PLEASE NOTE: New applications are not being accepted at this time for the Specialty Licence Plate program. Customers can continue to purchase existing specialty plates for members and non-members.

Manitoba Public Insurance works closely with organizations – local sports teams, educational and community interest groups – interested in obtaining their own licence plate series.

Organizations or groups interested in the specialty plate program should be widely recognized within Manitoba, have a broad base of public support and not be seen as divisive or contentious in nature. All levels of government are excluded from the program.

As with all Manitoba licence plates, the specialty plates cannot contain any profane, sexually suggestive, racial or alcohol/drug-related words, phrases or innuendoes that may be considered offensive or suggestive.

The Specialty Licence Plate Program is designed to operate on a break-even model. Interested groups will be required to submit a business plan identifying and quantifying their target market. It should include some financial forecasting and be based on a minimum sale of 1,000 plates. Where projected licence plate sales may be less, the requesting organization may be required to cover additional costs. See more information under Program eligibility.

How to apply

Organizations interested in having a specialty licence plate must fill out an application. For additional information about the Specialty Licence Plate Program, please contact us at mpiplates@mpi.mb.ca.

Program eligibility

The final determination and approval on all applications submitted under the Specialty Licence Plate Program will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Organizations must be or represent a community organization based in Manitoba.
• Organizations must be widely recognized within the Manitoba community and have a broad base of public support.
• Organizations that represent small niche interests or those that represent one perspective of any public issue that could be seen to be divisive or contentious will not be considered for a specialty plate.
• Political groups or parties and religious organizations are not eligible.

Organizations approved for participation in the program must adhere to the following requirements:

• A minimum sales volume of 1,000 specialty licence plates must be achieved within 36 months of launch.
• Proceeds from the sales of plates will not be released prior to meeting the minimum plate sales requirement and a financial reconciliation has been completed to ensure full recovery of implementation costs.
• Organizations may be required to contribute their own funds to attain cost recovery in the event the 1,000 plate minimum is not met within 36 months.
• The licence plate design is approved by the Province of Manitoba and must satisfy requirements for plate legibility and compatibility with existing electronic enforcement tools.

Design features

All specialty licence plates in Manitoba must conform to a standard design in order to meet vehicle registration and law enforcement needs and considerations throughout North America. They do, however, offer an opportunity to promote the unique ‘look and feel’ for your organization.

The following plate design requirements must be met:

• All artwork, images, slogans, and intellectual property used for proposed plate designs and samples must be owned or appropriately licensed by the sponsoring organization. It is the requesting organization’s responsibility to obtain these licences prior to submitting a completed application.
• No infringement or violation of any property right will result from use of the name, logo or graphic design.
• Plate design must designate Manitoba as vehicle registration jurisdiction.
• Plate design must be unique to the designated specialty plate program to protect the marketability of existing programs.
• The plate design cannot contain any profane, sexually suggestive, racial or alcohol/drug-related words, phrases or innuendoes that may be considered offensive or suggestive, or political messages of any description, in any language.
• Plate design must be endorsed by local law enforcement agencies and satisfy law enforcement technologies (photo radar, automated licence plate readers) before being deemed final.

The time to implement a plate can vary, depending on the plate design approval process and timing of the program launch.

Cost to consumers

Customers pay $70 for set of specialty licence plates (front and rear). Included in this cost is a fundraising component. The disbursement of funds is broken down as follows:

$30.00 to the designated Manitoba-based charity of the sponsoring organization

$29.67 to Manitoba Public Insurance for internal operating expenses

$7.00 to the Government of Manitoba for plate use fee

$3.33 in GST
_____________

= $70.00 TOTAL*

*Please note that prices are subject to change.

The specialty plate charge is not pro-ratable and is non-refundable.

Who can purchase

A specialty licence plate can only be purchased by a Manitoba Public Insurance customer who has one or more qualifying vehicles registered. For member-based plates, the customer must also be a member of the issuing organization.

Specialty licence plates can be purchased for passenger cars, motorcycles, mopeds, non-commercial trucks, farm trucks and trailers. Specialty licence plates cannot be purchased for commercial vehicles, unless the vehicle is registered as a regulated passenger vehicle.

A customer may purchase a specialty licence plate as a gift for another person. Both the person gifting the plate and the person receiving the plate must have qualifying active policies. There is no limit to the number of gift plates that may be purchased. Customers with an active policy can also purchase plates as a souvenir keepsake.