QUESTION ONE: What is the Electronic Vehicle Registration (EVR) system?
Government is transitioning from a manual vehicle registration system to an electronic one. The Electronic Vehicle Registration (EVR) system is the new process Government is using to monitor the registration and insurance compliance of vehicles driving on the island’s roads.
A radio frequency identification sticker, known as an RFID tag, will be placed on your windshield as proof that your vehicle is legally registered with the Barbados Licensing Authority, and that your insurance is up to date.
There is NO cost for vehicle owners to get the EVR process done.
QUESTION TWO: What is the radio frequency identification (RFID) tag?
The RFID tag is an electromagnetic sticker that will be placed on your vehicle’s windshield when you complete your EVR process.
Your name, address, vehicle registration, chassis and engine numbers, and insurance status will be readable via the RFID tag only by EVR cameras at gantries and poles, and police hand-held scanners when they become operational.
It provides proof your vehicle is registered and insured to be on the roads.
The RFID tag can last up to ten (10) years.
It is tamper-resistant, so if it is removed or damaged you will need to have it replaced.
If you sell your vehicle, the RFID tag is transferable to the new owner and your information will be removed from that tag.
QUESTION THREE: Where can I go to have my vehicle tagged with the EVR?
There are three EVR Centres you can visit.
Oistins car park, behind Granny’s Restaurant, Oistins, Christ Church
National Cultural Foundation car park, West Terrace, St. James
Garfield Sobers Sports Complex, Wildey, St. Michael (Gymnasium car park)
EVR Centres are open Sunday to Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
QUESTION FOUR: What documents do I need to submit to complete the EVR process?
Private vehicle owners will need to submit a printed copy of the following documents to the EVR Centre:
Proof of insurance
Proof of address (utility bill, bank, or credit union statement)
Your identification (ID) card, valid driver’s licence, or a valid form of picture ID.
If you do not have proof of address, a person living with you will need to send a letter verifying your occupancy at that residence. That person will also need to send their ID or valid form of picture identification. That person is liable for the information they provide as being truthful.
If your vehicles are company owned, you will need to submit a printed copy of the following documents:
Company documents issued by Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO)
Proof of insurance (certificate or cover note)
List of vehicles owned by the company & their registration numbers
QUESTION FIVE: Can someone register and have the vehicle tagged on my behalf?
Yes. They can register the vehicle on your behalf, but they must bring their ID, a copy of yours, and the other documentation requested above. That person is responsible for confirming your identity on your behalf and is liable.
QUESTION SIX: Who should get their vehicles tagged?
All vehicles will eventually need to be registered with the EVR system. Initially, emergency and government-owned vehicles, as well as public service vehicles, were given the opportunity to get tagged under different phases of the pilot programme.
While some of these vehicles are still being done, however, some owners of private or company vehicles have opted to “get a head-start” or “beat the rush” before the EVR system is fully implemented.
Therefore, persons who wish to have their vehicles tagged may visit an EVR Centre of their choice to complete the EVR process.
QUESTION SEVEN: Is there a difference between registering my vehicle with the Barbados Revenue Authority and with the new EVR system?
The Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) is the revenue collection agency for Government. If you are “putting a vehicle on the road” for the first time as its new owner, you need to register it first with the BRA.
All first-time registrations for private vehicles will incur a registration fee of four hundred dollars ($400.00). Commercial vehicles will incur a fee of one thousand dollars ($1000.00). The renewal of commercial vehicles will also incur an annual fee.
All vehicles must be registered with the Barbados Licensing Authority (BLA) to legally drive on the road. Vehicles that are already registered with the BLA can go ahead and complete the EVR process.
The EVR system is the new process Government is using to monitor vehicle registration and insurance compliance.
An RFID tag will be placed on the windshield of vehicles and the information will be readable by police scanners and EVR scanners at gentries and poles. All vehicles need to complete the EVR process and no payment is required.
QUESTION EIGHT: Where are the EVR gantries or portals located?
Highway 1, Holetown, St. James
Church Street junction, KNR Husbands Highway, St. Peter
Ronald Mapp Highway, Bagatelle, St. Thomas
Highway 5, Six Roads, St. Philip
The Mighty Grynner Highway, Brandons, St. Michael
Highway 7 by the Garrison
Highway 3, Waterford, St. Michael
ABC Highway along Wildey, St. Michael
QUESTION NINE: What will happen when a vehicle passes through EVR gantries or portals?
Currently, the EVR cameras at gantries and portals are not operational. However, when they become operational and vehicles with RFID tags drive under EVR gantries or portals, the tag will be scanned and the registration and insurance status of the vehicle will be verified.
If a vehicle is unregistered or without an RFID tag, EVR cameras at each gantry and portal site will photograph the vehicle’s licence plate, and the status of the vehicle will be verified. This information will be passed on to the police. (PR/GIS)
EXPORT BARBADOS TO LAUNCH ITS EXPORT-IMPACT (EXIM) PROGRAMME
Export Barbados is set to roll out a comprehensive suite of support mechanisms with the focus on protecting gains, expanding exports and strengthening the sector.
Young Upcoming Executives Spend Time with Regional Executives
Eleven eager young men with aspirations to become executives or entrepreneurs when they grow up, had a unique opportunity recently when they visited and sat with the most senior executives at the regional head office of CIBC Caribbean.
