Vehicle registration plates of Nova Scotia

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1907. Registrants provided their own licence plates for display until 1918, when the province began to issue plates.^[1]

Nova Scotia

Current series
Slogan	Canada's Ocean Playground
Size	12 in × 6 in 30 cm × 15 cm
Material	Aluminum
Serial format	ABC 123
Introduced	2011 (2011)
Availability
Issued by	Nova Scotia Registry of Motor Vehicles
Manufactured by	Waldale Manufacturing Limited, Amherst, Nova Scotia
History
First issued	January 1, 1918 (1918-01-01) (pre-provincial plates from 1907 through December 31, 1917)
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As of 2022^[update], plates are issued by the Nova Scotia Registry of Motor Vehicles. Only rear plates have been required since 1997.

Passenger baseplates

1918 to 1959

In 1956, Canada, the United States, and Mexico came to an agreement with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the Automobile Manufacturers Association and the National Safety Council that standardized the size for licence plates for vehicles (except those for motorcycles) at 6 inches (15 cm) in height by 12 inches (30 cm) in width, with standardized mounting holes.^[2] The first Nova Scotia licence plate that complied with these standards was issued fifteen years beforehand, in 1941.^{[citation needed]}

No slogans were used on passenger plates during the period covered by this subsection.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1918	White serial on green flat metal plate; "NOVA SCOTIA", provincial shield and "1918" at left	1234	1 to approximately 9000
	1919	Black serial on yellow flat metal plate; "NOVA SCOTIA", provincial shield and "1919" at left	12345	1001 to approximately 12000
	1920	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA", provincial shield and "1920" at left	12345	1001 to approximately 12500	First embossed plate.
	1921	Black serial on light green flat metal plate; "NOVA SCOTIA", provincial shield and "1921" at left	12345	1001 to approximately 13500
	1922	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "NS 22" at left	12-345	1-001 to approximately 15-500
	1923	Embossed red serial on gray plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA 1923" at right	12-345	1-001 to approximately 17-000
	1924	Embossed yellow serial on black plate with border line; "NS 24" at right	12-345	1-001 to approximately 19-000
	1925	Embossed black serial on white plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA–25" at bottom	12-345	1-001 to approximately 21-000
	1926	Embossed white serial on dark green plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA 1926" at bottom	L12-345	L1-001 to approximately L11-500	'L' prefix used for vehicles weighing 3,000 lb or less, and 'H' prefix for vehicles above 3,000 lb. This happened again in 1927.[3]
			H12-345	H15-001 to approximately H24-500
	1927	Embossed yellow serial on black plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA 1927" at bottom	L12-345	L1-001 to approximately L19-000
			H12-345	H19-001 to approximately H29-500
	1928	Embossed black serial on orange plate with border line; "1928" and "NOVA SCOTIA" centred at top and bottom respectively	12-345	10-001 to approximately 27-500	No letter prefix used for vehicles weighing 3,000 lb or less.
			H12-345	H40-001 to approximately H52-500
	1929	Embossed white serial on red plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA 29" at bottom	12-345	10-001 to approximately 41-500
	1930	Embossed red serial on white plate with border line; "30 NOVA SCOTIA" at bottom	12-345	40-001 to approximately 85-000
	1931	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA 31" at top	12-345	Coded by county group (1)
	1932	Embossed black serial on yellow plate; "NOVA SCOTIA 32" at bottom	12-345	Coded by county group (1)
	1933	Embossed orange serial on black plate; "33 NOVA SCOTIA" at bottom	12-345	Coded by county group (1)
	1934	Embossed white serial on dark blue plate; "NOVA SCOTIA 34" at bottom	12-345	Coded by county group (1)
	1935	Embossed dark blue serial on white plate; "35-NOVA SCOTIA" at bottom	12-345	Coded by county group (1)
	1936	Embossed white serial on red plate; "NOVA SCOTIA 36" at top	12-345	Coded by county group (1)
	1937	Embossed yellow serial on black plate; "37-NOVA SCOTIA" at bottom	12-345	Coded by county group (1)
	1938	Embossed black serial on yellow plate; "NOVA SCOTIA" and "1938" centred at top and bottom respectively	12-345	Coded by county group (1)
	1939	Embossed white serial on green plate; "NOVA" and "SCOTIA" centred at top and bottom respectively; vertical "1939" at right	12-345	Coded by county group (1)
	1940	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "NOVA" and "SCOTIA" centred at top and bottom respectively; vertical "1940" at right	12-345	Coded by county group (1)
	1941	Embossed black serial on cream plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA '41" at bottom	1-23-45	Coded by county group (1)	First 6" x 12" plate.
	1942	Embossed black serial on pale green plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA" and "1942" centred at top and bottom respectively	1-23-45	Coded by county group (1)	Produced in pairs but only single plates issued; the remaining plates were restamped and repainted for use in 1943 and 1944, due to metal conservation for World War II.[3]
	1943–44	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA" and "1943" centred at top and bottom respectively	1-23-45	Coded by county group (1)	Restamped and repainted 1942 plates. Revalidated for 1944 with windshield stickers.
	1945	Embossed black serial on cream plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA '45" at bottom	1-23-45	Coded by county group (1)
	1946	Embossed black serial on gray plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA '46" at top	1-23-45	Coded by county group (1)
	1947	Embossed white serial on black plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA '47" at bottom	1-23-45	Coded by county group (1)
	1948	Embossed black serial on pale green plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA '48" at bottom	1-23-45	Coded by county group (1)
	1949	Embossed black serial on cream plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA '49" at top	1-23-45	Coded by county group (1)
	1950	Embossed black serial on gray plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA - 50" at bottom	1-23-45	Coded by county group (1)
	1951	Embossed black serial on orange plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA - 51" at top	1-23-45	Coded by county group (1)
	1952	Embossed black serial on unpainted aluminum plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA - 52" at bottom	1-23-45	Coded by county group (1)	Revalidated for 1953 with light blue tabs, for 1954 with black tabs, for 1955 with white tabs, and for 1956 with dark green tabs.
	1953	As above, but with "NOVA SCOTIA - 53" at bottom	12-34-56	10-00-00 to 10-99-99	Issued only to new registrants. Validated for 1954, 1955 and 1956 in the same manner as for 1952 plates.
	1953–56	As above, with "NOVA SCOTIA - 52" at bottom		11-00-00 to approximately 16-49-00
	1957	Embossed black serial on white plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA '57" at top	1-23-45 12-34-56	2-00-00 to approximately 13-34-00
	1958	Embossed light yellow serial on black plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA '58" at bottom	1-23-45 12-34-56	2-00-00 to approximately 13-83-00
	1959	Embossed black serial on light yellow plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA '59" at top	1-23-45 12-34-56	2-00-00 to approximately 14-70-00

