Policy

In accordance with subsection 45(d) and section 47 of the Operator Licensing and Vehicle Control Regulation some specific types of vehicles are exempt from registration and cannot be registered by Alberta Registries. Examples are, but not limited to:

• Heavy industrial equipment designed and primarily used for major construction, maintenance, land clearing or ditching such as:
  • Caterpillar tractor.
  • Backhoe.
  • Grader.
  • Street sweeper.
  • Motorized packer.
• Trailers that do not have a tank, box, container or deck which is used to carry goods.
• Trailers with permanently mounted machinery or equipment that are used in the construction or maintenance of highways (not intended to be used for the prime purpose of transporting goods, merchandise or material) such as:
  • Air compressors.
  • Welders.
  • Tar buckets.
  • Concrete mixers.
  • Converter dollies.
    • Converters are equipment that when attached to a semi-trailer converts the semi-trailer to a full trailer. Converters consist of a device to attach them to a lead trailer, wheels and at least one axle and a 5th wheel device. No goods transported are directly attached to or on a converter.
  • Crushing equipment (such as stacking conveyors, cone crushers, feeder conveyors, screening plants).
  • Light plants, generator trailers and water pump trailers as long as they are not transporting cargo.
• Jeeps and Booster trailers that do not directly carry a load.
  • Jeeps are weight distributing devices that attach to a highway tractor by means of a 5th wheel device. A trailer is then attached to the jeep by means of a 5th wheel device. Any goods carried are then attached to the trailer. Conventional jeeps are not designed to directly carry or haul a load, they are designed to distribute the weight of the goods transported over a greater number of wheels and area.
  • Boosters are weight distributing devices that attach to the rear of a trailer for the primary purpose of distributing the weight of the goods transported over a greater number of tires and area. No goods transported are attached directly to or on a booster as they are not designed for this function. Boosters are not to be interpreted as requiring to be registered as a trailer.

Note: 
When a load is directly attached or carried on a jeep, booster or converter, such as in the case of a Jeep logger combinations used in the log hauling industry, the equipment then becomes a trailer and must be registered.

• Two and three wheel miniature motorcycles (motorcycles of less than standard size) which are not properly equipped in accordance with the Traffic Safety Act, e.g.,
  • A seat Height of less that 700 mm.
  • A wheel rim diameter of less than 250 mm.
  • A wheelbase of less than 1.00 m.
• Four wheel miniature or off-highway vehicles of less than standard size which the Registrar considers would present a hazard to other highway users because of their novel size or operating characteristics.
  • Examples include, but are not limited to, go-carts, golf carts, gas/electric powered wheel chairs, etc.
• Farming implements designed and used for agricultural or livestock raising operations.
• Mobile homes.

Note:

• A client may wish to contact Alberta Transportation, as a permit may be required for weight or dimension restrictions.
• A registry agent may contact Alberta Transportation at (780) 427-8901 if verification is required regarding registration of specific types of vehicles/trailers.

Date Originally Issued: Nov 14, 1989
Date Last Revised: Oct 02, 2017