It's saving the government $3 million each year, but it's costing some Calgarians hundreds.

On April 1, the province stopped mailing out reminders when vehicle registrations were set to expire, catching some motorists off guard.

Andy Guljas was pulled over last week and slapped with a $310 ticket for his expired plates.

"I said, 'What? That's impossible, the government always sends me a letter.' "

Guljas thinks the change should have been better publicized and doesn't think he, or anyone else that received a fine, should have to pay.

"There should be a warning put out. And really, they need to send out a letter. My God everybody does that," he said.

Of course, there was notification of the change.

Awareness campaign

Service Alberta, the ministry responsible for vehicle registration, said it ran an awareness campaign including radio, newspaper and online ads.

"It ran for more than a month," said spokesperson Jo-Anne Nugent. "And it has a second phase which will run again in September because we wanted to ensure that we continue to remind Albertans."

Nugent said letters were sent to Alberta police chiefs, but it's up to individual officers to decide whether or not to write a ticket.

In April, Calgary police handed out 131 tickets for expired plates, compared to 184 in April 2015.

A police spokesperson said there was no change to the law, only the notification process, so it did not affect how the service enforces the rules.

Albertan can sign up for online reminders through registries, the Alberta Motor Association, or the Alberta government services site.