The sight of licence plates without stickers is becoming more commonplace now the province has stopped issuing renewal stickers.
The government announced last December Albertans will no longer require expiry stickers on their licence plate. This could save up to $1.2 million a year.
“Alberta’s government has been looking for ways to improve and modernize the delivery of registry services for Albertans. By moving to reflective licence plates, expiry stickers become redundant and outdated. This common-sense change cuts red tape, aligns Alberta with other Canadian provinces, and saves taxpayers money,” said Nate Glubish, Minister of Service Alberta.
Owner of Drumheller Registries Brandi Schneider says the stickers have become obsolete because of advances in technology where police are able to scan licence plates for information. People are noticing now that the change kicked in on January 1.
“There are naked plates out there,” she said. “Law enforcement is already scanning everyone’s plates all the time, and they want to be more in line with the times… and it is a taxpayer saving,” she said.
Part of the change will be the introduction of high-definition reflective plates that are more easily scanned. Schneider says the new plates will come out when the current stock of plates is exhausted, which they expect by fall. She adds there is no requirement for plates to be replaced.
“If you have old stickers on there you don’t have to peel them off,” she said.
Alberta drivers and vehicle owners will still be responsible for renewing their registration on time, and will still require a valid certificate of vehicle registration.
In 2016, the province stopped mailing reminders to drivers to renew. Now without the visible stickers, there is a possibility that renewing could slip past a driver.
Schneider says there are several ways for drivers to be notified when their plates are expiring including text notifications and emails, which they can sign up for. They also offer auto-renewals. She says for those who don’t have internet, they have small sticker like an oil change reminder for drivers if they wish.
Registries also offer a variety of services to renew, including mailing out new registration or where you can prepay and pick up the paperwork from the office.
