Personalized Licence Plates

Who can order a personalized licence plate?

• Owners of vehicles registered in Québec
• Designated registrants of vehicles owned by more than one person
• Holders of a licence authorizing the operation of a road vehicle
• Owners or long-term lessees of vehicles that are used less than 50% of the time to provide remunerated passenger transportation services

Please note that you cannot order a personalized licence plate to offer or sell it to another person. In addition, a personalized licence plate cannot be transferred from one file to another.

Please note that you cannot order a personalized licence plate to offer or sell to another person.

Who can activate a personalized licence plate?

Individuals who have ordered and received a personalized licence plate and who wish to place it on a vehicle registered under their name can activate it.

Vehicles that are eligible for personalized plates

• Passenger vehicles (automobiles) destined for personal use
• Motorcycles
• Mopeds or motorized scooters
• Motor homes weighing 3,000 kg or less
• Snowmobiles
• All-terrain vehicles

Vehicles that are not eligible for personalized plates

• Commercial vehicles and special use vehicles (F licence plates)
• Trailers, camping trailers and tent trailers (R licence plates)
• Buses and minibuses (A licence plates)
• Off-road vehicles (except snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles) (V licence plates)
• Amateur radio operator vehicles (VA2 or VE2 licence plates)
• Vehicles with restricted-area use, such as tractors and other farm vehicles (C licence plates)
• Heavy vehicles (L licence plates)
• Passenger vehicles used by members of a consular corps or a foreign delegation (CC licence plates)
• Passenger vehicles used by members of a diplomatic corps or the International Civil Aviation Organization (CD licence plates)
• Vehicles with a dealer plate (X licence plates)

Eligibility criteria

• You own a vehicle, or have taken out a long-term lease on a vehicle (for more information, refer to the SAAQ’s policy on registering vehicles leased under a long-term contract, entitled Immatriculation des véhicules loués à long terme (PDF, 40.5 ko)This file does not meet the Web accessibility standard. (in French only))
• The status of your vehicle is “active” or “in storage” in the SAAQ’s vehicle registration records
  OR
• If you do not currently own or lease a vehicle, you have informed the SAAQ that you are committed to acquiring or leasing a vehicle within the next four years
• You must ensure that the vehicle is authorized for road use and that the driver’s licence of the person driving the vehicle is valid before the vehicle is operated. Activating the personalized licence plate does not authorize the vehicle for road use.

General rules

• Only the letters of the alphabet and the 10 Arabic numerals (0 to 9) are authorized characters.
• The numbers 00 and the letters OO cannot appear one after the other in combinations of 5 to 7 characters.
• The letter “O” cannot be printed on a licence plate. If you include the letter “O” in your combination, it will automatically be replaced with the number “0”.
• Spaces are not permitted.
• The character combination must be clear and easy to read. For example, the following character combinations are unclear and difficult to read: MWMMWM, IIII, B8B8.
• Combinations that feature more than 4 consecutive identical characters are not permitted (e.g.: AAAAA).
• The personalized character combination chosen must comply with the following rules, whether it is read forwards or backwards. It must not include an expression or message that:
  • gives the false impression that the road vehicle’s owner is, or is connected to, a public authority, peace officer or carrier enforcement officer, or that he or she works for an emergency service or a government organization
  • expresses disregard toward road safety
  • expresses an obscene, scandalous or sexual idea
  • expresses abusive or derogatory language
  • promotes the perpetration of a criminal offence
  • could be easily confused with another licence plate number (e.g. MAG1 and MAGI)
  • is prohibited by law or is a distinctive nameA name is considered distinctive when it has been invented for a trademark and could only refer to this trademark.. For example, the name “Nike” cannot be used. However, the name “Apple” can be used, as it also refers to a fruit. Make sure to ensure that your chosen character combination is not a distinctive trademark.

Passenger vehicles, motorcycles, mopeds or motorized scooters and motor homes

• With regard to the positions of the numbers and letters, no restrictions apply to combinations of 2 to 4 characters.
• Combinations of 5 to 7 characters (maximum) must respect the following formats:

5 to 7 letters	E.g. ABCDEFG
One number followed by 4 to 6 letters	E.g. 1ABCDEF
4 to 6 letters followed by one number	E.g. ABCDEF1
One number followed by 3 to 5 letters and ending with one number	E.g. 1ABCDE1

Snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles (V licence plates)

• With regard to the positions of the numbers and letters, no restrictions apply to combinations of 1 to 4 characters.
• Combinations of 5 characters (maximum) must respect the following formats:

5 letters	E.g. V-ABCDE
4 letters followed by one number	E.g. V-ABCD1

Acquisition of a personalized licence plate

$272.49 (taxes included)

The acquisition fees for a personalized licence plate are not reimbursable.

Note that the acquisition fees for a personalized licence plate do not include the vehicle registration renewal fees, which are charged each year.

Annual personalized licence plate fees

$37.66 (taxes included)

The annual fees for a personalized licence plate are not reimbursable. 

The annual fees are charged each year through a statement of account. This statement is sent to you in the weeks following your birthday.

Please note that the invoicing date for the annual fees for a personalized licence plate that is associated with a vehicle that is co-owned, co-leased or owned by a trust is based on the date on which the personalized licence plate was mailed.

Note that these annual fees are charged even if you have not activated your personalized licence plate or the vehicle associated with the licence plate has been put into storage, discarded or prohibited from being put into operation.

If you do not wish to pay the annual fees in the future, you must return your personalized licence plate to an SAAQ service outlet.

Fee for reprinting a personalized licence plate

$62.37 (taxes included)