The semi-finalists and finalists in the 2025 Mr. Executive Challenge had the opportunity to meet and ask questions of the members of the executive suite of the bank.
Mark St. Hill chats with the students as he welcomed them to the Job Shadow Day at the bank, to his left is Donna Wellington, Chief Country Management Officer.
The students, representing their respective secondary schools, met with Chief Executive Officer, Mark St. Hill; Chief Financial Officer, Carl Lewis; Chief Risk Officer, Patrick McKenna; Chief Auditor, Khadija Bourne; Chief Country Management Officer, Donna Wellington; Deputy Chief Information Officer, Infrastructure, Neil Matthews deputising for the Chief Information Officer Esan Peters; Managing Director, Transformation Governance and Control, Doug Williamson; and Head of Country Barbados, Kemar Polius.
The students engaging with Michelle Whitelaw – Director Personal and Business Banking as they visit the Warrens branch
St. Hill welcomed the young men to the bank, congratulating them on being a part of what he considered to be an excellent initiative, explaining that they had left a serious impression on him when they met at the entrepreneurship graduation ceremony a few weeks ago. He urged them to ‘Live your dreams and go for what you want to do.’ He congratulated all of them saying, “You have shown that you are a cut above the rest”
Kemar Polius, the bank’s new Head of Country for Barbados and Joseph Taitt-Small of Alleyne School engaged in active conversation just prior to lunch
The CEO said 70% of the bank’s workforce, and 50% of its leadership is female, noting “that is why it is important for the bank to be involved in programmes like this one, where males are encouraged to step up”.
The various executives also gave inspiring and reassuring words to the students, Donna Wellington explained that the day will serve to open their eyes to the many careers available to young men in the bank. She explained that while people normally think only of counting money in a branch, there are so many other careers in technology, marketing, risk, legal, human resources, and property management. She therefore urged them to “embrace, learn what you can, we want to open your eyes to what is possible.”
Barbados’ new Head of Country, Kemar Polius shared with the students that he never saw himself sitting in a board room like the one they were in, and working at this level in a bank, but he was given an opportunity which he grabbed with both hands and made the best of it. He encouraged them to do the same.
The general direction from the other Executives was for the young men to focus on what they wanted to do, examine every opportunity given and recognise that life is not a straight line.
Mark St. Hill chats with the students as he welcomed them to the Job Shadow Day at the bank, to his left is Donna Wellington, Chief Country Management Officer.
Neil Matthews, in addition to his post at the bank is also a Lieutenant Commander of the Barbados Defence Force and has been coopted to head the Cyber Security and Drone Units to help protect the country from cyber-attacks. He said that as a teenager, he never envisaged himself being in this position, but people recognised some value in him and pushed him to achieve and he has never stopped learning. He added that he would be back in ‘school’ to do a course from the following day.
Coordinator of the Mr Executive Challenge, Winston Cumberbatch, explained how the students reacted “For weeks they had been looking forward to the Job Shadow with great anticipation. However, none of them could have envisioned what actually took place. They were totally blown away by the level of interest, hospitality and inspiration that the CIBC Executives gave.”
Following that eventful meeting with the executives, the boys were taken on a tour of the bank’s departments where they were able to meet staff members who explained the duties and operations of their departments and answered many questions from the curious young men, as they sought to understand the areas and the opportunities there.
They visited the Treasury department, where the team explained the department that manages the bank’s financial resources – the cash in circulation, capital management on a regional level. This department is the one that makes sure there is cash available when and where it is needed. The young men quizzed this team on how they managed the foreign exchange with the amount of shopping that Barbadians do online with Amazon and Shein, and they also wanted to know if the bank had adopted AI as yet.
The Compliance team told them about the three areas under their portfolio – AML (Anti Money Laundering), Compliance and Advisory Sanctions. The next stop at HR (Human Resources) was where they had a chat with Jacintha Hinds, Officer, Human Resources, who shared her passion for HR and answered their many questions about qualifications and the issues that affect how people behave.
Other departments which the students enjoyed visiting were the Legal department, Corporate and Investment Banking, before they went on a tour of the Warrens branch across the street, following which they sat down to a sumptuous lunch with the executives in the company’s board room.
The afternoon session saw them visiting the Marketing, Communications, Engagement and Technology units before they left and headed home, full of information which they can now process for their own careers.
In wrapping up the session, Coordinator Winston Cumberbatch added “The operations knowledge imparted during the tour of the office and the bank, along with the questions that followed, made the occasion an educational engagement of the highest order, which could not have been possible in the classroom. As Coordinator, I am extremely grateful to CIBC Caribbean for going beyond their financial support to offer such a life changing experience to these well deserving young men from eleven of our secondary Schools.” (PR)
New Chief Executive Officer For Fair Trading Commission
The Fair Trading Commission announced the appointment of Brian Reece as Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Reece joined the staff of the Commission as Director of Utility Regulation in August 2023. In that role he was responsible for managing the strategic goal of ensuring the efficient and safe provision of regulated utility services in Barbados. This included the supervision and leadership of a team of professionals focused on the National Renewable Energy Transition.
Mr. Reece is an Attorney-at-Law and holds an MSc. Environmental Engineering from the University of Manchester and LLB (Hons) from the University of the West Indies along with the Legal Education Certificate from the Norman Manley Law School. He is also a Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.
Mr. Reece has twenty years of industrial experience, along with the Chairmanship of national regulatory advisory committees. (PR/GIS)