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Chapter 1

Getting your licence

Ontario's graduated licensing system takes new drivers from G1 to G2 to a full G licence in at least 20 months. This chapter covers applying, the knowledge test, the conditions for G1 and G2 drivers, road tests and renewals.

Practice questions for this chapter

1.The graduated licensing system

  • Anyone applying for a first car or motorcycle licence in Ontario goes through graduated licensing, a system designed to build up driving skill and experience in stages.
  • Getting through both steps of graduated licensing takes a minimum of 20 months.
  • Applicants have to be at least 16 years old and pass a vision test, then a written test covering the rules of the road and traffic signs. Passing both puts you in Level One with a Class G1 licence.
  • You must pass two road tests to become fully licensed: the first moves you to Level Two (Class G2) and the second gives you full Class G driving privileges.
  • G1, G2, M1 and M2 holders are novice drivers. Escalating sanctions apply to a novice driver who, within a five-year period, repeatedly violates novice restrictions, is convicted of a Highway Traffic Act offence worth four or more demerit points, or receives a court-ordered suspension.

Official source: MTO Driver’s Handbook – Getting your drivers licence ↗ · MTO Driver’s Handbook – Other ways lose your licence ↗ · MTO Driver’s Handbook – Keeping your drivers licence ↗

2.Applying for a G1 licence

  • When you apply, bring documents that prove your legal name and your full date of birth, with the day, month and year all shown.
  • Every document has to be an original that is still valid; a photocopy or an expired document will be turned away.
  • Take the documents to a DriveTest Centre, or to a Travel Point, which is a temporary DriveTest location serving areas without a regional centre.
  • There is a fee to pay at the time you apply. It covers the knowledge test, the first road test and a five-year licensing fee; the second road test and any retests are charged separately.
  • The application includes questions about your health, because some physical and medical conditions rule out driving on safety grounds.
  • New Ontario residents may keep driving on their existing licence for 60 days, and must apply for an Ontario driver’s licence within that time.

Official source: MTO Driver’s Handbook – Getting your drivers licence ↗

3.The knowledge test

  • All knowledge-test questions follow a multiple-choice format.
  • Study the Official MTO Driver’s Handbook before you sit the G1 knowledge test; the questions are based on it.
  • Topics the written test can draw on include the rules of the road, seatbelts, signs and traffic lights, speed limits, headlight use, entering and leaving a freeway, passing, emergency vehicles, what to do around streetcars and school buses, reporting a collision, sharing the road with others, demerit points and licence suspensions.
  • Have two pieces of identification with you, a way to pay the test fee (cash, debit or credit card), and whatever glasses or contact lenses you need for driving.
  • The remaining chapters cover what you need to know to pass the tests, and to hold on to your licence afterwards.

Official source: MTO Driver’s Handbook – Sample knowledge test questions ↗ · MTO Driver’s Handbook – Getting your drivers licence ↗

4.G1 (Level One) conditions

  • Any alcohol at all rules out driving: your blood-alcohol level has to be zero.
  • Driving alone is not allowed: an accompanying driver has to ride in the front passenger seat, and nobody else may sit up front with you.
  • The accompanying driver has to hold a valid Class G licence or higher, have driven for at least four years, and keep their blood-alcohol level under .05% while supervising; for a supervisor aged 21 and under it has to be zero.
  • Everyone in the car needs a seatbelt that works, and must be wearing it.
  • Driving is off limits from midnight until 5 a.m.
  • Stay off any 400-series highway where the posted limit is above 80 km/h, and off the Queen Elizabeth Way, the Don Valley Parkway, the Gardiner Expressway, the E.C. Row Expressway and the Conestoga Parkway. The one exception: with a driving instructor as your accompanying driver, every road is open to you.
  • Level One lasts 12 months. If you pass an approved driver-education course, you can complete Level One in eight months.

Official source: MTO Driver’s Handbook – Getting your drivers licence ↗ · Ontario.ca – Get a G driver’s licence: new drivers ↗

5.G2 (Level Two) conditions

  • Alcohol is still ruled out entirely: at Level Two your blood-alcohol level must remain zero.
  • Each person in the vehicle must have a working seatbelt, so you may carry only as many passengers as there are working seatbelts.
  • A G2 lets you drive unaccompanied, on every road in Ontario, and in most cases at any hour of the day.
  • For drivers aged 19 or under, the first six months of holding a G2 come with a limit: between midnight and 5 a.m. you may carry no more than one passenger who is 19 or under.
  • Once those six months with the G2 are over, the limit during those hours rises to three passengers aged 19 or under, and it stays in place until you get your full G licence or turn 20.
  • Neither limit applies when a fully licensed driver rides in the front passenger seat beside you, or when the passengers are your immediate family.
  • Level Two lasts at least 12 months; once you have held it for those 12 months, you can book the road test for a full licence.

Official source: MTO Driver’s Handbook – Getting your drivers licence ↗ · Ontario.ca – Get a G driver’s licence: new drivers ↗

6.Road tests, renewals and keeping your licence in order

  • Bring a suitable vehicle to the road test, one that is roadworthy, in good working order, plated and insured. During the test the only other person in the vehicle is the examiner, with no pets and no passengers, and you have to wait at least 10 days before trying again.
  • Driver-assistance features are off limits during the road test, including automatic parallel parking, lane monitoring, cruise control and back cameras.
  • Novice drivers (other than Class M1) get five years to finish graduated licensing. A G1, G2 or M2 licence that is about to expire before you are done can be requalified: pass a test and pay the five-year licensing fee.
  • If you are 80 years of age or older you must renew your licence every two years. At the renewal appointment you complete a vision test and a five-minute screening exercise; you may also need to pass a road test or submit medical information.
  • A change of name or address has to be reported to the Ministry of Transportation within six days, and the replacement licence that results is free of charge.
  • You must carry your licence with you whenever you drive, and you need a valid owner’s permit, licence plate and insurance. Ontario has compulsory automobile insurance: every vehicle registered in the province must be insured.
  • An expired car or motorcycle licence can be renewed without any tests for up to one year. If it has been expired, cancelled or suspended for over three years, you begin again from scratch: re-apply, meet every graduated-licensing requirement and pass all the tests again.
  • Breaking any graduated-licensing condition brings a 30-day suspension. The penalties escalate: a second offence means 90 days, and a third costs you the novice licence altogether, so you must re-apply, retake every test and pay every fee again.

Official source: MTO Driver’s Handbook – Getting your drivers licence ↗ · MTO Driver’s Handbook – Keeping your drivers licence ↗ · Ontario.ca – Get a G driver’s licence: new drivers ↗ · MTO Driver’s Handbook – Vehicle insurance and registration ↗ · MTO Driver’s Handbook – Other ways lose your licence ↗ · Ontario.ca – Understanding demerit points ↗