Before we discuss the benefits of farm plates, we must first define them and explain why an Ontario farmer might get one.
According to Service Ontario, a farm plate is a designated farm-licensed plate for a farmer's motor vehicle used to transport farm products, commodities, supplies, equipment, and building and maintenance items. To be eligible for a farm plate in Ontario, you must meet the following farm license plate requirements:
You are a farmer
You earn at least $7,000 annually from your farming business or farming operation
You have registered a commercial vehicle with a Registered Gross Weight (RGW) of over 3,000 kg
You have registered with the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, provided that you have not been granted an exemption for it
Farmers purchasing new vehicles will often find that a benefit of farm plates is that the dealer will complete the registration once you have adequate documentation. However, if you are purchasing a used vehicle for which you need farm plates, you will need to register it with Service Ontario within six days of the vehicle sale. Your experienced broker at Morison Insurance will be able to help you through the registration and auto insurance process so you can enjoy the benefits of farm plates sooner rather than later. We'll explain the registration process in greater detail further down.