Vehicle registration

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Transfer vehicle ownership

As well as handing over the keys, the buyer and the seller of a vehicle need to take these steps to transfer its ownership.

Steps for the seller

Steps for the seller

  1. Download a Transfer/Tax Form (APV9T) and complete it using Acrobat Reader or pick up a copy from any Autoplan broker. Please note that all four pages must be complete and original signatures are still required. 
  2. Remove your licence plates from the vehicle you're selling.
  3. Remove your insurance and registration. The insurance and registration are actually two parts of the same document (APV250).
  4. Tear off (carefully please!) the bottom, vehicle registration portion.
  5. Give the registration to the buyer, making sure it has your signature on it.
  6. After you've been paid, fill out and sign the Transfer/Tax Form in full. Each of the four pages must have original signatures.
  7. To complete the transfer, take the registration and Transfer/Tax Form to an Autoplan broker. We strongly recommend going together with the buyer to ensure that the registration transfer is processed in a timely manner and that your name and any insurance and licence products are removed from the vehicle registration record. This is important in avoiding any possible liability claims associated with the future operation of the vehicle by the purchaser. If you cannot visit the Autoplan broker with the buyer, keep the seller's copy (with original signatures from both you and the seller) for your records.
  8. Remember to cancel your insurance or transfer it ​to a new vehicle.​
Steps for the buyer

Steps for the buyer

  1. Get the original vehicle registration, with the owner's signature on it, from the seller.

  2. Fill out the Transfer/Tax Form (APV9T) using Acrobat Reader, then sign in full the purchaser's portion. (You can also pick up a copy of this form at any Autoplan broker.) Please note that all four pages must be c​omplete and original signatures are still required.

  3. To complete the transfer, take these documents to an Autoplan broker. We strongly recommend going together with the seller.
You can get the vehicle registered, licensed and insured at the broker's at the same time.​
Plates from your old vehicle

Using plates from your old vehicle

You can drive your "new" vehicle using the licence plates from your old one for 10 days from the date of purchase if all of these conditions are met:

  • The vehicle you're switching plates to is registered in B.C. (or was purchased from a licensed B.C. auto dealer).
  • You have sold or otherwise disposed of your old vehicle.
  • Both vehicles are the same type (for example, passenger vehicles).
  • The licence plates are valid B.C. plates.

During those 10 days, you must carry in your new vehicle

  • the signed Transfer/Tax Form for your new vehicle,
  • the original registration from the seller (or, for a new vehicle, the signed and dated bill of sale from a dealer),
  • the insurance papers for your old vehicle (the insurance must still be valid), and
  • proof, such as the "seller's" copy of the Transfer/Tax Form, that you sold your old vehicle.

Prorate and restricted plates

Vehicles with "prorate" and "restricted" plates do not qualify for this 10-day grace period.

If the owner has passed away

If a vehicle owner has passed away

Have you lost a loved one who was the registered owner of a vehicle?
 
Please be aware that it's important to contact an Autoplan broker as soon as you can. Your broker will help you transfer the ownership of the vehicle (or, if you prefer, cancel the policy).

It's also important to cancel their driver's licence.
Depending on your situation, here are some of the documents your broker may need to transfer the vehicle's ownership:
  • The original or a certified copy of each of the documents in our Checklist for Estate Transfers.

  • A fully completed Transfer/Tax Form (APV9T), which you can download and complete using Acrobat Reader. (You can also pick up ​​a copy at any Autoplan broker.) Please note that all four pages must be complete and original signatures are still required.

  • The current vehicle registration (usually kept in the glove box).
  • A valid marriage certificate or a notarized statutory declaration if you are the surviving spouse and want to keep the plate without a decal as a keepsake. (You can get a statutory declaration form from your broker.)

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