Reference

REFERENCE

Books, Manuals and Pamphlets

Below are some of the paper records related to license plates and highways that I've collected over the years. These types of reference materials and advertising leaflets are never easy to find since most have been long destroyed. I'll keep adding to this page as I'm able to scan the materials.

1951 PERMIT & LICENCE MANUAL

This is an internal Ministry instruction manual that was provided to office employees. A "how-to" for issuing vehicle permits and driver's licences. It also shows the fees for that year along with the license plate types for each variety of vehicle and permit.

1975 US DOT GUIDE

The US Department of Transport (DOT) made this pamphlet in 1975 showing all the North American plates as well as publishing each plate's official colours, number of plates, slogan(2) and validity period to name a few.

1981 LICENCE PLATE GUIDE

The Ministry used to produce these small pamphlets on an annual basis to show the different types of plates issued and their reserved plate number blocks.

1994 GRAPHIC PLATE GUIDE

Starting in 1994, the Ministry revamped its license plates and started producing reflective plates. Coinciding with this departure away from painted plates, they now offered graphic plates. The initial selection was fairly limited but was expanded as the program grew in subsequent years. The pamphlet comes complete with an envelope and application in the centre fold.

2000 PERSONALIZED GUIDE

Starting in 2000, the Ministry allowed eight character personalized plates. A premium of $500 was first applied to these applications. Shortly after, the price was reduced to $200 across the board for any amount of characters. At the same time in 2000, the Ministry dropped the two-digit cap which now meant that all 8 characters could be all-numeric.

PLATES IN ADVERTISING

Below is a selection of license plate images that appeared in company advertisements or newsprint. Click on the images for details.