Obtaining a personalized licence plate

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 a personalized licence plate is linked exclusively to the file of the person who ordered it. It reflects a personal choice or message and the unique identity of its holder. As a result, a personalized licence plate cannot be offered or resold to another person, and it cannot be transferred from one file to another. This rule also aims to prevent potential abuse, such as a mass purchase of popular or controversial character combinations with the goal of reselling them at inflated prices.

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.

Eligible vehicles

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

Ineligible vehicles

• 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)

Note that dealer plates (X licence plates) cannot be personalized.

Eligibility criteria

• You must be a vehicle owner or long-term lessee. 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 KB)⁠ ⁠ ⁠ (in French only)
• The status of your vehicle must be “active” or “in storage” in the SAAQ’s vehicle registration records
  OR
• If you do not currently own or lease a vehicle, you must have informed the SAAQ that you plan to acquire or lease a vehicle within the next four years.
• Your vehicle must be authorized for road use and you must hold a valid driver’s licence. 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 letter O cannot be used on a licence plate. If you include the letter O in your combination, it will automatically be replaced with the number 0.
• The number 0 cannot be used in succession (e.g., 00) in combinations with 5 to 7 characters.
• Combinations with 5 to 7 characters cannot begin with a number followed by a zero.
• 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).
• Whether read forwards or backwards, the chosen character combination must not include an expression or message that:
  • gives the false impression that the vehicle owner is a public authority, peace officer or carrier enforcement officer, or works for an emergency service or government organization
  • expresses disregard toward road safety, or in other words, promotes unsafe driving behaviours such as speeding, racing, drinking or using drugs, etc.
  • expresses a violent, obscene, scandalous or sexual idea
  • uses abusive, vulgar, profane or derogatory language
  • promotes the perpetration of a criminal offence
  • damages the SAAQ’s image or reputation
  • could be easily confused with another licence plate number (e.g., MAG1 and MAGI)
  • is prohibited by law or includes a brand nameA name is considered distinctive when it has been invented for a trademark and could only refer to this trademark. used as a registered trademark. 

Passenger vehicles, motorcycles, mopeds or scooters and motor homes

• Numbers and letters in 2- to 4-character combinations can be used in any order.
• Numbers and letters in 5- to 7-character (maximum) combinations  must be used in the following orders:

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)

• Numbers and letters in 1- to 4-character combinations can be used in any order.
• Numbers and letters in 5-character (maximum) combinations must be used in the following orders:

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

Personalized licence plate issuance fee

To find out the personalized licence plate issuance fee, visit the Fees Related to Vehicle Registration web page. This fee is non-refundable.

Note that the personalized licence plate issuance fee does not include the vehicle registration renewal fees, which are charged each year.

Annual personalized licence plate fee

To find out the annual personalized licence plate fee, visit the Fees Related to Vehicle Registration web page. This fee is non-refundable.

The annual fee is charged each year through a statement of account, which is sent to you within a few weeks following your birthday.

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

Note that the annual fee is charged even if the personalized licence plate has not been activated or the vehicle associated with the licence plate has been put into storage, discarded or prohibited from being put into operation. 

If you no longer wish to pay the annual fee, you must return your personalized licence plate to an SAAQ service outlet.

Lost or stolen licence plate

If your personalized licence plate is lost or stolen, you can have it replaced by a standard plate. If you would like to obtain another personalized plate, you must use the number of the standard plate you received as a replacement to place your order online in SAAQclic⁠ ⁠. A fee will be charged to issue the new personalized plate.

Note that you cannot reuse the same character combination.

Damaged licence plate

Your personalized licence plate can only be replaced by a plate with the same character combination if it is damaged or defective. To obtain a replacement, you must return your personalized licence plate to an SAAQ service outlet. You will be charged a fee to have your personalized licence plate reissued. 

Colour change

If you wish to use your personalized licence plate on another registered vehicle requiring a different colour of licence plate, you can have your personalized plate reissued in the new colour. To obtain your plate in the appropriate colour, you must return your personalized licence plate to an SAAQ service outlet. You will be charged a fee to have your personalized licence plate reissued.

Format change

You cannot have your personalized licence plate reissued in another format. For example, you cannot change the format of your personalized motorcycle licence plate in order to use it on your car.