New licence plate regulations for Ontario farmers

Jan 30, 2015

Proof of a farm business must be shown

By Diego Flammini, Farms.com

Anyone wishing to put farm licence plates on their vehicles must now provide proof to the Ministry of Transportation that they have a farm business or are otherwise entitled to having a farm plate.

The changes in licence plate requirements comes from reports by the Ontario Auditor General on the 2012 Drive Clean Program and 2013’s ServiceOntario report.

Those reports showed an increase of vehicles requesting farm plates but with no way of verifying whether or not the purchaser of plate was an actually a farmer, there was concern the system could be abused.

Farm plates are available at a reduced rate compared to the $29 for a new plate and the $98 for validation stickers in Southern Ontario. The validation sticker is $49 for Northern Ontario residents.

“While it may mean more paperwork, this is a good change for farm licence plate requirements,” says Don McCabe, Ontario Federation of Agriculture president in a release. “Only qualified farmers can access farm plates and the benefits associated with having this designation.”

If buying plates for a commercial vehicle weighing over 3,000kg, documentation of a farm business must be provided.

A Farm Business Registration (FBR) number is what the Ministry of Transportation is looking for, or the following documents to prove the farm business is pre-existing:

Farm organization membership card (i.e. Ontario Federation of Agriculture)
Gross Farm Income Exemption Certificate
Documentation from Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal stating an exemption based on religious reasons
Agricorp documentation with FBR number
Letter from Indian Agriculture Program of Ontario stating the FBR eligibility requirements are met

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