Exchanging a driver's licence from outside Ontario

Checked October 2026

If you hold a valid driver’s licence from another province, another state or another country, Ontario lets you drive on it for 60 days after you move here. After that you need an Ontario licence. What that takes depends on two things: whether Ontario has an exchange agreement with the place that issued your licence, and how much driving experience you can prove. Those two questions have very different answers, so work out which one you are in before you book anything.

Places Ontario has an exchange agreement with. Ontario lists any Canadian province or territory, the Canadian Armed Forces, and U.S. states, which it notes does not include U.S. protectorates or U.S. territories. It also lists Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Denmark, the Isle of Man, Japan, South Korea, Kosovo, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, Taiwan and Ukraine.

If your licence is from one of those places. The Ministry of Transportation’s driver’s handbook sets out two outcomes. With two years or more of equivalent driving experience, you receive a full Class G licence, provided you hold an equivalent class of licence. With fewer than two years, the handbook says you may get credit for the experience you have and enter Level Two of graduated licensing, which is the G2 level. Once you reach a total of two years of driving experience you may take the Level Two road test for full driving privileges. So fewer than two years does not send you back to the beginning. It places you partway along.

If your licence is from anywhere else. Ontario sets out a longer route. You pass the vision test and the knowledge test to get a G1, then the G2 road test, then wait at least 12 months, then pass the G road test for a full Class G licence.

Driving experience from a place without an agreement still counts for something, within limits. Since July 1, 2026, Ontario says you can claim a maximum of 12 months of driving experience by presenting an original, valid foreign driver’s licence, and that only experience within the past three years counts, up to that 12 month maximum. The handbook gives two worked cases. With at least 12 months of foreign experience you are eligible to take the G2 road test immediately, and then wait at least 12 months before the G road test. With 6 months of experience you hold the G1 for another 6 months, for a total of 12, before you can take the G2 road test, and that 12 month wait drops to eight months if you finish a ministry-approved beginner driver education course.

There is a paperwork requirement attached to that credit, and the sources do not describe it the same way. The handbook mentions a letter of authentication in one case only: your foreign licence was issued 6 months before you apply but you have more than 6 months of total driving experience in that jurisdiction. Ontario.ca now states it as a general requirement. It says you obtain credit for up to one year of driving experience by showing a valid, original foreign driver’s licence and an authentication document, and that the authentication document must be an official letter from the foreign government or agency that issued the driver’s licence, must confirm that the licence is authentic, and must be written in English or French. Treat ontario.ca as the rule. It is the stricter of the two on who may write the letter, so plan on getting it from the agency that issued your licence rather than from an embassy or a consulate. The handbook and DriveTest both say the letter has to be dated within the previous 6 months.

If your licence is not in English or French. Ontario.ca says you need to get it translated by a certified translator, and that the translation must be current, dated within six months of when you apply for an Ontario licence. It says approved translators include non-Canadian embassies, consulates and high commissioners’ offices, and that other translators from the country where the licence was issued are not approved. DriveTest sets out one way around the translation: if you provide your original licence with a supporting letter of authentication from the embassy, consulate or high commissioner’s office, in English or French, you do not need to include a licence translation. Those are two separate six month limits on two separate documents. The translation has to be dated within six months of your application. The letter of authentication has to be dated within the previous 6 months.

Where you go. Ontario says you apply in person, and gives two options: a DriveTest centre, or the ServiceOntario location at Bay and College in downtown Toronto. DriveTest publishes a centre finder, and the ministry’s page links to it, so check which centre is nearest and what it books before you drive anywhere. The Oakville DriveTest centre is at 2370 Wyecroft Road. DriveTest’s centre list shows it booking G2 and G road tests only, so a motorcycle or commercial test means going somewhere else.

What it costs. The two paths cost very different amounts. DriveTest’s fee list shows “Licence exchanges (for drivers from jurisdictions with reciprocal exchange agreements)” at $90.00, and notes that the cost reflects the five-year licence. On that path the $90 is the whole thing, because there is no test to pay for. If your licence is from a jurisdiction without an agreement, you are paying for tests as well. DriveTest lists the Class G1 licence package at $159.75, which it says includes a knowledge test, a Class G2 road test and a five-year licence; the Class G road test at $91.25; and $16.00 for each extra knowledge test attempt. Ontario’s own fee list shows the same $90 for the licence itself.

What to bring

Ontario says to bring originals, in person:

1. Your accepted identity documents, as originals.
2. Your original, valid out-of-province or foreign driver’s licence.
3. Any original supporting documents that show proof of your driving experience, in English or French.

And the money for the applicable fees.

Since May 11, 2026, Ontario also requires you to declare at the counter that Ontario is your primary place of residence and that your presence in Canada is legal.

If you are claiming driving experience from a place without an exchange agreement, add the letter of authentication described above.

If your licence is not in English or French, add the translation described above, and bring the original licence as well as the translation.

Common mistakes

• Treating the 60 days as 60 days of grace after you notice the problem. It runs from when you move to Ontario.
• Trying to exchange a learner’s permit. Ontario says a learner’s permit from any jurisdiction cannot be exchanged.
• Assuming a U.S. territory counts as a U.S. state. Ontario’s list excludes U.S. protectorates and territories.
• Expecting an exchange when the licence was cancelled. Ontario says a licence cancelled for certain reasons, including but not limited to alcohol-related offences or demerit points, cannot be exchanged.
• Arriving with photocopies, or with a driving record that is not in English or French.
• Assuming fewer than two years of experience means starting over. From a place with an agreement it means entering Level Two, not Level One.
• Assuming $90 covers it either way. From a jurisdiction with a reciprocal exchange agreement, $90 is the whole fee. Without an agreement, the G1 package is $159.75 and the Class G road test is another $91.25.
• Bringing a licence that is not in English or French without a translation, or with a translation older than six months.
• Driving to the nearest DriveTest centre without checking. Ontario also allows the ServiceOntario Bay and College location, and not every centre offers every test.

How long it takes

The exchange itself is an in-person visit. The clock that matters is the one around it. You have 60 days on your existing licence. If your licence is from a place with an exchange agreement and you have two years or more of experience, the full Class G can come out of that visit. If you have fewer than two years, you wait until you reach a total of two years before the Level Two road test. If your licence is from a place without an agreement, there is a wait of at least 12 months between the G2 road test and the G road test. The handbook describes that wait as applying even to someone who has already claimed the full 12 months of foreign experience credit.