Nova Scotia License Plates

The aluminum Nova Scotia passenger licence plate with Bluenose schooner ship has been made by Waldale since 1989. Passenger plates started in the BRT series, then onto C, D, E, F, G and H. Series DQx, EIx, EQx and FKx were all omitted.

Nova Scotia plates in late-2011 were updated with narrower dies like those found in Prince Edward Island, Mississippi and many others. These plates also differ from the originals in that they have debossed borders and single sticker box plus dies do not obscure the ship graphic.

High old dies: FAD 726 2012-12-07 Brent Morton

Low new dies: FAE 002 2012-10-21 Brent Morton

Original series was four-digits, then moved to A123 format starting in spring-2009 after # 9999 issued.

All-embossed blue on white. The dash separator is actually the provincial shield. New dies and debossed border began around the 35-000 series.

Black on yellow plate used on commercial vehicles and transit buses.

"FD" Fire Dept. logo on left

Recently issued on the 74 base.

Nova Scotia motorcycle licence plates were downsized from 5 x 8" to 4 x 7" in 2005. The smaller plates appear to have started at 125001, remain fully embossed and use the same Waldale dies found on New Brunswick motorcycle plates.

The Nova Scotia Accessible Motorcycle licence plate allows qualified registrants to park in designated spots. This series debuted in 2014 at 0P-01 and features an embossed wheelchair logo to left of registration number on a 4x7" plate.

Fully-embossed 5 x 8" red on white metal licence plate, Nova Scotia top, Off-Highway bottom, red borders.

PR plate series followed signing of Canadian Agreement on Vehicle Registration (CAVR, for heavy interprovincial trucks and buses) in 1982, Open For Business slogan first appeared in 1993, NS joined larger North American International Registration Plan (IRP) in 2001, Apportioned slogan replaced Open For Business in 2004, red border dropped/revised dies appeared in 2012, all plates red on yellow:

Canada's Ocean Playground low PRP2868

Canada's Ocean Playground high PRP8755

COMMERCIAL-PRP in this spot

OPEN FOR BUSINESS low PR12163

OPEN FOR BUSINESS high PR26063

APPORTIONED low PR26703

APPORTIONED red border high PR33155

APPORTIONED no-border low PR33273

APPORTIONED no-border current high - see History tab

Optional for use on vehicles owned provincial, county, or municipal governments. Even within a city or provincial department, some vehicles will have this plate and some will have regular issue plates.

SAR stacked on right. Graphic of compass on left. "Volunteer" on bottom.

Permanent Trailer series initially captioned NO-EXPIRY, changed to Open For Business slogan and fixed-interval 5-year sticker expiry terms in 1993 (expiries DEC 1999, DEC 2004, DEC 2009 up to DEC 2024), red border dropped/narrow dies appeared in 2012:

NO-EXPIRY low PT1-76-93 (black on yellow plate, no date, no sticker)

NO-EXPIRY high PT3-00-05 (black on yellow plate, no date, no sticker)

OPEN FOR BUSINESS low PT3-25-19 (red on yellow, 5-year term-stickered expiry)

OPEN FOR BUSINESS red border high PT6-39-20

OPEN FOR BUSINESS no-border low PT6-51-92

OPEN FOR BUSINESS current no-border high - see History tab

T338-785 high with older Waldale dies, black border and sticker boxes, naturally stickered Dec 2012.

T339-643 low with the narrower Mississippi dies and debossed border.

"FD" Fire Dept. logo on left

Introduced in January 2012 for an extra $50. Dave Fraser advises on wide variances in prefixes since only small quantities of these plates are available in most issuing offices.

Introduced in August 2013 for an extra $50. Plate numbering started with LAA01.

Introduced in April 2003 for an extra $70.

Introduced in May 2018 for an extra $50. "Alba Nuadh" means "Nova Scotia" in Gaelic.

Introduced to all Nova Scotia motorists in June 2018 for an extra fee of $24. Funds raised support Mi'kmaq youth sport and recreation activities. Plate numbering started at MAA01.

Nova Scotia was the first province to introduce a special passenger licence plate to honour certified veterans for their service in November 2002.

The 4 x 7" veteran motorcycle option became available in spring-2017.