ON Driver
When you move to Ontario, you can use a valid licence from another province, state or country for 60 days, and after 60 days you need to switch to an Ontario driver's licence (Exchange an out-of-province driver's licence).
Where you can exchange from
Ontario's page lists the places you can exchange from: any Canadian province or territory, the Canadian Armed Forces, and U.S. states, which does not include U.S. protectorates or U.S. territories (Exchange an out-of-province driver's licence). The countries on the list are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Denmark, the Isle of Man, Japan, South Korea, Kosovo, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, Taiwan and Ukraine (Exchange an out-of-province driver's licence).
The list does not name mainland China or Hong Kong (Exchange an out-of-province driver's licence). The page also says you cannot exchange a licence from a jurisdiction not noted as eligible (Exchange an out-of-province driver's licence). Putting those two together, we read a licence from either place as following the steps for places without an agreement, below. That is our reading, not something the page says about those places.
Kosovo and Ukraine: phone the centre first
Ontario's exchange list includes Kosovo and Ukraine (Exchange an out-of-province driver's licence). The exchange list on DriveTest's Foreign Licence Experience Credits page does not name either one (DriveTest: Foreign Licence Experience Credits). DriveTest's other page, Licence Exchanges – Cars, Small Trucks, and Vans, does set out document requirements for both countries (DriveTest: Licence Exchanges – Cars, Small Trucks, and Vans). If your licence is from Kosovo or Ukraine, phone the DriveTest centre before you go and ask how they will handle your exchange.
If your place is on the list: where you start
If your licence is from a place on the list but you have less than two years of Class G equivalent driving experience, you may receive a Class G2 instead of a full Class G (DriveTest: Licence Exchanges – Cars, Small Trucks, and Vans). If that is you, our G2 rules article covers what a G2 driver may and may not do.
If your place has no agreement
For a licence from a jurisdiction without an exchange agreement, you need to pass the vision test, the knowledge test and the G2 road test, wait at least 12 months, and then pass the G road test (Exchange an out-of-province driver's licence). Because the knowledge test is on that list, our article on taking the G1 knowledge test is worth reading for where it is held and how it works.
The exchange page does not say what that knowledge test covers. The G licence page describes the knowledge test as being about the rules of the road and traffic signs (Get a G driver's licence: new drivers), and we expect the same test here, which is our inference. If so, our road sign article is a good place to start.
Credit for your driving experience
If your licence is from a place without an exchange agreement, then effective July 1, 2026, you can get credit for up to one year of driving experience by showing a valid, original foreign licence and an authentication document (Exchange an out-of-province driver's licence). The document must be an official letter from the foreign government or agency that issued the licence, it must confirm that the licence is authentic, and it must be written in English or French (Exchange an out-of-province driver's licence). DriveTest adds that the letter must be issued within the last six months, by the licensing jurisdiction or by the consulate, embassy or high commissioner's office that represents it (DriveTest: Foreign Licence Experience Credits).
Translations
A licence must be written in English or French; if it is not, you need a certified translator, and the translation must be dated within six months of when you apply (Exchange an out-of-province driver's licence). The page says approved translators include non-Canadian embassies, consulates and high commissioner's offices, but do not include other translators from the country where the licence was issued (Exchange an out-of-province driver's licence). It says "include", so this is not necessarily the full list.