The provincial government in Ontario has introduced automatic licence plate renewals in a move that is expected to save vehicle owners time amounting to more than 900,000 hours every year.
The change took effect on July 1 and includes licence plates for passenger vehicles, light-duty trucks, motorcycles, and mopeds. These categories will renew automatically 90 days before expiry if the vehicle owner has valid insurance, along with no outstanding fines or tolls. For plates that cannot be renewed automatically, the vehicle owner will be notified and will have to renew online or in-person.
Frank Notte, Director of Government Relations for the Motor Vehicle Retailers of Ontario, said automatic licence plate renewals underscores this government’s commitment to modernizing services. “Removing the yearly hassle of reporting to the government saves people and businesses a precious commodity — their time,” he said in a statement.
He added Ontario’s 1,100 new car and truck retailers applaud the provincial government for “driving efficiencies and removing unnecessary bureaucracy for vehicle owners.”
The provincial government has also eliminated licence plate sticker fees for passenger vehicles, which they said in a news release saves drivers $120 a year for every car they own. “Now, we’re saving drivers’ valuable time and making their lives easier by automatically renewing licence plates,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation, in a statement.
