Policy

Clients who are registering commercial vehicles in Alberta are required to comply with safety laws relevant to the National Safety Code. It is their responsibility to ensure they are aware of the full regulations and operating requirements. Carriers may be required to apply for a Safety Fitness Certificate (SFC) and to comply with the Commercial Vehicle Inspection Program (CVIP).

Safety Fitness Certificate (SFC)

A SFC is a document issued by Transportation and Economic Corridors (TEC) once a complete application form is received, indicating that a carrier holds a rating (satisfactory, satisfactory unaudited, conditional or unsatisfactory) under the National Safety Code Program.

A SFC is not a registration requirement, but is required to operate the following commercial vehicles for the purpose of transporting goods or people:

• Commercial vehicle with a registered gross weight of 11,794 kg or more that will operate only within Alberta.
• Commercial vehicle with a registered gross weight of 4501 kg or more and travels outside of Alberta.
• Farm plated vehicle with a weight of 4501 kg or more and travels outside of Alberta.
• A vehicle (bus) designed to carry 11 passengers or more (including the driver). 

If on a first registration, the client does not hold a valid SFC, a registry agent must provide the client with a SFC Information Package (available on the TEC website), which outlines the application process and provides a number for the client to contact TEC, Driver, Carrier & Vehicle Services.

In the SFC field on MOVES, a registry agent must enter either:

• ’n/a’ when the client states they currently hold a valid SFC.
  or
• ‘infogiven’ for a first registration when the client does not hold a valid SFC.

Exemptions

The following are exempt from obtaining an SFC:

• Clients operating farm-plated vehicle(s) solely for conducting their own farm operations who do not travel outside of Alberta.
• Clients operating service rigs who do not travel outside of Alberta. This exemption applies only to commercial vehicles with permanently mounted mobile service rigs and does not include supporting vehicles.

Name Changes

To change a name on a SFC the client must contact TEC, Driver, Carrier & Vehicle Safety.

Commercial Vehicle Inspection Program (CVIP)

The CVIP involves a mandatory inspection that ensures a vehicle is mechanically safe to operate. It is illegal for a commercial vehicle to operate on a highway unless it has a valid inspection certificate and decal. A Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate is not a registration requirement, but is required to operate the following commercial vehicles:

• Trucks / Trailers: Tractor trailers, trucks and trailers with a registered weight, or combined weight of 11,794 kg or greater must be inspected annually and issued a Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate.
   
• Service Rigs: Commercial vehicles with permanently mounted mobile service rigs must be inspected once every five years and issued a Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate.
   
• Buses / Commercial Passenger Vans: Vehicles originally designed to seat 11 or more persons (including the driver) must be inspected semi-annually and issued a Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate. Included in this category are:
  • Commercial bus.
  • Commercial school bus.
  • Commercial passenger van (e.g., 12 & 15 passenger van).
• Vehicles registered in the 1-52 plate class, originally designed to seat 10 or less passengers (including the driver), must be inspected semi-annually and issued a Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate. See 4.25.02 (1-52) Public Service Bus.

In the “INSPCERT” field on MOVES, a registry agent must enter “n/a”.

Exception

A Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate is not required for:

• Commercial vehicles with an originally designed seating capacity of 10 or less (including the driver), that receives no compensation and the passengers are:
  • Employees or contract workers of the registered owner.
  • Members of the registered owner (does not include daycare operations).
  • Other persons satisfactory to the Registrar, AT.
• A transit bus owned by a municipality/county and operated as a public transit service within their boundaries.

Transferable Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate

A valid Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate is transferable from one owner to another.

• Bus inspections are valid six months from the date of the inspection.
• Truck inspections are valid for one year from the date of the inspection.
• Service rig inspections are valid for five years from the date of the inspection.

Out of Province Truck and Bus Inspection Certificate

A commercial inspection certificate issued out of province (but within Canada) is valid in Alberta; see 4.10.02 Vehicle Inspections / Vehicle Inspection Certificate.

Alberta Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate for Vehicles with an OOP Status

An Alberta Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate may be accepted in place of an Out of Province Vehicle Inspection Certificate when:

• The vehicle is registered as a commercial vehicle.
• The vehicle has an active status on the CCMTA Interprovincial Record Exchange.
• The Alberta Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate date of inspection is not more than 14 days old.

See 4.10.02 Vehicle Inspections / Vehicle Inspection Certificate.

Exemptions

Exemption may be granted when the client has one of the following:

• An Alberta Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate where the date of inspection is more than 14 days but not more than 90 days.
  or
• A Valid Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate from another jurisdiction in Canada, issued in the past 90 days and the vehicle has an active or rebuilt status on the CCMTA Interprovincial Record Exchange (IRE).

A registry agent must:

• Complete a CCMTA IRE search.
• Complete a Vehicle Identification Number Inspection Certificate (REG3044) (xdp). 
  • The REG3044 may be completed by law enforcement as well. For inspection exemptions, a REG3044 completed by the client requesting the exemption is not acceptable.
  • The odometer reading must be entered on MOVES.
• Create the vehicle on MOVES with a status of oop-exempt.
  • The applicable documents must be supported when the vehicle is created. For requirements, see 4.00.01 Vehicle Ownership, Creation and Registration Documents.
• Change the status of the vehicle from oop-exempt to active or rebuilt (whichever is applicable based on the IRE search results); see QR 4.9 - Out of Province CCMTA Vehicle Status Chart (pdf). 
  • Enter a photocopy of the applicable Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate to the VIR-DOC field in MOVES

Date Originally Issued: Jul 29, 1999
Date Last Revised: Dec 19, 2024