EDMONTON — Alberta is doing away with licence plate stickers – and their $1.2 million expense – in January and painted licence plates next fall. The changes come as the province transitions to high-definition reflective licence plates, which are more easily scanned by automated plate readers, the government says. Starting Jan. 1, personal vehicles, fleet vehicles and permanent trailers will no longer need registration expiration stickers on their plates. According to Service Alberta, it spends more than $1 million to print, ship and store the stickers. Stickers will still be required after Jan. 1, however, for farm vehicles and prorated commercial vehicles part of the International Registration Plan. Alberta’s new reflective plates will begin to be issued next fall, as it runs out of the painted plates. Service Alberta Minister Nate Glubish said the transition will not mean a different design for Alberta plates, nor will drivers be required to switch out their painted plate. The government has not revealed the cost of that transition. Four other Canadian jurisdictions have gotten rid of plate expiration stickers: Quebec in 1992, Saskatchewan in 2012, Northwest Territories in 2014, and Manitoba most recently in 2016. Alberta has used stickers since 1974 and has some 5.5 million registered vehicles.
