Chapter 1: Getting Your Driver’s Licence

Licences and who needs one

Ontario issues 12 classes of licence. A motorcycle licence (Class M) is the only one you can hold without a Class G licence. New residents may drive on their existing licence for 60 days while applying for an Ontario one, then need an Ontario licence. Visitors staying over three months need an international driver's permit from their own country. An Ontario driver's licence and an Ontario Photo Card cannot be held at the same time.

Graduated licensing

Graduated licensing has two steps and takes at least 20 months. Applicants must be 16 or older and pass a vision test plus a knowledge test covering the rules of the road and traffic signs. Full licensing comes only after two road tests.

Level One (Class G1)

Level One is held for 12 months. Graduates of an approved beginner driver education course of at least 40 hours get four months off that period. Drivers must have zero blood alcohol, and may drive only with an accompanying driver who holds a valid Class G or higher licence, has at least four years of driving experience and a blood-alcohol level under .05%. The accompanying driver must sit in the front passenger seat and is the only person allowed in the front seat with the driver. Driving is also prohibited from midnight to 5 a.m.

Level Two (Class G2)

Level Two lasts 12 months or more, again with zero blood alcohol. For drivers aged 19 or under, midnight to 5 a.m. carries passenger limits: one passenger aged 19 or under in the first six months, and up to three afterwards until the driver holds a Class G licence or turns 20. A fully licensed driver in the front passenger seat, or immediate family passengers, lift those limits. Every driver aged 21 or under must have zero blood alcohol, whatever their licence class. A failed road test may be retaken only after at least 10 days.

Applying for a licence

Photocopies and expired documents are not proof. Doctors and optometrists are legally required to report anyone over 16 whose condition could make driving unsafe, giving the person's name and address.