1960 to present

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1960–61	Embossed light yellow serial on black plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA '60" at bottom	none	1-23-45 12-34-56	2-00-00 to approximately 18-37-00	Revalidated for 1961 with windshield stickers.
	1962–63	Embossed black serial on light yellow plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA '62" at top	none	1-23-45 12-34-56	2-00-00 to approximately 20-33-00	Revalidated for 1963 with windshield stickers.
	1964–65	Embossed yellow serial on black plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA '64" at top	none	1-23-45 12-34-56	2-00-00 to approximately 22-49-00	Revalidated for 1965 with windshield stickers.
	1966–68	Embossed black serial on yellow plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA" at bottom, offset to left; black box at bottom right containing debossed "66"	none	1-23-45 12-34-56	2-00-00 to approximately 28-20-00
	1969–71	Embossed yellow serial on black plate; border lines around plate and around bottom corners; "NOVA SCOTIA" centred at bottom; "69" at bottom left	none	1-23-45 12-34-56	2-00-00 to approximately 29-75-00
	1972–75	Embossed light blue serial on non-reflective white plate; border lines around plate and around top corners; "NOVA SCOTIA" centred at top	"CANADA'S OCEAN PLAYGROUND" at bottom	1-23-45 12-34-56	2-00-00 to 38-49-99	Letters I, O and Q not used in the ABC-123 serial format. Material changed from steel to aluminum in 1986.[3]
	1975–79	As above, but reflective and with darker blue elements		12-34-56	38-50-00 to 66-39-99
	1979–89			ABC-123	AAA-001 to BRS-999
	1989–2011	Embossed blue serial on reflective white plate; border lines around plate and around top corners; light blue graphic of the Bluenose screened in the centre; "NOVA SCOTIA" screened in blue centred at top	"CANADA'S OCEAN PLAYGROUND" screened in blue at bottom	ABC 123	BRT 001 to FAD 999	Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new licence plate of 1989 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, the first and, to date, only time Nova Scotia has been so honored. Co-recipient with Oklahoma.
	2011–present	As above, but without border lines, and with narrower serial dies			FAE 001 to HKZ 846 (as of November 12, 2024)

