New license plate configurations are being rolled out by ICBC this summer. Soon enough, you’ll see some letters and combinations you haven’t seen before on the back of other people’s cars– and maybe even your own, if you’re registering a new car yourself.
NEW PLATE, NEW LETTERS
Beginning in August 2025, ICBC will be “gradually introducing new license plate character configurations on some British Columbian licence plates.” These new combinations will begin with the B.C. Parks – Porteau Cove series, which will then be followed by regular license plates.
These license plates will look very similar to the old ones. They will still have the same six character maximum.
IBCB notes that, “by altering the pattern of number and letter positions for each licence plate type, [they] [were] able to increase available licence plate combinations by using the same number of characters.”
WHAT’S NEW?
For some background, every B.C. licence plate follows certain rules. One is that they do not exceed six characters. They also need to follow a unique pattern depending on the vehicle type and license type.
ICBC has around 40 license plate types. This updated license plate configuration is to ensure that there are enough unique license plate combinations to go around as inventories are exhausted from new licenses being issued, as well as routine license plate replacements.
Updates are planned for 16 license plate types, with 10 of them being rolled out over the next year.
Some new characters you may see are “U”, “Y”, and “Z”. These letters have not been used previously on license plates. Unsurprisingly, the letters “I”, “O”, and “Q” are excluded as they present identification issues between their similar-looking numbers.
Below is a list of example license plate patterns. These are divided by vehicle type with current and new patterns for comparison.
No action is necessary for these new license plate configurations. Just know that you may see an unexpected letter in your new plate if you’re registering a new car with ICBC this August.
