The WHEN is pretty straight forward. If you are a farmer with at least $7,000 in annual farm income, with a vehicle that weighs more than 3,000 kg and is used for a farm-related activity then you can register it as a farm vehicle. If you are buying a new vehicle registration is typically handled by the dealership, but if buying used you need to register the vehicle within 6 days at your local Service Ontario Centre.
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As to WHY you would want to register it as a farm vehicle? That is where more of the questions come from and here are the most common answers:
SAVE MONEY.
The most obvious and popular reason to register a vehicle with farm plates is that the annual plate fee is significantly less compared to the commercial fee. For example, the current fee to register a commercial plate for a vehicle weighing between 3,000 – 3,500 kg is $265.25 compared to only $157 for a farm plate ($108.25 in savings).
Another potential area of savings is related to insurance rates. At times farm commercial vehicle insurance rates offer bigger savings compared to farm pleasure vehicle insurance rates. However, it should be clear that having farm plates does not automatically qualify you for farm insurance since they are two different systems and sets of criteria.
If you have any questions please contact us anytime and we will be happy to provide more information as it relates to your situation.
DRIVER OPTIONS.
Vehicles weighing more than 11,000 kg (making them Class D) that are registered with farm plates can be operated by drivers with only a G license.
This comes in handy for any operators or farm employees to be able to operate the vehicle without a special license. Learn about the difference between a farm truck and personal truck here.
Note: if the vehicle has air brakes, the driver of the vehicle must have an air brake endorsement on their license (Z).
TRANSPORT DANGEROUS GOODS.
Whether this sounds like a positive to you or not on the surface, most farm operators will tell you this is very useful.
If a farm plated vehicle is hauling less then 3,300 lbs and travelling less than 100 km for farm-related purposes it becomes except for the documentation, placarding and driver training requirements.
Note: dangerous goods that DO NOT qualify include explosives, flammable or toxic gases, radioactive material and infectious substances.
Erie Mutual Insurance proudly serves the commercial insurance, farm insurance, home insurance and auto insurance needs of members throughout Southern Ontario including Haldimand, Niagara and Hamilton.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have about this or any other topic related to your insurance..
