If you’re moving to British Columbia from outside the province, you must pass a safety check before you can register your vehicle here. The government gives you 30 days to do this. Safety inspections are done by private mechanics at designated inspection facilities authorized by the B.C. Ministry of Transportation.
If your vehicle fails, your mechanic will recommend fixes to allow you to pass on re-inspection.
What we check during a private vehicle inspection:
Here’s a full list so you know what to expect: Form MV-3199 is now online as a PDF
Not All “Certified” Facilities Are Equal
The way our system in BC is meant to work, your mechanic is supposed to inspect your vehicle for safety and tell you what to fix to pass the inspection. Because the program is done by private garages, it’s tough to regulate. Unfortunately, some garages may take advantage of this fact. Some will recommend expensive and unnecessary “repairs” to “help” you pass safety when all you actually needed to pass was a small fix.
A “certified” inspection facility isn’t enough: You need a trustworthy certified inspection facility to inspect your vehicle when you move to BC!
We use the Vehicle Inspection Manual (Standards of Safety and Repair) to guide us in measuring the safety of your vehicle during our inspection.
Bottom line: We are a certified inspection facility, and we take our duty seriously. We’ll give your vehicle a thorough inspection. We won’t tell you to fix anything that’s not broken.
All Private Vehicle Inspections completed by Vancouver Axle and Frame are certified provincially and federally, and we are authorized to certify the safety of your vehicle with Transport Canada’s National Safety Mark (NSM). We do safety inspections right! We inspect most any vehicle, from small passenger cars to medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles, including RVs and fifth wheels. Contact us to schedule your safety inspection.