# Transferring a vehicle from Alberta to BC



## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Hi all- been away from the board for a couple of years while I was in college. I have a question about vehicle transfer.

Does anyone know the steps/ best way to go about moving a car from Alberta to BC? My dad in Edmonton wants to give me his car, but I live in the Lower Mainland. I imagine I'd have to fly there, transfer ownership, get temporary Alberta insurance, then get a BC inspection and reinsure with ICBC. Am I missing anything? Any easier way, like can I buy a transit permit/insurance from ICBC before I leave, something like that? And do I need to pay any PST in BC?

Thanks.


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## Retiredguy (Jul 24, 2013)

Not sure but a neighbour just moved here from AB and orginally had AB plates. I see the car now has BC plates so I'm thinking the transfer was done in BC? I'd phone a ICBC insurance agent before doing anything . May be you could drive it out to BC and complete the transfer in BC. PST tax is normally payable but b/c its a family transfer I think that's exempt Dad of course would have to give you signed docs to take to the BC agent.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

Just pay your Dad to leave the plates & insurance on it....saves a lot of hassle. I leave my Jeep with BC friends for 6 months to use when I'm on the boat...never a problem. Yes I did check with my insurance company...

(Grats on college...)


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## Retiredguy (Jul 24, 2013)

Sorry have to disagree with Eder's advice. As I read things what Eder is doing with his insurance agents blessing is entirely different than what you are doing. You are living and working in LM of BC. The car is permanently being relocated to BC. Misrepresenting the cars status and use area could could be a big cause for claim denial in the event of an accident. Probably nothing if a small accident but do you really want to have that as a concern if you severly injure a 30 yr old dentist with 3 kids? IMO cars are probably the biggest risk most have on a daily basis and screwing around with the system to save some inconvenience or money is just plain dumb. In addition if a car is relocated here the MV Act and regulations requires it to be done within a set number of days/months. To do it all correctly is really no more hassle than spending 20 mins in a ICBC agents office.


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Retiredguy said:


> Sorry have to disagree with Eder's advice. As I read things what Eder is doing with his insurance agents blessing is entirely different than what you are doing. You are living and working in LM of BC. The car is permanently being relocated to BC. Misrepresenting the cars status and use area could could be a big cause for claim denial in the event of an accident. Probably nothing if a small accident but do you really want to have that as a concern if you severly injure a 30 yr old dentist with 3 kids? IMO cars are probably the biggest risk most have on a daily basis and screwing around with the system to save some inconvenience or money is just plain dumb. In addition if a car is relocated here the MV Act and regulations requires it to be done within a set number of days/months. To do it all correctly is really no more hassle than spending 20 mins in a ICBC agents office.


Thank you all for the replies. Yes, I would never do that in the first place; I don't play games with car insurance.


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## Retiredguy (Jul 24, 2013)

indexxx said:


> Thank you all for the replies. Yes, I would never do that in the first place; I don't play games with car insurance.


Its possible that bringing vehicle from AB,SASK, and MAN. might be exempted from inspection. Read the attached link.









Import a vehicle into B.C.


To import a vehicle, you must go through the Registrar of Imported Vehicles. Once you have imported the vehicle, you must register, license and insure it through ICBC.




www.icbc.com


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

That would be new per the link. We brought a 6 month old vehicle into BC from AB some years back and it required a safety inspection.


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## Retiredguy (Jul 24, 2013)

AltaRed said:


> It has not been exempted in the past. We brought a 6 month old vehicle into BC from AB some years back and it required a safety inspection.


There are specific exemptions for vehicles from AB, SASK and MAN stated in the link. They must meet qualifications to be exempt. The eligibility criteria is also set out in the link. Of course I don't know whether this was available... some years back when you brought your vehicle in or whether all the qualifications were met.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

I edited my post just after you must have snagged it for your response. This exemption obviously occurred after we had re-located. It is a good one. Too many regulatory/red tape constraints between provinces.


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Retiredguy said:


> Its possible that bringing vehicle from AB,SASK, and MAN. might be exempted from inspection. Read the attached link.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for the link


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Talked to an ICBC rep- I can buy a transit policy (think it's called a Binder) that is good for ten days, and drive it to BC with my dad's plates. Thank you everyone for the responses.


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