued in 1973.
	British Columbia 1977 passenger issue. Another example of the more common appearance of these plates, with no dash within the serial. By the time this exp. 1977 plate was issued, the province had exhausted the serial blocks between LAA and XKK and also between LAL and XKX. This plate is an early example from the third series, LLL through XXX. This series would be the last issued before the end of this plate's issuance in 1978, and would also be used through a die change which greatly changed the appearance of the plate (see next.)
	British Columbia 1978 passenger issue. Continuation of the baseplate above, this plate uses significantly narrower dies for the serial. This change took effect near the end of the M portion of the LLL-XXX series and carried over to the end of this baseplate's run at the end of 1978.
	British Columbia 1981 passenger issue. In 1979, these new white on blue plates were issued. The sticker box was made larger and moved back to bottom center of the plate, and the serial format started over at AAA. These plates were issued in blocks of one million plates, starting with AAA-KKJ then AAL-KKX, ALL-KXX and ALA up to about AXK. These plates were made with several different die sets as well, with this one distinctive Quebec dies of the era. These plates were valid through the end of July, 1986.
	British Columbia 1980 passenger issue. Continuation of the series above, once the AAA-KKJ series was exhausted, the series began again at AAL through KKX. 1980 expirations are rare-ish on this plate due to the introduction of staggered monthly registration. Only a portion of registrants received 1980 expirations, while others jumped directly to 1981.
	British Columbia 1981 passenger issue. Continuation of the above series, this plate also uses Quebec dies of the period. This plate has some rather heavy, drippy paint on the serial, however, leaving the numbers looking less crisp than previous issues. This was also characteristic of some Quebec plates made during the same period. This plate was once again from the AAL-KKX series.
	British Columbia 1982 passenger issue. When the plate series reached the end of the "KKX" series in 1982, the series started over at ALL-001 through KXX-999 (first digit A-K, last two digits L-X). The Quebec dies reached into the early part of the ALL-KXX series before finally being put to rest, circa 1982. Another thick-paint example.
	British Columbia 1984 passenger issue. Continuation of the ALL-KXX sequence, production seems to have shifted to Waldale in Nova Scotia at this point, with plates featuring the same dies as those used on Nova Scotia plates of the period. These plates were issued until June, 1985 and were valid through July, 1986 with proper stickers.
	British Columbia 1986 passenger issue. This was one of the last of the 1979-base white on blue baseplates, issued in early 1985 prior to the release of the next baseplate. Looks like another manufacturer here as well - not sure which, but they show up again at some point on the next base. The sequence barely reached into the ALA-KXK series before being replaced. 1986 expiration stickers bore the logo of Expo '86, held in the province.
	British Columbia 1986 passenger issue. This new baseplate featuring a screened image of the provincial flag was introduced in 1985 and remains in use today. This series started with plate number LAA-001, issued through LAK-999, then switching to LBA-001 through LBK-999, etc. See the link at the bottom of the page for a description of this numbering sequence. Again, 1986 expirations on this baseplate were issued with the commemorative "Expo '86" sticker.
	British Columbia 1986 passenger issue. Early on in the series on this baseplate, a variation occurred resulting in these markedly different serial dies. These apparently appear in some, but not all, of the "M", "N" and "P" series plates in the initial LAA-XKK run. I'm not sure who the manufacturer was on these, as the dies don't look familiar to me. The ALPCA Archives refer to this variety as "Font X," so I guess I will as well.
	British Columbia 1991 passenger issue. Same series as above, this plate features less crisply-stamped dies for the serial than the 1986 plate above. These dies are found on the majority of B.C. flag plates, produced by Astrographics Industries of Abbortsford, B.C. This plate was issued in the "fourth million" of the series, comprising plates in the series between LAL-000 and XKX-999.
	British Columbia 1996 passenger issue. Same series as above. Daily registration was introduced in 1993, so plates of this era have a separate sticker with a number corresponding to the day of the month that the plates expire (August 31, 1996 in this case). 1996 validation stickers were black on white for the first nine months of the year, but the color was changed to pink on white for October through December stickers. This change was made due to the number of motorists using photocopy machines to "manufacture" fake black-on-white stickers.
	British Columbia 1999 passenger issue. A short run of flag plates was ordered in 1998 from Waldale, Ltd. in Nova Scotia, who produce plates for several other provinces and a handful of U.S. states. This series ran from the "KRL" series (near the end of the ALL-KXX run) to the "ARC" series (near the start of the ALA-KXK run). These plates used these distinct dies (different from any used on other Waldale-produced plates, oddly enough) and are stamped much more crisply than "normal" B.C. plates.
	British Columbia 2000 passenger vanity issue. British Columbia is one of a handful of jurisdictions to use a unique baseplate for vanity plate registrations. This design was introduced along with the first vanities in 1979 and has been used with minor variations ever since. I don't actively collect vanity plates, but due to the base variations and the double-"Q"s in this case, I made an exception.
	British Columbia 2001 passenger issue. Yet another die variety on this base, this plate features a shortened-up variety of the standard Astrographics dies (much improved, in my opinion) which was first seen on the HAL series of plates in July, 1996. This variety has been used in conjunction with the older Astrographics dies ever since, with the exception of the KRL through ARC stretch of plates produced by Waldale, as noted above. As of May, 2001, the flag base had reached the end of the "KXK" series and flipped over to a reversed 123-ABC format, starting at 000-AAA.
	British Columbia 2002 passenger issue. As noted above, the ABC-123 format flag plates were exhausted at the end of the "KXK" series in May, 2001. The new format is a reverse-series 123-ABC format, which started at 001-AAA. The province has continued using the same letter block allocations as before, so the series will progress from AAA through KKK (KKJ, actually, as "KKK" is on the banned combination list for obvious reasons), then from AAL through KKX, then ALA through KXK, ALL through KXX and so on. This plate uses the shorter die set found on the plate above, although both types have been seen on these reverse-series plates already.
	British Columbia 2003 passenger issue. In 2002, British Columbia once again put their plate contract out to bid, with Waldale winning the bidding process and holding the current contract to produce plates. This change resulted in a return of the Waldale die set used when the company made the province's plates for a brief period in 1998. This change was made near the end of the AAA-KKJ series of these reverse-format plates and has carried through the AAL-KKX series pictured here.
	British Columbia 2006 passenger issue. Continuation of the current baseplate/format, after plate number 999-KKX was reached in 2005, the province issued plates in the 1-2-1 format between ALA and KXK, this being a later issue in that format.
	British Columbia 2009 passenger issue. Following KXK in 2006 came the 1-2-2 series from ALL through KXX.
	British Columbia 2009 passenger issue. In late 2008 the 1-2-2 plates were exhausted after KXX, at which point the series flipped again, starting at LAA. This time, however, they are reported to be using all letters between A through X in the third position, so rather than reverting to LBA after LAK, the series continued to LAM through LAX and so on. The first two characters still fall into a 2-1 arrangement on these plates.
	British Columbia 2014 passenger issue. In 2013, British Columbia finally ran through the end of the available combinations of plates in the ABC-123 and 123-ABC formats using their letter blocking system. As a result, a new AB1-23C format was introduced to extend the series. This format appears to be issued in sequence starting at AA-A and not following the previous letter block system. Plates remain otherwise unchanged.