Pre-entry requirements – Commercial carriers

Overview

A commercial carrier is the owner of one or more commercial vehicles used to transport goods, passengers, or provide a service.

There are more than 25,000 regulated commercial carriers registered in Alberta, operating more than 150,000 vehicles. Roughly 4,000 new carriers enter the commercial trucking industry in our province every year.

Carriers must obtain a Safety Fitness Certificate before they can begin operations.

Effective January 1, 2019, temporary Safety Fitness Certificates will no longer be issued.

Effective March 1, 2019:

New carriers

New carriers must complete a Safety Fitness Certificate (SFC) application. The application fee is $150. New carriers are also required to complete the Pre-Entry Program for New National Safety Code Carriers. This includes:

successful completion of the online Safety Fitness Certificate Compliance course
a passing mark (80%) in the SFC Compliance Knowledge Test administered by an Alberta registry agency
successful completion of the new carrier compliance review within 12 months of operation

Carriers must contact a certified Third Party Auditor who will conduct the new carrier compliance review and submit it to Alberta Transportation. You will need to provide between 9 and 12 months of data for the auditor to be able to assess the overall compliance of your organization.

Pre-Entry Program

Complete the Pre-Entry Program for New National Safety Code Carriers

Step 1. Complete the online Safety Fitness Certificate Compliance course

The course contains 6 modules that should take approximately 6 to 8 hours to complete:

access the course online
create a 511 Alberta account
complete the self-assessments for each module and a certificate of completion will be automatically generated
save your certificate, you will need it to apply for your Safety Fitness Certificate

Step 2. Register your vehicle

register a vehicle at a registry office with the following information:
- proof of ownership document, such as a lease or bill of sale
- proof of valid insurance for the vehicle
- acceptable identification
- an out-of-province, salvage, or vehicle inspection (if required)

Remember, you are not authorized to operate a regulated commercial vehicle without a Safety Fitness Certificate.

Step 3. Apply for your Safety Fitness Certificate

visit the online application portal
have the following documents and information ready to provide:
- certificate of completion for the Safety Fitness Certificate Compliance Course
- the Motor Vehicle Identification (MVID) number associated with your company which is found on your vehicle registration document
- electronic copies of your Commercial Vehicle Inspection (CVIP) certificates (for vehicles originally designed with a seating capacity of 11 or more)
- the nature of your business (for example: do you haul commodities or transport passengers?)
- the amount of insurance coverage you have
- where you will operate (within or outside of Alberta)
- confirmation that you have written safety and maintenance programs
- credit card and card holder information (Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted) for application fee payment
follow the instructions in the portal to complete the application and pay the $150 application fee

Step 4. Pass the Safety Fitness Certificate Compliance Knowledge test

The Safety Fitness Certificate Compliance Knowledge Test will cover what you learned in the online Safety Fitness Certificate Compliance Course:

you will get an email from Alberta Transportation prompting you to take the Safety Fitness Certificate Compliance Knowledge test
take your knowledge test in person at your local registry office
you must receive 80% or higher to pass and you will be notified of your result at the end of the test
if you’ve passed, resubmit your finalized Safety Fitness Certificate application on the online portal

Step 5. Safety Fitness Certificate issued

your Safety Fitness Certificate will be issued after your finalized application is approved by Alberta Transportation
once you have received the certificate, put a copy of it in each of your vehicles
you are now authorized to operate

Step 6. New Carrier Compliance Review

within 9 to 12 months of being issued your Safety Fitness Certificate, you will be required to undergo a new carrier compliance review
contact a government-certified Third Party Auditor to arrange for a compliance review
if you do not meet this requirement, your certificate will be suspended until a compliance review is completed

Step 7. Renew your Safety Fitness Certificate

Once you’ve completed the Pre-Entry Program for New National Safety Code Carriers, you will need to renew your Safety Fitness Certificate every three years:

submit a renewal application online to Alberta Transportation before your certificate expires
link to the application will be provided here at a future date

Existing carriers

Effective March 1, 2019, Safety Fitness Certificates for all carriers, which previously had no expiry date, will be issued with an expiry date.

Existing carriers with permanent Safety Fitness Certificates will be required to renew their Safety Fitness Certificate between 2019 and 2022. The renewed Safety Fitness Certificate will be issued with an expiry date. Following this, all carriers will need to renew their certificate every 3 years.

Public engagement

We received feedback from more than 3,300 key stakeholders and members of the public on three initiatives to improve traffic safety in Alberta:

mandatory entry-level training for all commercial truck and bus drivers
pre-entry requirements for new commercial carriers
returning the road test program to a government-run model

The majority of participants supported enhanced pre-entry requirements for new commercial carriers. Learn more about the engagement at: Commercial driver and road test engagement.