Validation Sticker Renewal

Vehicles In Ontario

Licence plates are validated by obtaining and affixing a validation sticker to the upper right hand corner of your plate. For your convenience, a renewal application will be mailed to you approximately 60 to 90 days prior to the sticker expiry (usually your birthdate). If you do not receive a renewal application or have lost it, a new one can be printed, and your plates renewed while you wait, at any ServiceOntario Driver and  Vehicle Licence Issuing Office.

Take the following documents to any ServiceOntario Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Office or ServiceOntario Kiosk:

• the renewal application;
• your vehicle permit;
• proof of insurance;
• fee shown on application;
• a vehicle emissions pass report or a conditional pass report may also be required;
• odometer information for passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles (3000kg registered gross weight or less and for personal and business use only) and buses (non prorate. Heavy commercial vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, off-road vehicles, motorized snow vehicles (snowmobiles) and motor assisted bicycles (mopeds) are exempt from the odometer information requirement.

You may also renew your plates online at ServiceOntario Driver and Vehicle Online Services.

Automobile Insurance Verification

In Ontario it is mandatory for all vehicles to have automobile insurance coverage.

Drivers are required to provide proof of valid insurance when renewing their vehicle’s licence plates.

Effective November 29, 2010, Ontario will electronically verify with the Insurance Bureau of Canada, if a vehicle has mandatory insurance coverage during the licence plate renewal process. The authority of the Ministry of Transportation to verify insurance information is provided for under the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act. 

As part of the insurance verification process, vehicle owners who may have unconfirmed insurance or vehicle-information issues will be notified in writing 120 days prior to their licence plate expiration date, allowing time to correct or update their information.

For further information please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions on this website.

At the time of renewal, any outstanding parking fines, outstanding 407 ETR tolls and administrative fees, and non-negotiable cheque amounts posted against the plates must be paid in full before a validation sticker is issued regardless of the amount shown on the Vehicle Licence Renewal Application.

Drive Clean Requirement

Vehicles are a major domestic source of smog-causing emissions in Ontario. Drive Clean, administered by the Ministry of the Environment, reduces smog-causing pollutants from vehicles by testing them to identify emissions problems and requiring them to be repaired.

Light-duty Vehicles (weigh 4,500 kg or less)

Most passenger cars, vans, and light trucks registered in the southern Ontario Drive Clean area must pass a test every two years in order to renew licence plates. If your vehicle needs a test, the Ministry of Transportation will indicate so on the vehicle’s licence renewal application. 

Recently, changes were made to exempt some vehicles.  For information on vehicle exemptions call the Drive Clean Contact Centre at 1-888-758-2999 or visit the Drive Clean website. Out-of-province callers may call 1-905-440-7482 (charges apply).

Heavy-duty Vehicles (commercial vehicles weighing 4,500 kg or more)

Diesel trucks and buses registered anywhere in the province and non-diesel vehicles registered in the southern Ontario Drive Clean area (Windsor to Ottawa) must be tested every year and be fully repaired. An incentive is available to encourage maintenance.

For more information call the Drive Clean Contact Centre at 1-888-758-2999 or visit the Drive Clean website. Out-of-province callers may call 1-905-440-7482 (charges apply).

Light Duty Vehicles Outside Ontario

If your vehicle is located outside of the province and requires an emissions test, a one-time extension may be granted that will renew the licence plates for six months without an emissions inspection. At the end of the six months, an emissions inspection may be required. See the "To Do Checklist" for information on how to renew the licence plates of a vehicle that is outside Ontario.

Fee Table - Annual Validation (Sticker) Fee

* add a $1 convenience fee if purchased through a ServiceOntario kiosk.

Effective January 1, 2005, all personal cheques must be certified unless payment is sent by mail.

"To Do" Checklist

If allowed, your renewal date will be changed, and you will always renew on that date in the future.

* If you choose to pay by Visa, MasterCard, or American Express we require a signed and dated letter of authorization which includes:

• type of credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or American Express);
• credit card number;
• date of expiry;
• name of the card holder; and
• a statement authorizing the ministry to debit the credit card, the dollar amount to be debited and the reason for the payment.

Send this information to the:

Ministry of Transportation
Licensing Administration and Support Office
Special Enquiry Unit
Building A, Room 178
2680 Keele Street
Downsview, ON  M3M 3E6
Fax: 416-235-4414

Notes:

• A plate owner who is not in the Drive Clean program area must send the fee of $74 for a one-year sticker, or $148 for a two-year sticker.
• A plate owner who renews late will still have to pay for the months when the sticker expired.
• The new sticker renewal period will begin from the expiry date of the last sticker.

Customer Service Options

Below are the Ministry of Transportation service channels where you can purchase/order this service. Click on the underlined titles below for an address/location.

For further information please complete our online feedback form, or or contact the ServiceOntario Driver and Vehicle Contact Centre at 416-235-2999 or toll free at 1-800-387-3445 (Canada wide).