Licence Renewal Program for Drivers 80 Years Old and Over

Once you reach 80 years of age, your driver’s licence will be renewed every 2 years instead of every 5 years.  You will have to go through a different process to renew your licence.

To renew your licence you will have to attend a driver’s licence renewal session with other senior drivers.  At this session, you will:

• Have your vision tested – to learn more, go to the vision section below
• Take a multiple-choice test on traffic rules and signs – to learn more, go to the test section below.
• Participate in a group education session – a ministry counsellor will teach a small group of seniors about how aging affects driving, tips on driving and new traffic laws (lasts about 90 minutes) – to learn more, go to the group education section below.

How it works

Step 1: Receive Licence Renewal Notice

Step 2: Call Ministry

Once your renewal notice arrives in the mail, you must call the scheduling office in your region to make an appointment for your session as soon as possible.  You can find the appropriate telephone numbers to call in the paperwork that arrived with your renewal notice, or on this website.

Step 3: Attend Session

Go to your scheduled session, where a trained driving counsellor will be there to help you through the process.

Step 4: Renew Your Licence

After successfully completing your vision test, multiple-choice text and group education session, you will be directed to go to a Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Office to renew your licence. 

Making your appointment

Sessions are held at more than 200 locations across the province.

You need to call the phone number in your region to book your appointment at the location closest to you.

Locations across the province

Northern Region
1-800-461-9548 or (705) 497-5436

• North of Severn Bridge, west to the Manitoba border and east to the Quebec border, including Districts of Haliburton, Muskoka and Nipissing.

Southwestern Region
1-888-276-7885 or (519) 873-4276

• Windsor east to London and Brantford, Kitchener, north to Lake Huron and including Simcoe County.

Central Region
1-800-396-4233 or (416) 235-3579

• Niagara Peninsula, Hamilton east to Toronto and Clarington, north to Lake Simcoe and including Durham Region.

Eastern Region
1-800-701-2171

• Port Hope east to Kingston and the Quebec border, and north to Pembroke including Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes and Ottawa.

What to bring to your Session

• Your driver’s licence (or Temporary Driver’s Licence, if applicable)
• Your licence renewal form you got in the mail
• Eye glasses, bring your most recent pair
• Hearing aid, if you have them
• Bottle of water – some locations do not have water available
• Snacks – the session is approximately 3 hours long.  If you are diabetic or have similar concerns, you may need to bring a snack
• You should prepare for the written test by reviewing the latest Drivers Handbook on-line. It’s important to review Chapter 2 on safe and responsible driving and Chapter 3 on traffic signs and signal lights.

Attending Your Session

When you call to make your appointment, you will be given the date, time and location of the session. 

If you can’t attend that day, you can re-schedule.  If the next appointment is past your licence expiry, you may be able to get a temporary licence.  You can do this by calling your scheduling office.

The Vision Test

At the start of the session, your vision will be tested using a vision screener.  You will need to wear the same eyeglasses you use for driving when you have your vision tested.

If you need a new pair of glasses, you should have an eye examination from your eye doctor before your session.  You may have your eye doctor provide a certificate with your eye test results.  

If you bring this certificate to the session, you will not have to take the vision test.  Your eye exam must not be more than 6 months before your session and the certificate must be signed by your eye doctor and dated for the ministry to accept the certificate 

If you have new prescription for your glasses, please remember to bring your new glasses to the session.

If you don’t pass your vision test, don’t worry.  You can get an eye examination from the eye doctor and make an appointment to bring back your vision results to a counsellor.  Seniors can have their eyes examined free of charge once a year.  The counsellor will explain this to you.

The Group Education Session

In a relaxed classroom setting, a trained driving counsellor will provide information to a small group of senior drivers on topics like:

• How aging affects driving
• Tips to help seniors drive more safely
• Traffic laws and road signs 

You should participate in the session by asking or answering questions or by talking about your driving experiences.

If you have hearing difficulties and need assistance (sign language or tele-type interpreter) please make sure you tell the staff when you call to book your session.

Sessions are available in both English and French (in designated areas). You must be able to speak and understand some English or French to take part.  If you have language difficulties that make it hard for you to participate in the class, you may instead be directed to take a vision, knowledge and a road test at the nearest DriveTest Centre. 

If you do not read English or French very well, you may still attend an English or French session. 

The Senior Driver Education Booklets

| | |

| | Italiano | | Polski |

| Português | | Espanol | |

If you would like to have a copy of the group education session material in another language, you can print a copy of the booklet from our website and bring it with you to the session.

The Written Test

The written test will ask questions on the rules of the road and road signs. 

It is a multiple-choice test - you choose the correct answer from four possible answers.  You can try this sample knowledge test.

There’s no time limit on the test.  You can take your time to think logically and use common sense when answering the questions.  If you don’t pass the first time, you can take the test again on another scheduled date.

You should prepare for the test by reading Chapters 2 and 3 of the Official Driver’s Handbook on-line.

You can also buy the handbook for $12.95 plus GST at DriveTest Centres, selected Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Offices, the Canadian Automobile Association, bookstores and other retail outlets.

You can take the written test in any of 17 available languages – English, French, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Greek, Polish, Spanish, Korean, Russian, Croatian, Hindi, Tamil, German, Finnish and Somali.  You may also take the test verbally in English or French.

Renewing Your Licence

Once you have completed your vision, group education session and knowledge test, you will be directed to a Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Office to have your licence renewed.  There are approximately 280 locations across Ontario.

Remember, you will repeat this process every two years for as long as you hold a driver’s licence.

Road Tests

A road test is not part of the session.  Very rarely, a senior driver may be asked to take a road test, but only if the counsellor decides it is necessary.

A road test may be required if a senior driver has:

1. Demerit points on their driving record in the last 2 years, or
2. Trouble understanding the tests or following the group session discussion.

The counsellor will let you know if a road test is necessary.  If you need to take a road test, the counsellor will let you know how to schedule the road test with DriveTest at no charge.  The road test will look at your basic driving skills, but no highway driving is required.

More Questions?

You can phone the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Contact Centre at:

416-235-2999 or 1-800-387-3445 - toll free.