1903-04 (Dealer)

1905-08 (Rubber)

Only Porcelain year

Style of 1912-16

Style of 1917-19

Similar to 1917-19 Style

Style of 1921

Style of 1923-24

Style of 1922, 25, 26

Style of 1927-29

Style of 1930

Style of 1931-34

Style of 1935-36

Unique to 1937 (double crown)

Style of 1938-39

Windshield sticker for 1944

Style of 1940-47 (King's Crown)

Style of 1948-50, 52 (smaller crown)

Unique to 1951

Windshield sticker for 1952

Style of 1953-54 (Queen's Crown)

Style of 1955-61 (New 6x12 format)

Style of 1962-66 (Raised Border)

Unique to 1967

Style of 1968-72

Style of 1973-78

Style of 1979-82

Style of 1983-94

Style of 1994-97
(note the difference between the 
number 0 and the letter O).

Style of 1997-date

Current motorcycle  plate

The province began registering vehicles around May of 1903, the year the Hamilton Auto Club (later to become the Ontario Motor League) was formed.  It is said the first two plates were issued to John C. Eaton (of Eaton Department Store fame) for a Winton Touring Car and National Electric Runabout.  The plates were provided by the province from the beginning.  Therefore, no owner-provided plates are known. 

The first plate, designed by a member of the Hamilton Auto Club, was in the shape of a shield, made of leather, with metal house numbers attached.  It is identified by a brass insignia.  At first it was thought only the brass insignia was officially provided (so the rest was owner provided) but the general consensus now is that the entire plate was provided to the motorist.  These plates are very rare, as only 713 were issued, and only a dozen or so are known.  During this period, there was no front plate, but instead, the motorist was required to paint his registration number on the front headlights. Pairs began with the issue of the rubber plates in 1906. Later they became annual with the porcelain issue of 1911.
 

• 1911 is Ontario's only porcelain plate.  The design and color are the same as the first porcelain plate for BC (1913), Alberta (1912) and Manitoba (1911).
• In 1915, late registrants received cardboard plates because the province ran out of metal plates and there was a steel shortage becaise of the War.  The same was done for early 1916 as well.
• The '23 and '24 plates were unique.  They had their top and bottom edges crimped back, much like the Quebec plates of 1925-32.  The '24 has two distinct die styles.
• The '38 plate had striking colors: orange on turquoise.
• Up to 1954, the length of the plate varied, based on the number of characters.  From 1955 onwards, the standard 6"x12" size was adopted.
• The white paint on the numbers of some of the '55 plate mixed with the underlying deep blue, giving them that pinkish color.
• Staggered Registration (month/year) was introduced in 1983.
• All plates issued since 1973 are valid.

During the latter part of 1915 and the first half of 1916, there was a shortage of metal due to the Great War (1914-18).
Plates were made of stiff cardboard as an Emergency/Temporary measure.

• 1937: Coronation of King George VI.  The only year 2 crowns were used.
• 1967: 100th Anniversary of the formation of Canada, Confederation (1867)

• Before 1955, the plate length varied with the serial number.
• From 1955-72, the numbering started at 1000, and when 999*999 was reached, A1*000 would follow.
• In 1973, goverment staff got specific 3 letter prefixes.
• The current series is unique insofar as there are enough combinations to last the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) a couple of centuries!

• Unfortunately, Ontario has never made it easy to identify non-passenger types.  These are identifed by particular prefix or suffix letters as shown above.  Another clue is that non-passengers can expire quarterly (Mar, Jun, Sep or Dec).  This is not shown on passenger plates before 1983.
• Up to around 1912, Dealer plates had the Dealer's initials instead of a registration number.  This is shown on the left at the top for the 1903-04 first issue.
• As you can see 'F' stood for a lot of things!

The '36 Commercial plates featured a lock-tab on the rear plate.  This was an interesting experiment for the more expensive registration.  The tab was an anti-theft device which would prevent plate theft (removing the plate would destroy the locktab and plate).  It's not clear how effective this was, but certainly they were more expensive to produce, and they did not appear again here, or anywhere else in Canada.

This '39 Doctor's plate, an experiment, was the first Ontario plate to carry reflectorization (beaded numbers).  Incidentally reflectorization  did not appear again until 1994, fully 55 years later, when all plates started to be made of 3M scotchlight covered aluminum.

In 1944, 1952 Windshield stickers were issued.  Vehicles such as motorcycles and trailers, that don't normally have windshields, received dated metal plates.  The '44 was black on orange (tiger colored!) and the '52 was a striking black on bright yellow which broke the monotony of blue/black/white of other years.  The dealers also received dated metal plates.  Examples are shown for each type in 1952:
 

Dealer

Trailer

Motorcycle

In 1973 when the numbering changed to the ABC-123 system, politicians received plates with special 3-letter prefixes:
 

Special issues used in Ontario event motorcades 

Canada Central Exhibition, Ottawa	Royal Visit (1982)	Queen's Visit (1984)
Papal Visit (1984)	Economic G7 Summit, Toronto (1988)	Open Skies Conference, Ottawa (1990)
Ontario Chiefs of Police	QEW 50th Anniversary (1990)	MTO 75th Anniversary (1991)

Ontario has issued quite a few special plates over the years, commemorating specific events.  They were used in motorcades, but only recently has it made special issue plates available to the general public.  This program, introduced in 1994, features about 40 different plates covering Conservation, Universities, Organizations, Sports and Special Interest themes.

The MTO celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1991 and distributed a special souvenir plate to its employees.

Non passenger types:

Quarterly Truck	Farm	Bus
School Bus (note expiry at end of School Year)	Station Wagon (Dual Purpose)	Handicap (Recalled 1992)
Dealer	Pesticides - For use on a sprayer Issued by the Ministry of Agriculture