Specialty & Personalized License Plates
Alberta issues a variety of standard and specialty licence plates.
Specialty plate designs
Order specialty licence plates online or through a registry agent. A verified Alberta.ca Account is required for online orders.
Show Off Your Personality
A custom licence plate—also known as a personalized plate or vanity plate—allows you to personalize a message using letters, numbers or a combination of both. Share your business name, a special nickname or a unique message that’s special to you.
How to Order a Custom Licence Plate
Bring your ideas, along with a valid piece of ID, such as your driver’s licence or passport, and your mailing address to any AMA centre. From there, we’ll submit your request to Alberta Registries for approval. Once your plate arrives in six to eight weeks, simply come back with your current licence plate and get your replacement registration for your new vanity plate.
How to Check Licence Plate Availability
Custom plates are issued on a first come, first served basis, and cannot be reserved. When you come in to order your plate, we can check the availability of the name or message you have in mind. We recommend having a couple of alternate choices, just in case it’s unavailable.
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Custom Licence Plate Rules
Before choosing your message, it’s best to make sure it follows these guidelines first:
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​Letters and/or numbers only – special characters, including – (hyphen), ‘ (apostrophe), ! (exclamation mark) and ? (question mark) are not allowed
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Must have a minimum of one character and/or maximum of seven characters for regular plates
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Must have a minimum of one character and/or maximum of five characters for motorcycle plates
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Must have a minimum of one character and/or maximum of five characters for veteran, 3-pass, 2-58 and ham radio operator plates
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Can’t use the letter O, but the number 0 (zero) may be used
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Cannot be a duplicate or similar plate to one that already exists
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No ethnic, religious or political slurs
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No foul language, illegal acts or sexual connotations
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No text abbreviations or words that, when translated, may be offensive
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No text that may cause identification problems (e.g. MLA, Mayor, Doctor, etc.)
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No reference to alcoholic beverages, controlled substances or paraphernalia
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Cannot be a configuration used by Motor Vehicles for regular licence plates
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Cannot be requested for dealer, antique, consular corps or disabled plates