Transfer vehicle ownership

Steps for the buyer

1. Get the original vehicle registration, with the owner’s signature on it, from the seller.

2. Fill out and sign in full the purchaser’s portion of the Transfer/Tax Form (APV9T). Due to COVID-19, the Transfer/Tax Form (APV9T) is temporarily available for download. Each of the four pages must have original signatures — electronic signatures are not accepted.

3. To complete the transfer, take these documents to an Autoplan broker. We strongly recommend going together with the seller.

You can get the vehicle registered, licensed and insured at the broker’s at the same time.​

Using plates from your old vehicle

You can drive your “new” vehicle using the licence plates from your old one for 10 days from the date of purchase if all of these conditions are met:

• The vehicle you’re switching plates to is registered in B.C. (or was purchased from a licensed B.C. auto dealer).
• You have sold or otherwise disposed of your old vehicle.
• Both vehicles are the same type (for example, passenger vehicles).
• The licence plates are valid B.C. plates.

During those 10 days, you must carry in your new vehicle

• the signed Transfer/Tax Form for your new vehicle,
• the original registration from the seller (or, for a new vehicle, the signed and dated bill of sale from a dealer),
• the insurance papers for your old vehicle (the insurance must still be valid), and
• proof, such as the “seller’s” copy of the Transfer/Tax Form, that you sold your old vehicle.

If a vehicle owner has passed away

Have you lost a loved one who was the registered owner of a vehicle?

Depending on your situation, here are some of the documents your broker may need to transfer the vehicle’s ownership:

• The original or a certified copy of each of the documents in our Checklist for Estate Transfers.

• A fully completed Transfer/Tax Form. (You can pick up a blank form at the broker’s office.) Due to COVID-19, the Transfer/Tax Form (APV9T) is temporarily available for download; please note that original signatures are still required.

• The current vehicle registration (usually kept in the glove box).
• A valid marriage certificate or a notarized statutory declaration if you are the surviving spouse and want to keep the plate without a decal as a keepsake. (You can get a statutory declaration form from your broker.)