Specialty plates

Image	First issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	April 2003	Embossed blue serial on white plate; piping plover screened at left; "NOVA SCOTIA" screened in blue centred at top	"Conservation - Species at Risk" screened in blue centred at bottom	PBC12	PAA01 to PEB03 (as of March 26, 2023)
	January 2012	Embossed blue serial on white plate; Flag of Acadia screened at left; "NOVA SCOTIA" and "NOUVELLE-ÉCOSSE" screened in blue centred at top	none	FBC12	FAA01 to FBX48 (as of May 22, 2023)
	August 2013	Embossed blue serial on white plate; Select Nova Scotia logo (a circle with the provincial flag at the top, "Select" in blue handwritten font across the middle and "NOVA SCOTIA" in blue at the bottom) screened at left; "NOVA SCOTIA" screened in blue centred at top	"Buy Local" screened in blue centred at bottom	LBC12	LAA01 to LAN69 (as of March 26, 2023)	Introduced to promote buying local produce.
	June 2018	Embossed blue serial on white plate; eight-point star petroglyph screened at left; "NOVA SCOTIA" screened in blue centred at top	"MI'KMA'KI LAND OF THE MI'KMAQ" screened in blue centred at bottom	MBC12	MAA01 to MCA12 (as of May 17, 2023)

Non-passenger plates

Image	Type	Dates issued	Design	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	Commercial	1978–2012	Embossed black serial on yellow plate; border lines around plate and around top corners; "NOVA SCOTIA" and "COMMERCIAL" centred at top and bottom respectively	12-345-A	10-000-A to 37-519-D	Currently issued to commercial vehicles above 5,000 kg (11,000 lb). Passenger plates issued to lighter commercial vehicles since 1986.[4]
		2012–present	As above, but without border lines		37-520-D to 61-129-D (as of January 15, 2024)
	Motorcycle	1972–78	Embossed blue serial on non-reflective white plate with border line; "NOVA SCOTIA" at top, offset to left	1-23-45	1-00 to 1-25-99	All motorcycle plates expire on December 31.
		1978–98	As above, but reflective		1-26-00 to 9-75-99
		1998–present	As above, but with rounder serial dies, and "NOVA SCOTIA" centred at top	123456	97600 to 219191 (as of September 17, 2023)
	Trailer	1981–2012	Embossed black serial on yellow plate; border lines around plate and around top corners; "NOVA SCOTIA" and "CANADA'S OCEAN PLAYGROUND" centred at top and bottom respectively	T1-23-45 T123-456	T1-00 to approximately T339-000	All Trailer plates expire on December 31.
		2012–present	As above, but without border lines		T339-001 to T516-513 (as of January 8, 2024)
	Antique Auto		Embossed blue serial on white plate; border lines around plate and around top corners; "NOVA SCOTIA" and "CANADA'S OCEAN PLAYGROUND" centred at top and bottom respectively, "ANTIQUE AUTO" on left side of number.	1234	0001 to 9999
		2009–present	As above, but without border lines	A123	A001 to S628 (as of June 24, 2023)

Controversies

GRABHER licence plate

In 2017, Lorne Grabher of Nova Scotia had his custom licence plate revoked. The plate displayed his last name 'GRABHER', which he had purchased as a gift for his father in the 1990s. He had received a letter saying his plate would be cancelled as some had found his licence plate to be misogynistic and offensive.^[5] Lorne attempted to keep his plate by fighting back in court, claiming it violated his right to freedom of expression. However, in August 2021 the Nova Scotia Court of Appeals ruled his constitutional rights had not been violated. They concluded the plate could not be used as it could be seen as offensive without the correct context.^[6] In 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear an appeal of his case.^[7]