Since 2020, Albertans have been able to renew their vehicle registration online through a Government of Alberta website. The option saves thousands of people a trip to the registry office, but data from the province shows private registries still collect millions from these transactions.
For each passenger vehicle registration renewal processed through the MyAlberta eServices portal, drivers are charged a service fee of $13. To complete their registration, users must select a registry agent — any agent, anywhere in the province — who receives that surcharge.
According to statistics from Service Alberta, 198,688 passenger vehicle renewals were processed through the Government of Alberta website in 2023. A total of $2.4 million from the service charge on these renewals was distributed to registry offices, leaving many Albertans wondering what service they’re paying for when they’re completing the registration themselves online.
Brandon Aboultaif, press secretary to the Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally, said Alberta’s government developed this arrangement through consultation with registry agents before rolling out the online system.
“Alberta’s government distributes service fees for online registrations to registry agents at the same time as the launch of online services through the MyAlberta eServices portal,” Aboultaif said.
“Online registry services were developed under the commitment that registry agents will be included in the delivery of online registry services. The government works with registry agents to ensure the service fee goes to the registry agent of the Albertan’s choice. This policy was in place with the launch of online services.”
Rikki McBride, CEO of the Association of Alberta Registry Agents, said the ministry committed early on to include registries in the development of the online portal, and to not enter into direct competition with them.
The fee share helps cover a lot of behind the scenes work that customers might not see, McBride said.
“Registries across the province do provide a number of services that are kind of on the back-end that have to do with e-services,” she said.
“They do all the marketing and promoting of those e-services and registry services that are available. You'll find on registry agent websites, for example, there will be a link directly to e-services. They would promote that in their marketing material. And that cost is all borne by the registry agent.”
McBride said they also manage public information lines that guide people through available products and services. Ironically, the service fees from the government's online registration renewal portal help fund the person on the other end of the line when people call in to complain about having to pay it.
“We have a call centre that folks can call into. When somebody does a transaction, if they have questions, there is a number they can call. Registry agents handle that. They also handle all the public inquiries that come into the offices,” McBride said.
