Demerits / Points

Officer Crossing Arms with Glasses Looking sharply forward

Demerit points will cost you

An accumulation of demeit points on your driving record can lead to a suspension of your drivers licence in addition to higher insurance premiums.

Common Misconceptions

It is a common misconception that a person has a certain number of points on their drivers licence and that points are lost upon a conviction.

The reverse is true.

Points (or demerits to be correct) are added to a persons driving record upon conviction. The more demerits you obtain, the closer you are to losing your licence. In Ontario there are different consequences for fully licenced “G” drivers vs newer drivers holding a G1, G2, M1, or M2 licence.

Demerits Points and New Drivers - G1, G2, M1, or M2 Licence

If you are convicted of an offence and receive two demerits, you will be sent a warning letter.

Upon receiving six demerits, you will have to attend a meeting and provide reasons why your drivers licence should not be suspended. If you fail to attend, your drivers licence may be suspended.

If you obtain nine demerits, your licence will be suspended for 60 days and the suspension period does not begin until you surrender your licence. If you fail to surrender your licence, you can be suspended for up to two years.

When you get your licence back, your licence will go down to 4 demerits. Almost any conviction after that point puts your licence in jeopardy.

The best defence against suspension is to avoid conviction.

Fully Licensed “G” drivers

Upon accumulation of six demerit points, you will receive a warning letter.

At nine demerits, you will have to attend an interview to provide reasons why your drivers licence should not be suspended. If you fail to attend, your drivers licence may be suspended.

At fifteen demerits, you will lose your licence for 30 days from the day you surrender your licence. If you fail to surrender your licence, you can be suspended for up to two years.

At the end of the suspension, you may be required to take a road test and a written drivers licence test in order to get your licence back. If you get your licence back, you will be brought down to seven demerits and another conviction with demerits will require you to attend another interview.

If you reach fifteen demerits again, your licence will be suspended for six months.

Out-Of-Province-Convictions

Demerits can be assesed against you even for an out of province traffic conviction. With computer and network technology, along with legal agreements between provinces and American states, the Ontario Registrar will assess against you for the following offences if convicted outside of the Province of Ontario:

    Non-Criminal Convictions

  • Speeding
  • Fail to obey stop sign
  • Fail to obey signal light
  • Fail to stop for school bus
  • Racing
  • Fail to remain or return to the scene of a collision (Non-Criminal Version of Charge)
  • Careless driving

    • Criminal Convictions

  • Motor manslaughter
  • Criminal negligence
  • Dangerous driving
  • Failure to remain at scene of a collision (Criminal Version of Charge)
  • Impaired Driving
  • Driving while disqualified or prohibited

The best defence against suspension is to avoid conviction.

For more information on offences and the application of demerits, please see our Ontario Demerit Point Schedule

Article Contributor

This article was contributed by Rob Stocki of the Ottawa HELP Office. To reach your local HELP office, please see our locations page.